WESTLOCK – Ali Jamaly calls it the “trip of a lifetime” for himself and his wife Shirin, a 30-day journey around the globe that included stops in the Netherlands, Tanzania, Kenya, India, Japan, and Thailand highlighted by a week-long stay in Qatar that saw the self-confessed soccer aficionados attend four, group-stage matches at the 22nd FIFA World Cup.
Now finally back home in Westlock, the 67-year-old Jamaly, who actually shuttered his store, Tru Hardware Westlock, for a month to make the pilgrimage, is still smiling from ear to ear. Although they didn’t take in the Nov. 20 opening ceremony, or get to see Canada play in person, he was sure to sport Team Canada kit at the four, group-stage games they did attend; England vs. Iran at Khalifa International Stadium Nov. 21; Denmark vs. Tunisia at Education City Stadium Nov. 22; Morocco vs. Croatia at Al Bayt Stadium Nov. 23; and Switzerland vs. Cameroon at Al Janoub Stadium Nov. 24. Heading into semifinal action this week, Croatia faces Argentina Dec. 13, while France takes on Morocco Dec. 14 — with Jamaly’s “other favourite team” Brazil knocked out by Croatia on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals, he’s now pulling for Les Bleus, the reigning World Cup champs, to win it all when the final is played Dec. 18 in Lusail Stadium.
Jamaly called Qatar and its facilities “amazing” and noted that the eight stadiums, all freshly constructed for the World Cup, were within an hour of Doha, the capital of the country. Qatar, which is the second-largest exporter of natural gas in the world, is home to roughly 2.9 million people and is reported to have spent $200-billion U.S. to host the event.
“It was brilliant and so well organized. This is the first time I’ve ever gotten to go to a World Cup … I’ve tried before but could never get tickets as they’re so hard to get. This time around I had four of my children try from different places and on the second round, they said someone hadn’t paid for their tickets and I was offered them, so I took them,” said Jamaly, who officially got his ducats in April.
“Qatar is a beautiful, well-managed country and the event was just so well organized. And it wasn’t overly hot, 28 C during the day and 20 C at night. Everything was so clean … the apartments we stayed in were brand new and the sheets were the whitest I’ve ever seen. And the transportation was free for everywhere we had to travel.”
If there’s a small regret, it’s that he couldn’t swap any of his tickets for one of the Canada matches Nov. 23 or Nov. 27, or even a Brazil game but “they were pretty strict about that for sure.” For the record, Team Canada went 0-3 this year, but did finally score a goal after being shutout at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, the only other time the nation has qualified.
Now back home he admitted his “concentration at work has been kaput” as he’s continued to watch every game “whenever I get the chance.”
“And I bet I only spent $100 while I was there. Everything was included in the price I paid and the only thing I had to pay extra for was food and laundry. Breakfast was like $4, and a cup of tea was $.50. It was so amazing,” he added. “And the soccer was just a part of it, there is so much to see and do in Qatar and there were musicians and artists there from all over the world there for the event. It was the trip of lifetime for sure.”
Jamaly says he’s all-in and will do whatever it takes to get tickets for the 2026 World Cup when it’ll be jointly hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico — Toronto and Vancouver will be the only two Canadian cities that will host games.
“That’s going to be the biggest thing for when the World Cup comes to North America, being able to handle the volume of people. We could take a lesson on how they move people in and out,” he continued. “But I’ve talked to some friends, and I’d like to be able to go to games in Houston and Mexico City as well as Toronto and Vancouver when it comes here. It’s going to be great.”
