Covering La Albiceleste: A sports writer’s dream World Cup

Football is often credited as the sport that unites the world. Perhaps there is no better testament to that sentiment than the scenes we saw during the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Where else will you find two countries, separated by thousands of miles, coming together and sharing love and passion like Argentina and Bangladesh did during the tournament? Connected by social media, the world’s game gave rise to a sense of camaraderie, the likes of which you rarely witness, and I was fortunate enough to cover it and end up with an experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

While the biggest sport in Bangladesh may arguably be cricket, the affinity for football during the FIFA World Cup here remains unmatched. It feels nothing short of a countrywide festival. Going into the Qatar World Cup in particular, there was a belief that the stage was set for Argentina. Since the heartbreak at the Maracanã, it was the best squad that Argentina had. It was this hope that united all the Argentina fans in Bangladesh.

As an Argentina fan myself as well as a writer, I also had the good fortune to not just be part of this passion but also present it to readers of SHOUT, The Daily Star’s former youth magazine. I covered stories of how Bangladeshi people made flags of Argentina that were hundreds of feet long, bridges painted in the colours of Argentina, and so much more. Despite the scale of the frenzy, it mostly remained within the country. That was until a viral video of Bangladeshi fans celebrating Messi’s goal against Mexico directed the world’s attention to local fans of the Argentine team, with even Gary Lineker quote-tweeting the video with the caption: “Fantastic”.

Bangladesh’s boundless love for Argentina reached the global spotlight and sparked conversations worldwide. People became curious and started asking why a country with almost no historical ties to Argentina would be so passionate about the national football team. They were not aware of how, through football, Argentina gave so much to Bangladesh. I tried covering that context in my article, “Argentina and Bangladesh: Two Nations United by Football”.

The people of Argentina went a step further and tried to find out what Bangladesh is like and how they could reciprocate the love they were receiving. It was while writing the abovementioned article that I discovered, through Twitter, that Argentines had opened a supporters' group on Facebook for the Bangladesh national cricket team, pledging their support for our nation in cricket in return for our support in football. The group had thousands of people trying to learn the rules of cricket, who the best players in Bangladesh were, and so much more. I covered them in another article as well.

The exchange of love was something I had never witnessed before. It reflected the spellbinding performance that Argentina had put up in the World Cup. Everything happened fast. I only realised how big of a story this had become when, to my pleasant surprise, international media started reaching out to me.

Seeing Bangladesh in a positive light in the media feels great. However, it’s a completely different feeling when you’re the one who is invited to talk about the story. It was after my article that Al Jazeera reached out to me to take part in The Take podcast and elaborate on it. After that, various news portals from various countries, including Argentina, did the same. However, the most memorable moment came when I was invited to speak on BBC Radio 5’s pre-match show before the semi-final between Argentina and Croatia.

Initially, I didn’t think much of it. As the radio station was based in the UK, I had never listened to it before. I was completely unaware of who I was going to be speaking with. Just before the kick-off, I joined them via WhatsApp and began answering questions, only to then realise I was actually speaking with not just the host but also football legends like Pablo Zabaleta and Alan Shearer. As a Manchester City fan, I had grown up watching Zabaleta play in the Premier League. Now, I was the one telling him how much Bangladesh loved Argentina. Pablo Zabaleta thanking Bangladesh on behalf of everyone in Argentina felt surreal.

After my appearance on both the BBC and Al Jazeera, what really amazed me was the love from the readers and Argentines who followed the story. I received many emails of gratitude from Argentina. People texted me asking how to send me a jersey and saying that they would host me if I ever visited Argentina. The outpouring of love was, quite frankly, something I had never experienced before. The world never felt more joyful than it did back then.

Such an incredible story deserved a great ending, and the Argentine national football team did not disappoint. Everyone in Bangladesh got together to watch the final between Argentina and France and saw Messi lift the trophy after a thrilling match that went to penalties. It was the perfect football fairytale. Though it was Argentina that won, the joy was shared by both nations.

The World Cup 2022 story of Argentina and Bangladesh exemplified the spirit of football. Covering it as a writer and presenting it in front of people was a privilege. Carrying the memories of the 2022 World Cup, I look forward to the next World Cup, hoping it will bring more joy and unity to the world, which we desperately need right now. 

Tamjidul Hoque is an LLM student currently studying at Cardiff University, you can contact him at tamjidulh@gmail.com.