…its getting; football’s getting lost…

So we had a full fixture list this weekend. Loads’a games, loads’a goals, loads’a… stuff, bit of VAR (inevitably), few ructions, plenty of excitement (Spurs), bit of boring (Arsenal), massive underdogging (Brentford), some ‘tragic’ losses, (Man City, Chelsea), several managers elevated to ‘tightrope’ status (Frankie Lampard, Graham Potter) and all the fun of the fair.

And now its over. Finished. Lost forever (it’ll seem like it) as the Premiership now shuts down until after Christmas. It’s not a ‘winter break’ because we don’t do them over here. It’s not a rest period (for many). It’s called the World Cup. Which would normally be a cause for excitement and eager anticipation for us fans as the ‘best in the world’ get to compete. And Qatar. They’re the only ones who get in for free because they’re the ‘host nation’.

The World Cup is a summer event. Always, in its entire history. Until now. Normally in the closed season, but now right in the middle of fucking everything, which all has to shut down in its honour. But this is no reason to have vetoed Qatar’s bid to host the tournament. Not at all. It would be prejudicial for any country to be banned from hosting just because several players might die from heatstroke, dehydration or (if they’re found to be gay) decapitation. And FIFA is all about fair.

Well, fair and money. In used, non-sequential notes handed over in suitcases down back alleys. But by the time the horrendous corruption was sorted out, Qatar had already built half the stadiums and a lot of the infrastructure for the tournament. You knew it was half because only about 3,500 foreign workers had died building them at that point.

The last World Cup, in Russia, highlighted the corruption and ‘sportswashing’ enabled by FIFA, but Qatar takes the cake. You always needed to be ‘a footballing nation’ to host a World Cup, which Russia is. But Qatar? Yet those Qataris want to show the world how lovely they are, as well as how rich. And they will be lovely to the fans. As long as they don’t drink too much. Which… errrr… football fans… hmmm… shouldn’t be a problem. Or hold hands with a person of the same gender. Or… lots and lots of other things considered ‘normal’ in the civilised world but ‘evil’ in that little totalitarian state where human rights laws are suspended.

But other than that, yaaaaay, the World Cup is here!!! Next weekend!!!

Happy Monday

A xxxx