Two French Fans Design "The Fans Shemagh" for the World Cup Teams

Two French nationals residing in Doha, one of whom is the former world handball champion Bertrand Roigner, designed a set of keffiyehs in the colors of the Qatar flag, and the teams qualified for the 2022 World Cup.

A report by the France-Press agency said that they hope that their product will become a symbol during the World Cup in Qatar, which is preparing to receive fans from all over the world.

The report pointed out that the keffiyehs they designed and called " the fans Shemagh " appear on the shelves of shops in Doha, less than two months before the global football event, which begins on the twentieth of next November.

The second French partner in the project, Didier Grande, recounts how the idea was born, saying, "We were watching with our friends (a match for the French national team) when my son Tim arrived jumping, and he had found a Shemagh in the house and put it on his head and started dancing in front of the TV."

Grande, a former tennis player and now a pilot for Qatar Airways adds, according to France-Press agency, "We said to ourselves: Why don't we give (Shemagh) the spirit of the France team among other teams."

He pointed out that the Shemagh bears a cultural significance for the people of the region.

The report pointed out that the Shemagh is the traditional Arab head covering for men, and its designs differ from one country to another.

The official mascot of the 2022 World Cup "La’eeb" was inspired by the Shemagh.

And "La’eeb" is a fictional character who wears the ghutra, which is also depicted on the official poster of the first World Cup to be held in an Arab country.

For his part, Roigner, the 2011 World Handball Champion with France, explains, "We wanted something to support the teams and at the same time be able to wear it instead of a flag that is often made of synthetic fabric and is not desirable to wear."

He added, "This idea came at the right time," noting that "he was at a turning point in his life because he had recently retired from handball and was looking for a project."

The report said: The two Frenchmen, who do not have any experience in this field, opened a company in Qatar, and this was facilitated by the fact that Roigner held Qatari citizenship in addition to his French citizenship.

The two Frenchmen hope to continue their project after the World Cup, as they have designed keffiyehs in the colors of teams that did not qualify for the 2022 World Cup, such as Egypt, Algeria, Ukraine, and India.

"We have more orders (from countries that are not participating in the World Cup), we can't go to all places, but we feel there is interest in the project," Grande says.