‘Amazing culture’: Japan fans win hearts for cleaning up World Cup stadium despite losing to Costa Rica
AL RAYYAN, QATAR: Japanese people are known for their culture and non-negotiable ethics, and something similar was seen once again in Qatar during the 2022 World Cup. Japan was looking promising this year after defeating Germany and securing three points. However, Costa Rica's Keysher Fuller played down their reality after he scored a goal in the 81st minute. But for Japan's supporters, the game ended after they stayed back and cleaned the stadium. The match took place in Ahmed bin Ali Stadium or better known as the Al-Rayyan Stadium on Sunday, November 27.
The Japanese supporters cleaning the stadium is becoming a tradition as this is the second time this year that they have stayed back to do something similar. Previously, after their win against Germany, the Japan team left their dressing room absolutely spotless with the floors swept, garbage sorted into piles, and windows left open for ventilation. On the other hand, Japanese fans could be seen handing out trash bags to each other and cleaning Khalifa International Stadium. But this is not the first instance where Japanese fans have cleaned the stadium. They did the same during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after a 2-1 loss to Ivory Coast and again after a 2-1 win over Colombia at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Official Fifa World Cup 2022 also tweeted about this moment saying, "Tidying up after one of their greatest #FIFAWorldCup wins Huge respect to these Japanese fans #Qatar2022"
