- Title: INDIA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: Football fever inspires Indian hairstyles
- Date: 27th June 2014
- Summary: JALANDHAR, PUNJAB, INDIA (JUNE 26, 2014) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI - NO ACCESS BBC) BARBERS CUTTING HAIR OF YOUNG FOOTBALL FANS FOOTBALL PATTERN CUT INTO HAIR OF YOUNG FOOTBALL FAN "90" BEING CUT INTO HAIR OF FOOTBALL FAN VARIOUS OF BARBERS CUTTING HAIR BARBER HOLDING TABLET WITH PICTURE OF PORTUGAL STAR, CRISTIANO RONALDO, TALKING TO CUSTOMER ABOUT HAIR PICTURE OF RONALDO SEE
- Embargoed: 12th July 2014 22:00
- Keywords:
- Location: India
- Country: India
- Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVACTXB8FV06IIQ5IQZ1D7IWMD2S
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Bars and restaurants were the businesses tipped by most to see the economic benefits of this year's World Cup in Brazil - but few beforehand would have predicted the bounce in sales for the hair salons.
That's what's happening in India's northwestern Punjab province, where young football fans have rushed to copy the styles of the stars on the pitches in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, as football fever grips the subcontinent in much the same way it has the rest of the world.
At a small salon in Jalandhar on Thursday (June 26), stylist and barber Ijaz Hassan Salmani said that with so many seeing their heroes on screens, the chance to get their hair cut like them proved too much to resist.
"Football is madly popular among young people here - there are loads of football fans in India. Some want their hair like Cristiano Ronaldo, while others wants Lionel Messi's. Some want Fernando Torres' hairstyle and others want Robin Van Persie's," Salmani said.
"So there's a big craze of young people getting all sorts of different styles of haircuts. They bring the pictures of them into the salon on their laptops and tablets to show what they want," he added.
Soccer styles aren't usually seen during the summer, as the most popular football leagues in the world are in off season - but the World Cup has proven an exception.
Customer Bilal Salmani, speaking from the barber's chair, said he was delighted to be able to copy his hero.
"I'm a huge football fan - especially of Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo. I came to the hair salon to get his haircut," he said.
32 countries have taken part in the FIFA 2014 World Cup, with 64 matches being played across 12 Brazilian cities.
The host country Brazil is the favourite to win a sixth World Cup title, confirming on home turf its reputation as a soccer superpower, according to a global survey of over 120 football-loving market analysts polled by Reuters. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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