I always look forward to the World Cup with eager anticipation but heaven knows why because recent tournaments have largely been a disappointment. What should be a massive festival of football has often been reduced to a war of attrition with one boring tactical match after another, a truly awful final and many matches decided by nothing more than poor officials.
2014 Continue reading
I can still remember the hours leading up to the announcement of the venue for the 2022 World Cup Finals. I have never had the privilege of attending a tournament but would love to do so in the future and so the potential venues were of great interest to me. I was very concerned about the presence of Qatar in the bidding as I was aware that football authorities in general and FIFA in particular have a long history of making decisions based on money rather than the interests of the game or the fans. They always try to explain away their rulings with claims of high ideals but they don’t wash with me. I was not, therefore, surprised when the tournament was awarded to Qatar but I was angry and I still am! Continue reading