Swans in Doha, days three and four

Having spent the first two days of the Sydney Swans study tour visiting several Qatari cities, historical and cultural experiences, as well as training, education and professional development opportunities at Aspetar and Aspire Academy, the red and white contingent spent the final two days of the tour visiting some of Doha’s favorite tourist spots.

Sydney Swans players Robbie Fox, Hayden McLean and Justin McInerney, general manager Tom Harley, AFL assistant coaches Dean Cox and Ben Matthews, AFL Football executive general manager Leon Cameron and several Swans football and administrative staff spent the last two days at the beach club in Doha. Before attending an exhilarating Discover Desert tour at Sealine, including a private dinner under the stars in the sand dunes of Khor Al Adaid, before finishing off the final day with a visit to the Lusail International Circuit ahead of the upcoming 2024 Qatar Grand Prix.

Reflecting on this experience, Swans took away many positive experiences from the tour, as well as new knowledge and experiences.

“You think it’s going to be nice, but when you come here, every building is different, they have a slightly different tone, a lot of outside influences, and it’s just a beautiful place to look at, and it was an amazing experience. ” Fox said of the experience.

“It (sand dunes) is what you imagine in the Middle East. The drivers are persistent and just go for it, I think it’s kind of their hobby here.

“I was nervous but excited about it and it was a lot of fun. Driving in the middle of the desert, seeing the sunset and having dinner was great.

“The race track was pretty cool back then. The race is in a few weeks, so we’ll just see what happens behind the scenes. Like everyone here, when a world event happens, just to see the effort they put into it was cool.”

“If you get a chance to come to Qatar, take the opportunity and come here and it will blow your mind,” McLean said of the trip.

This is a multi-purpose place. We’re here for four days and that’s probably not enough time to see everything Doha has to offer.”

The rapper, who visited Doha over a decade ago, could see the development and changes over time and was looking forward to further developments.

“The last time I was here was in 2014, so I came to the conference in Aspetar at that time, and it’s just amazing to see how things have evolved in that time,” Raper said.

“We are now in the northern part of Doha and 10 years ago it was quite quiet, there weren’t many buildings, so there has been a lot of development. They managed to preserve a lot of the culture, a lot of the heritage of the place.

“Wandering around Souq Waqif you could be in any city in the Middle East, and then you come out and see the bright lights of West Bay and downtown Doha, so it creates a really nice feeling.”

“I think the market was the highlight for me, I just love that real historical part. The fact that they managed to preserve many of the traditions of this place. You wander around there and the smells and the different sights are something that you don’t get anywhere else in Australia.”

Harley and Cameron echoed Raper’s thoughts, emphasizing the benefits of experiencing a new and different culture.

“It’s just a new experience. Aspire, Aspetar, boat cruises, visiting the Souk market – these are things we don’t do in our daily lives. The last three or four days have been absolutely brilliant.” – Cameron said.

“I think like any experience that Leon touches on, I always encourage people to go in with their eyes wide open,” Harley added.

“I think the Middle East in general, in Western society, is often seen, especially when it comes to travel, as a transit zone. I think a lot of people would probably think of Doha this way as almost a port from where you can go somewhere else on Qatar Airways, but I was very surprised at the amount of activities as there are a lot of young families around.

“I honestly think I’ve been surprised by the accomplishments I’ve experienced from six years ago to coming now, and would highly recommend everyone to at least transit through, but really take a little time, keep your eyes and ears open and experience what this region has to offer.”

Stay tuned to our Sydney Swans social media channels for the latest tour news before a unique tour video diary is released in the coming weeks.