A feverish frenzy takes over India

The FIFA World Cup in Qatar has been a roller-coaster ride with many surprises. From under dog teams taking on past tournament favourites to popular players, the limelight has graced many. Millions of fans of football have a new routine now to stay glued to the TV to watch the most loved global sport that brings every one under one roof.

Football fever has gripped even a cricket-crazy nation like India, with fans turning out in force at public places across the country to watch their favourite teams compete to reach finals, and the D-day is at your door step. India not being a participating team has not stopped football mad Indians from cheering the other national teams on, to the extent of tearing their vocal cords. I am one among several fans in India, who are gung ho about football. It's really crazy and frenzy to watch your favourite player in action. I am an ardent fan of Kylian Mbappe`, jersey No: 10, who plays as a Forward. Considered as one of the best players in the world, Mbappe` is renowned for his dribbling abilities, exceptional speed,and finishing.

Whenever France played there was loud cheering and clapping and screaming uncontrollably. We have fans for all major teams in the house, although Argentina and Brazil are all time favourites. Sometimes we blow whistles and beat plates and celebrate sporting the team colours in their support. With the world's second largest population, many in India are mad about the game.The craze for the game has no age. People of all age groups are glued to the tournament and septuagenarian like me too did not want to miss the excitement and be left behind. Nothing beats the excitement of stray cats of Doha making star appearances at the show piece event! Whether it is press conferences, training sessions or places where players go out to have food the felines arestealing thelimelight. Players and netizens alikehave been enjoying their presence at the mega tournament.

Everytime the World Cup is held, India's football fans do crazy things to express their love for the sport, and their favourite, team. The craze is so much that recently fans erected a, 30-foot-tall- cut-out of Lionel Messi amid Kurungattu Kadavu river in Kozhikode. Not to be one-upped, fans of Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar soon erected cut-outs of their idols.This frenzy has been on full display as the World cup progressed. Amul, The Taste of India, has become a regional sponsor of the Portugal and Argentina national teams. It gives the dairy brand the lucrative rights to feature both thefootball super stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on its product packaging. Meanwhile Indian Education Technology giant Byju's has become an official FIFA sponsor and signed Messi as its Global brand ambassador. The prize money is huge, a record U.S $ 440 million.

Aside from the pride each nation generates for going on a run at the World Cup, each nation also earns World Cup prize money based ontheir performance.The new Champion will take U.S $42 million home and the runner up will have a US $30 million prize. It could be either Argentina or France.This will be the last tournament with 32, team participants. The new cup four years later will have 48 teams competing for the cup. Sundays World Cup final will be the 13th time that Argentina and France have met in men's International Soccer. The Sunday's game will be seen as a battle between KylianMbappe` of France and Lionel Messi of Argentina. It will be the clash of the two Titans.

The world cup in Qatar is getting closer to its final stages with semis just concluded. We have had some interesting and unexpected results in the quarter finals and quite exciting in semi -finals. After shocking the football world by eliminating the main favourites Brazil in the quarter finals, Croatia lost fighting bravely till the end, to the more experienced, confident Argentina.We have to wait and watch with abated breath to see the winner of 2022.Who will be the first among equals? The banners and posters are out. Huge cut-outs of favourite players are up, fans are gathering in dedicated droves at homes, clubs and theatres to watch one of the biggest sporting events globally. Football fever is peaking across the country.

The interest this world cup has garnered is quite different from the previous ones. As much as the players, football fans too have almost 2 years of pent-up energy that has been waiting to be unleashed after the pandemic waned. The feverish enthusiasm is high, the mood is huge in spite of football becoming more technical, more violent, aggressive and lacking romanticism. Nevertheless, when the ball begins to roll on Sunday evening the tachycardia – the heart rate, the tempers and the frenzy will go up for all the die-hard football fans, the world over. The game is not over until it's over.