It is early days, but all the evidence to date points towards the 2022 World Cup being a disaster, writes Derek Tucker.
Even before Scotland’s customary failure to qualify, this year’s men’s football World Cup in Qatar had an aura of insignificance about it. Well, from a footballing perspective, it did.
The stench of corruption circling the awarding of the tournament to a country neither capable nor deserving of it ensured that organisers were facing an uphill, ultimately impossible, task to stage an event which would capture the imagination of the rest of the world.
Problem piled upon problem during the 12 years between the decision to choose Qatar as host country and the tournament kicking off, with the thrilling spectacle of the home nation against the footballing giants of Ecuador.
The insurmountable issue is that it just does not feel like a World Cup. For a start, it is taking place in winter, meaning that the domestic fixture list has been mothballed until Boxing Day, still almost five weeks away. What on earth are people supposed to do at weekends now?
The various controversies surrounding Qatar’s use of migrant workers and its stance on same-sex relationships and women’s rights have replaced the normal build-up of excitement to the big day.
I mean, we’ve hardly heard the words “it’s coming home” uttered by our southerly neighbours (yes, my fellow countrymen). Even the mammoth achievement of the Welsh team in qualifying for the finals for the first time in 64 years has gone largely unnoticed.
Supporters haven’t been made welcome in Qatar
Big, international footballing events have long since ceased to be about grassroots supporters, with sponsors, politicians and anyone with deep pockets all burying their noses in the trough before Joe Average gets a sniff.
This one, however, has gone out of its way to make supporters unwelcome. Sky-high costs for one-star accommodation, exorbitant food and drink prices, and then the ludicrous, last-minute decision to ban alcohol in and around the host stadia must make the intrepid few who have made the pilgrimage to Qatar wonder whether it was worth it.
Greek salad at the Qatar World Cup fan zone
🇶🇦 38 Rial (£9) pic.twitter.com/K5taOhM9Q3
— Footy Scran (@FootyScran) November 16, 2022
If the opening match is anything to go by, with the stadium beginning to empty a full 20 minutes before the final whistle, this tournament will be remembered more for the apathy of the audience than the skills of its combatants.
It is early days, but all the evidence to date points towards the 2022 World Cup being a disaster; a spectacle with the potential to cause collateral reputational damage to future tournaments.
From a personal perspective, as a lover of football and a supporter of England, I couldn’t care less if the team fails to make the knockout stages. And, in the highly unlikely event that football is, indeed, “coming home”, I will not be celebrating.
Derek Tucker is a former editor of The Press and Journal
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