00:01On Thursday morning at 7am local time, Uzbekistan will wake up to a moment many football fans have waited years
00:07to see.
00:08The national team will play its first ever World Cup match against Colombia.
00:13Across the country, schools, parks and public spaces are being transformed into fan zones as supporters prepare to watch history
00:20unfold.
00:21Behind me, kids are doing what they always do here, playing football.
00:26But in a few days, this stadium will look very different. Chairs, mats and a giant screen will turn it
00:33into one of 208 fan zones across Uzbekistan,
00:37where communities will gather to watch the national team play at the World Cup for the very first time.
01:09Music playing
01:12far beyond the fan zones. Flags, posters and images of the national team have appeared in shops,
01:18cafes and public spaces across the country. Among the symbols of this World Cup campaign is Bek,
01:23the official mascot of the Uzbekistan squad. I think it will have a huge impact on kids,
01:29on the young population going into football.
01:50Support has also spread across social media. Content creators from across Central Asia have
01:55been posting messages of encouragement, making the first team from the region ever to reach a World Cup.
02:00The wait is almost over. For decades Uzbekistan watched the World Cup as spectators.
02:06On Thursday morning, for the first time, it will be part of it.
02:12For decades Uzbekistan.
Comments