Qatar
The past four days have pretty much exclusively been about readying myself for my accountancy exam tomorrow. It's the most challenging of my five modules (for reasons that are too boring to go into) and if I can pass it, it'll be a big step forward.
A positive result tomorrow would set myself up nicely for an eclectic weekend. On Saturday, I'm heading to The Valley for Charlton vs Huddersfield where I hope not to see the scenes described here. Then it's off to the Islington Assembly Hall to witness the musical joys of Andrew McMahon and his piano. Sunday is my first working day of the National Trust season which starts this weekend and therefore I anticipate being swamped by heritage hungry visitors.
FIFA have announced this week what everyone in the world of football has long suspected. The 2022 World Cup awarded to Qatar will be moved from the summer to winter with the prospect of the final being held on 23rd December. Everyone apart from the powers that be had anticipated that the climate in Qatar would prevent a summer tournament that has always been one of the conditions of the bidding process. This issue seems like a sideshow now, particularly in light of the fact that 1,200 migrant workers working on construction for the tournament have died. 1,200. For a tournament that starts in seven years time.
The invariably excellent Marina Hyde has written about the whole sorry business in The Guardian. It's a terrific article and not just for pointing out the absurdity of the British Darts Organisation organising their world championships directly after the Professional Darts Corporation's. It encapsulates the disillusionment most of us football fans feel about FIFA. That the game's governing body are seemingly above the law and that none of the corruption that they've been engaged in for years seems to matter. But as Hyde observes, the disruption of "domestic league gravy trains" caused by a November/December schedule will be of greater concern than the stench that surrounds this tournament. "Money shits on everything in its path". It's difficult to disagree.
I'd like to see the major footballing nations boycott this tournament but I know precisely how likely that is to happen.
A positive result tomorrow would set myself up nicely for an eclectic weekend. On Saturday, I'm heading to The Valley for Charlton vs Huddersfield where I hope not to see the scenes described here. Then it's off to the Islington Assembly Hall to witness the musical joys of Andrew McMahon and his piano. Sunday is my first working day of the National Trust season which starts this weekend and therefore I anticipate being swamped by heritage hungry visitors.
FIFA have announced this week what everyone in the world of football has long suspected. The 2022 World Cup awarded to Qatar will be moved from the summer to winter with the prospect of the final being held on 23rd December. Everyone apart from the powers that be had anticipated that the climate in Qatar would prevent a summer tournament that has always been one of the conditions of the bidding process. This issue seems like a sideshow now, particularly in light of the fact that 1,200 migrant workers working on construction for the tournament have died. 1,200. For a tournament that starts in seven years time.
The invariably excellent Marina Hyde has written about the whole sorry business in The Guardian. It's a terrific article and not just for pointing out the absurdity of the British Darts Organisation organising their world championships directly after the Professional Darts Corporation's. It encapsulates the disillusionment most of us football fans feel about FIFA. That the game's governing body are seemingly above the law and that none of the corruption that they've been engaged in for years seems to matter. But as Hyde observes, the disruption of "domestic league gravy trains" caused by a November/December schedule will be of greater concern than the stench that surrounds this tournament. "Money shits on everything in its path". It's difficult to disagree.
I'd like to see the major footballing nations boycott this tournament but I know precisely how likely that is to happen.
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