World Cup fans gather on campus for semi-final watch parties
“FIFA fever” was alive and well on campus this week as students braved the heatwave temperatures to attend watch parties for the World Cup semi-finals.
The events were a joint collaboration between the UWSA and the International Student Centre, and took place in the Anthony P. Toldo Health Education Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The UWSA’s Vice-President of Finance and Operations, Shafeen Aziz, and Vice-President of Student Advocacy, RJ D’Aguilar, were present for the France v. Spain watch party on Tuesday, offering complimentary drinks and snacks to attendees.
VPFO Shafeen Aziz and VPSA RJ D’Aguilar at the France v. Spain semi-final watch party on Tuesday, July 14th. (Photo: UWSA Instagram/@uwsa4u.)
D’Aguilar said that the World Cup’s global popularity and multicultural appeal were the main reasons for staging the event.
“The World Cup is the most-watched sporting event in the world, and it has the unique quality, even compared to some other high-viewed sporting events, that it’s explicitly multicultural and very inclusive of different types of people from different places, which we celebrate at this campus,” he told The Lance.
“During the summer months a lot of students are either at home, travelling, or otherwise not on campus. Another reason why [this event] is such a good idea is because [The World Cup] is so highly engaging compared to some other stuff. We can always count on folks to turn out.”
Nawaf Nazeer and Hashim Shah at the France v. Spain semi-final watch party on Tuesday, July 14th. (Photo: Arran Christie/The Lance)
Nawaf Nazeer and Hashim Shah were among the crowd of about 30 students and alumni who watched Spain win 2-0 against France.
Nazeer recently graduated from the Master of Science (Computer Science) program, and Shah is in his final year of the same program.
“[We came] for the atmosphere,” Shah said.
“I’ve been watching a lot of videos of people enjoying [the games] in groups, and I was having a lot of FOMO living in Windsor because there’s nothing happening. Even at previous watch parties, there’s nothing happening. I’m just glad there are a lot of people here.”
Nazeer, who came out to root for France, agreed. “France are losing; it would be worse if I was watching it alone in my room.”
FIFA-themed drinks and snacks were served at the semi-final watch parties, which were held in the Anthony P. Toldo Health Education Centre. (Photo: Arran Christie/The Lance)
Graduate student Satabdee Saha said she typically cheers for Brazil during the World Cup, but after their 2-1 defeat against Norway she started supporting France. She came to the watch party with her daughter, Shayani.
“It’s really fun to watch the game with all these people,” she said. “I love the energy here.”
The energy in the room was certainly undeniable; most of the crowd seemed in support of France, although there were a few dramatic switch-ups in the second half when Spain’s victory was more assured.
French captain Kylian Mbappé’s breakaway attempt in the 16th minute had a few people on their feet, while others cried out and cheered before the play was quickly shut down by the Spanish goalkeeper, Unai Simón.
At the time of publication, the UWSA and ISC have yet to announce whether they will host another watch party for the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, which is set to take place on Sunday at 3 p.m. EST.