WHAT TO MAKE OF THE FOOTBALL WORLD CUP? By Steve Wade
T
IF PVUTUBOEJOH RVBMJGZJOH UJFT GPS UIF 8PSME $VQ JO 2BUBS BSF CFJOH ÙOBMJTFE XJUI UIF 4PVUI "NFSJDBO BOE European spots decided later this month. Some big names including current European champions Italy and $ISJTUJBOP 3POBMEPmT 1PSUVHBM BSF TUJMM ÙHIUJOH UP RVBMJGZ GPS UIF ÙOBMT MBUFS UIJT ZFBS 4PNF GBNJMJBS OBNFT GSPN 4PVUI "NFSJDB XJMM BMTP CF ÙHIUJOH GPS B QMBDF JO 2BUBS JODMVEJOH ÙSTU XJOOFST 6SVHVBZ *ODJEFOUBMMZ TPNFUIJOH DBMMFE UIF nQSPIJCJUFE UFBN DMBTI SVMFo NFBOU UIBU 3VTTJB BOE 6LSBJOF DPVME OPU CF ESBXO UPHFUIFS JO UIF LOPDLPVU RVBMJÙFST Stroke of luck really given the current situation, that could have been WWIII right there! Teams will still want to win the World Cup, regardless of where it’s being played and under what circumstances but the trail of controversy surrounding the selection of Qatar as the 2022 venue takes some getting over. Firstly we had the TFMFDUJPO QSPDFTT JUTFMG * OFWFS TBX TP NBOZ PGÙDJBMT nSFUJSFo TP RVJDLMZ GSPN BO PSHBOJTBUJPO BMM BU UIF TBNF UJNF .JOE you, if I was the FIFA representative of Trinidad and Tobago or Lithuania and found a “gift” bag in my hotel containing millions of dollars I would have retired too! 8IBUFWFS UIF JOT BOE PVUT PG UIF ÙOBM EFDJTJPO NBLJOH QSPDFTT UIF BNPVOU PG nJOÚVFODFo UIBU XBT CSPVHIU UP CFBS NVTU have been substantial, given the fact that all the major European leagues, and in particular the Premier League, have re-jigged their entire seasons to accommodate the fact that the climate in Qatar dictates that the tournament must be played in the winter months to avoid the 50c heat in the summer. Much more concerning is the reports of the poor conditions that the thousands of imported workers are living in whilst building the world class stadiums required to host the event. At the start of the various projects horror stories began emerging of the conditions the workers were living in, the lack of training leading to numerous deaths and the very low pay. It seems to be that the authorities in Qatar are now addressing these problems and although early reports of thousands of deaths on the sites may have been exaggerated, there is no doubt that a lot of men have lost their lives for the sake of a football tournament. The pay is extremely low too, with reports of workers earning as little as 55 US Dollars for a six day week. I have no doubt that the tournament will go ahead and will probably be a success, given the money spent and the Qatar authorities wanting to make this a showcase for the future. It will need to be a success too, given the publicity it has had and the negative baggage it is carrying going in. We shall see what happens.
36
DISCOVER PATTAYA
Issue 235/20 | MARCH 2022
