I've just started to take more of an active interest in the forth-coming World Cup in Qatar. I've found the mid-winter timing for the tournament a bit of an obstacle to the usual build-up of expectations at a personal level, but I'm slowly coming round to the idea that the competition is actually going to take place and I might as well accept the fact. And reading profiles of the various national squads involved has a fascination of its own, especially for someone who hasn't been following the international scene too closely.
However, I must confess that that my deep-rooted reservations about the wisdom of allowing Qatar to act as hosts continues to colour my perceptions about this year's tournament. I'm well aware that a degree of corruption is likely to shade into every major sporting event in this fallen world, but I've got a feeling that even Fifa may end up very much regretting their choice on this one. A couple of recent cartoons by the brilliant David Squires exemplify the doubts we should all feel given the experiences of so many of the migrant workers who provide the luxuries the tourists take for granted and what happens to those who blow the whistle on the realities of those experiences.
The problem is, I'm not exactly sure how those doubts should manifest. Ignoring the World Cup seems pointlessly juvenile: it won't do a thing to benefit the workers who toiled to construct the infrastructure that made it all possible. I suppose the best we can do is to try and figure out ways to genuinely support their cause, directly or indirectly. Mr Squires does some little good in keeping the world informed in concrete ways of the human cost of our sporting entertainment.
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