About 100 people gathered at a bar in Taipei to watch the FIFA World Cup start in Mexico, despite the early hour of 3am yesterday.
All seats had been reserved before the game started, said a clerk at the Brass Monkey, a bar in Taipei where customers can watch live sports broadcasts.
The Group A clash between Mexico and South Africa drew supporters from multiple continents to the venue.
Photo: CNA
For Misael Alanis, a Mexican student who has lived in Taiwan for two-and-a-half years, the atmosphere was just as important as the game itself.
“There are a lot of Mexicans here and you can tell that the atmosphere is really exciting,” Alanis said. “Everybody is screaming, everybody is dancing.”
Najla Manzanares, a Mexican student who went to the bar to enjoy her first FIFA World Cup in Taiwan, said that the event had brought together people from different countries through the sport.
Photo: CNA
“We’re here with our friends from Guatemala, Mexico, South Africa and Argentina, so we have a lot of friends here,” she said.
Among them was Zahara, a tourist from California who grew up in Mexico.
Zahara said she had met Manzanares only hours earlier at the venue.
“We did not know each other before the World Cup. We just met right now,” she said.
For Zahara, that was part of what made the experience special.
“Soccer is a very passionate thing for Mexicans and to see it in Taiwan is very special to me,” she said. “It feels like a community just loving soccer all together.”
Also in attendance was Gagotheko Matsheka, a South African student studying Mandarin in Taipei.
Matsheka said she went to the venue with Mexican and Guatemalan friends, and enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere despite being surrounded by Mexico supporters.
“Soccer is such a big thing in South Africa,” she said, adding that she would remain proud of her country’s team regardless of the result.
Taiwan did not qualify for the World Cup, but that didn’t stop Lee Guang-yu, a civil engineering surveyor, from joining the crowd.
Having played soccer as a child, Lee said he had noticed growing interest in the sport in Taiwan, pointing to increased discussion of international competitions such as the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup on social media.
Still, he said soccer deserves greater promotion in Taiwan.
As the world’s most popular sport, it provides opportunities to meet people from different countries and engage in cultural exchanges, Lee said.
“If Taiwan can further promote football, people can get to know more people through the sport and engage in cultural exchanges with different countries,” he said.
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About 100 people gathered at a bar in Taipei to watch the FIFA World Cup kick off in Mexico, despite the early hour of 3am last night. All seats had been reserved before the game started, said a clerk at Brass Monkey, a bar in Taipei where customers can watch live sports broadcasts. The Group A clash between Mexico and South Africa drew supporters from multiple continents to the venue. For Misael Alanis, a Mexican student who has lived in Taiwan for two-and-a-half years, the atmosphere was just as important as the game itself. "There are a lot of Mexicans here and you can
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