The euphoria surrounding this year’s FIFA World Cup has been “unprecedented” in football-mad Kolkata, with nearly 9,000 fans having already travelled to Qatar to witness the showpiece event and many more slated to arrive in the next few days, officials said.
People are still making queries regarding ticket and accommodation availability and travel packages for Qatar, days ahead of the semi-finals and the final next week, they said.
“Around 10,000-12,000 football fans have travelled to Qatar from eastern India so far, including close to 9,000 people from Kolkata. People are still very keen to make it to the semis and the final, and we expect at least another 1,500 Kolkatans to visit the Arab country,” Anil Punjabi, eastern region head of Travel Agents’ Federation of India (TAFI), said. Argentina‘s advance to the semi-finals is reason enough for many of Kolkata’s football enthusiasts to pack their bags for Qatar.
