Rights advocate: Qatari and gay pride at the World Cup

Janie McCauleyap

Formally dressed in a traditional Qatari bisht, Dr Nasser Mohamed strolled past a crowd of several hundred people outside the Chase Center as the England-Croatia World Cup match flashed on the big screen. His gold-and-black robe featured a distinct flourish: rainbow piping down each sleeve and the words "love" and "freedom" embroidered in Arabic.

"That's why the World Cup is really powerful, because people don't need to hear about who I am — I can just walk, be seen, and that's it," he said. "We don't have to say a word."

Four years ago, when the tournament was held in his home country, Mohamed was already living across the world in San Francisco. It was then that he came out, becoming an exceptionally rare openly gay man from Qatar, a country where homosexuality is illegal and gender expression is severely restricted.

Now 39, Mohamed is speaking up again for those without a voice. He feels secure enough to walk around with confidence, wearing chunky heeled boots, mascara, and dangling earrings. While he still faces regular backlash and online hate, the global support and kindness he receives help drown out the death threats.

"I am so loved in San Francisco, really, truly," Mohamed said of the city he moved to more than a decade ago. "I have not worn this since I was a kid in Qatar, and San Francisco put it back on my shoulders, with rainbows."

For him, donning the traditional garment in public carries immense symbolic weight. "The emir of Qatar put it on Lionel Messi at the last World Cup to celebrate him. We should be celebrated too."

An LGBTQ% activist and a family doctor specialising in HIV care, "Dr Nas" launched his "Love is the Goal" campaign ahead of the World Cup and Pride Month, aiming to humanise the community. In a campaign video, he seamlessly blended football terminology with messages of acceptance, reciting lines like, "love is kickoff, the very first touch."

However, his journey to self-acceptance came at a heavy cost. "Saving a life like mine is very expensive, and I know that," Mohamed said. "That's why I had to pave my own path and get out. I lost everything. I am completely disowned. I had to build myself from scratch, from the ground up."

While Qatar played its final group-stage match against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Seattle on Wednesday, Mohamed stayed back. He had, however, attended the team's opening game against Switzerland in Santa Clara, California. Escorted by California State Senator Scott Wiener under visible security, his appearance at the 1-1 draw quickly went viral, garnering over 12 million views on social media.

"As I was passing, everybody was taking pictures of me with the senator," he recalled. "It was so dramatic — and emotional."

"In the stadium, I couldn't speak because if I started talking, I wouldn't stop crying. When am I going to see Qatar again? When is it ever going to happen? I don't know when I will see home. I can't even see my mother and father."

Following that opening match, he hosted a dance party at the San Francisco Mint, featuring the song "Let Your Love Shine," written by his close friend Simon Tam and performed by Debby Holiday.

"Nas' journey moves me because it is rooted in extraordinary courage and an enormous heart," Tam said. "He has taken his own truth and turned it into a way to help others feel seen, worthy, and less alone."

"The first step to heal is to witness things the way they are," Mohamed said. "My endgame is for every child to belong with their own family and their own society."

It remains a painful reality that he cannot return home. Ostracised by his family for his sexuality and his activism, Mohamed has focused his energy on helping others, including securing resources and safe passage for a transgender woman who had been imprisoned and tortured in Qatar.

"We all fled persecution and took political asylum in the US, and now we invited them to come here to play football," he said. "Initially, I didn't even feel safe leaving my apartment."

Despite the exile, he still roots for his homeland alongside his adopted country, planning to watch the US team in the round of 32 at Levi's Stadium. "I am cheering for both the US and Qatar with love," he said. "They both provided homes for me. When I challenge either of them, it comes from a place of love."