Around 3,000 Wales soccer followers are arriving in Qatar to help their dwelling nation as they put together to play of their first World Cup for 64 years.
Sky News has joined two households from South Wales as they jet off to the Middle East.
Welsh Flags, bucket hats and scarves are all being fastidiously folded and packed right into a suitcase by Marcus Panayi and his 13-year-old son Theo at their dwelling in Cardiff.
“I’m buzzing! I can’t believe it really that we’re going out there!” says Theo.
His pleasure is echoed by his dad.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” says Marcus. “For me, I’ve been supporting Wales for 42 years, I’ve seen all the disappointment over the years, all the near misses, so really this is once in a lifetime.
“I believe each Wales fan who’s going is simply going to be on cloud 9 after we get there – clearly a number of the opposite huge nations are used to qualifying, so I believe it means a bit extra for us.”
The pair will be part of different followers at a particular get together within the capital Doha over the weekend to welcome the Welsh contingent.
“We’ve been told the alcohol prices are really extortionate, so we are prepared for that, but I think we’ve just got embrace it. The fact we’ve qualified, we’ll focus on the positives and try to have a party as much as we can,” provides Marcus.
Twenty-five miles down the M4, close to the English border, Huw Hudson and his daughters Amelie and Isabella normally watch Wales in motion of their backyard video games room.
Inside, Wales soccer and rugby shirts adorn the partitions, as do photographs of Huw with Gareth Bale and Swansea City gamers.
“I’m a die-hard Wales and Swansea City fan,” Huw says.
The household will likely be staying in Dubai and catching inside flights to Qatar for every recreation – a less expensive choice than staying in Qatar and one chosen by many Welsh followers.
We chat to Huw as he cracks open an aptly named bottle of Bale Ale.
“It’s something I’ve been dreaming of since I was a child,” he says.
“All I’ve wanted to do is to see Wales at the World Cup. There’s plenty of times where I never thought it would happen – but to be actually going, it’s a dream come true, once in a lifetime probably.”
Like all followers heading to Qatar, they have been advised to pay attention to cultural sensitivities.
Huw says: “There’s a chap who lives in Qatar who’s set up a Red Wall Facebook group which has been really useful so we can get all the local lowdown… just rules, cultures, things to expect and adhere to; so yeah it’s going to be interesting.”
While most followers travelling have paid for themselves, it is reported numerous Wales and England supporters have had their journeys funded by Qatari authorities as a part of the Fan Leader Network.
It’s understood flights and lodging are included, with authorities saying the scheme “contributes to tournament planning through fan insight, research, content creation and message amplification”.
Source: information.sky.com”