World Cup 2022

[bluebruce]

3 hours ago, Shirley Crabtree Wrestler said:

Nope. I will not be watching a single game of the tournament. Couldn't care less about the football, but definitely care that an estimated 6500 workers needlessly lost their lives building sham stadia for a sham tournament. Scandalous.

Besides, Ireland aren't in it.

I appreciate the principled stance, but apparently the death tolls reported are hugely exagerrated. They're basically the number of total migrant workers who have died in Qatar (from all professions, and for all reasons) between 2010 and 2019. Well, the 15k figure is, the 6.5k figure you've got is the ones from just India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Apparently only 3 have actually died on World Cup construction sites (not counting related projects like new roads, hotels etc), rising to 40 if non-work-related deaths of construction workers are included.

Qatar has problems with human rights and treatment of migrant workers, no question, and should never have been awarded this WC, but the figures we've been hearing are highly misleading. If they were really as high as that, I wouldn't watch either.

https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-how-many-people-have-died-building-the-qatar-world-cup/a-63763713

[Mr. E]

I was completely against Qatar being awarded the world cup, but to be honest, there is a little bit of selective outrage taking place. The Premiership has Man City and Newcastle...the Champions League has PSG....in 4 years the World Cup is largely in the US... People will say the difference being that workers died building stadiums in Qatar, which yes is as horrible as things get - but I fail to see why the other government sanctioned or at least government tolerated human rights abuses taking place in the other nations/partnerships mentioned would somehow not be deserving of a boycott either.

FIFA, UEFA, all of that is corrupt to the core and must be rebuilt from the very ground up. If or until that happens...for myself I feel I'll watch football and tournaments as they come, because it brings family and friends together like nothing else can - or just stop watching and following it entirely. But partial boycotts of some things - like the Qatar world cup - I see no purpose in. 

Edited November 16, 2022 by Mr. E

[ben_the_beast]

I do question whether Qatar will be silently regretting hosting the World Cup. 

As far as 'sports-washing' goes it's having the opposite effect. The whole world is talking about their abhorrent human rights record, corruption and then the general irritation of its timing.

They've obviously spent a fortune in preparation, though for an oil state I imagine any amount of Billions is a moot point. The motivation must have surely been to put them centre stage in a positive light.

Once the games start with an atmosphere and attendance reminiscent of lockdown, as a nation they are going to look like a joke. Literally nobody is happy they're hosting. Its a shit show for everyone.

(Yes I'll be watching btw)

[Nuttall is lost]

1 hour ago, ben_the_beast said:

I do question whether Qatar will be silently regretting hosting the World Cup. 

As far as 'sports-washing' goes it's having the opposite effect. The whole world is talking about their abhorrent human rights record, corruption and then the general irritation of its timing.

They've obviously spent a fortune in preparation, though for an oil state I imagine any amount of Billions is a moot point. The motivation must have surely been to put them centre stage in a positive light.

Once the games start with an atmosphere and attendance reminiscent of lockdown, as a nation they are going to look like a joke. Literally nobody is happy they're hosting. Its a shit show for everyone.

(Yes I'll be watching btw)

They've literally paid locals to dress up as fans from various countries to generate atmosphere

[RoverDom]

3 hours ago, Nuttall is lost said:

They've literally paid locals to dress up as fans from various countries to generate atmosphere

Such a shame Scotland haven't qualified. I was look forward to a crowd of Qatari men earing one of these

 

 

[Upside Down]

Everything about this tournament is a total sham.

The only good thing to come out of it is that Qatar's attempt at sport washing has backfired and has only brought more scrutiny upon them.

Hopefully that same level of scrutiny will be applied next time when the tournament goes to Amerikkka.

[AllRoverAsia]

7 hours ago, ben_the_beast said:

I do question whether Qatar will be silently regretting hosting the World Cup. 

As far as 'sports-washing' goes it's having the opposite effect. The whole world is talking about their abhorrent human rights record, corruption and then the general irritation of its timing.

They've obviously spent a fortune in preparation, though for an oil state I imagine any amount of Billions is a moot point. The motivation must have surely been to put them centre stage in a positive light.

Once the games start with an atmosphere and attendance reminiscent of lockdown, as a nation they are going to look like a joke. Literally nobody is happy they're hosting. Its a shit show for everyone.

(Yes I'll be watching btw)

The amount spent by Qatar in in excess of USD 220 billion and they will end up with unused stadia, a lot of ship containers plus roads and rail networks going to sparsely inhabited areas.

They will become something of a holiday destination, a mini Dubai (a similarly despicable family own business) and maybe a regional sports host but bearing how much inter country friction there is I don't give that much mileage.

Not that the expense matters to the Qatar authorities or native population. Their wealth is stratospheric and they take care of their own.

[AllRoverAsia]

8 hours ago, ben_the_beast said:

I do question whether Qatar will be silently regretting hosting the World Cup. 

As far as 'sports-washing' goes it's having the opposite effect. The whole world is talking about their abhorrent human rights record, corruption and then the general irritation of its timing.

They've obviously spent a fortune in preparation, though for an oil state I imagine any amount of Billions is a moot point. The motivation must have surely been to put them centre stage in a positive light.

Once the games start with an atmosphere and attendance reminiscent of lockdown, as a nation they are going to look like a joke. Literally nobody is happy they're hosting. Its a shit show for everyone.

(Yes I'll be watching btw)

The amount spent by Qatar in in excess of USD 220 billion and they will end up with unused stadia, a lot of ship containers plus roads and rail networks going to sparsely inhabited areas.

They will become something of a holiday destination, a mini Dubai (a similarly despicable family owned business) and maybe a regional sports host but bearing how much inter country friction there is I don't give that much mileage.

Not that the expense matters to the Qatar authorities or native population. Their wealth is stratospheric and they take care of their own.

Meanwhile we can look forward to 2026 and Mexico, minimum wage per day in 2022 approx USD 9, the USA, I won't even start on that bag of worms, and Canada who are, imo, completely ok.

Edited November 17, 2022 by AllRoverAsia

[Armchair supporter supremo]

9 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

The amount spent by Qatar in in excess of USD 220 billion and they will end up with unused stadia, a lot of ship containers plus roads and rail networks going to sparsely inhabited areas.

They will become something of a holiday destination, a mini Dubai (a similarly despicable family owned business) and maybe a regional sports host but bearing how much inter country friction there is I don't give that much mileage.

Not that the expense matters to the Qatar authorities or native population. Their wealth is stratospheric and they take care of their own.

Meanwhile we can look forward to 2026 and Mexico, minimum wage per day in 2022 approx USD 9, the USA, I won't even start on that bag of worms, and Canada who are, imo, completely ok.

The only plus point about Mexico is that at least they are genuinely a football mad nation so at least on the footballing side it should be good in their 3rd of it, usa will be a crap circus like the last one they held and Canada is just a piss take. 

Edited November 17, 2022 by Armchair supporter supremo

[joey_big_nose]

Yeah - it's had completely reverse impact to what is desired by Qatar....Eight of the competiting teams have banned homosexuality, but they as hosts are the ones who are highlighted and attacked. They will get hammered relentlessly, as they should be. Hopefully it will deter horrible regimes from trying to co-opt sport. 

Also fans and media should step up going after the UAE and Saudis at the Man CIty and Newcastle games imo. Being very closely scrutinised should be the price of getting involved in sport.

[jny]

It's good that everyone is talking about Qatar, its abhorrent human rights record and views on homosexuality.

But the thing people should be focusing on more than anything else is the factor that 6,500 migrant workers have died building the stadiums for this world cup, the rest simply pales in comparison - I don't understand why this is hardly mentioned in comparison to everything else that's going on. The hatred people from these countries must feel towards putting on an event for rich people (particularly from the West) and the countries they belong to having almost total ignorance, it's definitely going to come back to bite us at some point, probably soon.

Edited November 17, 2022 by jny

[bluebruce]

50 minutes ago, jny said:

It's good that everyone is talking about Qatar, its abhorrent human rights record and views on homosexuality.

But the thing people should be focusing on more than anything else is the factor that 6,500 migrant workers have died building the stadiums for this world cup, the rest simply pales in comparison - I don't understand why this is hardly mentioned in comparison to everything else that's going on. The hatred people from these countries must feel towards putting on an event for rich people (particularly from the West) and the countries they belong to having almost total ignorance, it's definitely going to come back to bite us at some point, probably soon.

As I posted above, 6,500 migrant workers have not died building the stadiums. As the article you quoted reveals lower down, 37 have. And that's a bit of a stretch too.

Edited November 17, 2022 by bluebruce

[Giant]

I agree completely that Qatar is a WC of a country and should never have been awarded the World Cup, but like it or not the event is almost upon us. I think it would be appropriate for either Argentina or Portugal to win it, so that either of the truly great players of the recent modern era, Ronaldo and Messi, will be crowned a World Cup winner. There have been four such players in my lifetime, the others being Pele and Maradona, who both won it. Footballers of this calibre are on a far higher level of ability than the so called “world class” players who are wrongly described as such. For me, the four players I mention deserve the accolade, World Cup Winner. What a privilege to watch them play football. 

[speeeeeeedie]

4 hours ago, Armchair supporter supremo said:

The only plus point about Mexico is that at least they are genuinely a football mad nation so at least on the footballing side it should be good in their 3rd of it, usa will be a crap circus like the last one they held and Canada is just a piss take. 

You'll be in for a surprise. World Cup 2026 will be massive in the USA. There are millions of football fans over here. MLS might not be the greatest standard but they draw big gates. Every stadium will be packed full for games. They'll do fan fests and the like. 

[Mike E]

2 hours ago, Giant said:

I agree completely that Qatar is a WC of a country and should never have been awarded the World Cup, but like it or not the event is almost upon us. I think it would be appropriate for either Argentina or Portugal to win it, so that either of the truly great players of the recent modern era, Ronaldo and Messi, will be crowned a World Cup winner. There have been four such players in my lifetime, the others being Pele and Maradona, who both won it. Footballers of this calibre are on a far higher level of ability than the so called “world class” players who are wrongly described as such. For me, the four players I mention deserve the accolade, World Cup Winner. What a privilege to watch them play football. 

For me, Zidane and Buffon are in that class too.

[Exiled_Rover]

6 hours ago, Giant said:

I agree completely that Qatar is a WC of a country and should never have been awarded the World Cup, but like it or not the event is almost upon us. I think it would be appropriate for either Argentina or Portugal to win it, so that either of the truly great players of the recent modern era, Ronaldo and Messi, will be crowned a World Cup winner. There have been four such players in my lifetime, the others being Pele and Maradona, who both won it. Footballers of this calibre are on a far higher level of ability than the so called “world class” players who are wrongly described as such. For me, the four players I mention deserve the accolade, World Cup Winner. What a privilege to watch them play football. 

That's a no from me.

[ben_the_beast]

5 hours ago, Mike E said:

For me, Zidane and Buffon are in that class too.

I have to add Ronaldo Nazario to this list. Injuries curtailed his career at a young age. Up until his knee exploded he was, like Maradona not just up there with the best, but head and shoulders above.

BBC iplayer has a great documentary about him at the moment. A genuinely brilliant watch. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001ffsj

 

On the subject. Two others who stick in my mind are Ronaldinho and Neymar. Both players who never quite reached the levels of those already mentioned due to their mentality. But in terms of insane natural ability, absolutely astounding. 

[Armchair supporter supremo]

8 hours ago, speeeeeeedie said:

You'll be in for a surprise. World Cup 2026 will be massive in the USA. There are millions of football fans over here. MLS might not be the greatest standard but they draw big gates. Every stadium will be packed full for games. They'll do fan fests and the like. 

Never said it wouldn't be massive there!! Just shit. 

[Mike E]

1 hour ago, ben_the_beast said:

I have to add Ronaldo Nazario to this list. Injuries curtailed his career at a young age. Up until his knee exploded he was, like Maradona not just up there with the best, but head and shoulders above.

BBC iplayer has a great documentary about him at the moment. A genuinely brilliant watch. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001ffsj

 

On the subject. Two others who stick in my mind are Ronaldinho and Neymar. Both players who never quite reached the levels of those already mentioned due to their mentality. But in terms of insane natural ability, absolutely astounding. 

That 2002 Brazil side must be one of the best in memory.

 

[AllRoverAsia]

The public lashing of Qatar continues unabated whilst a few miles up, down or across the road, take your pick, in socially aware Abu Dhabi the F1 roadshow begins.

It's a strange world we live in.

Edited November 18, 2022 by AllRoverAsia

[Upside Down]

44 minutes ago, AllRoverAsia said:

The public lashing of Qatar continues unabated whilst a few miles up the road in socially aware Abu Dhabi the F1 roadshow begins.

It's a strange world we live in.

What's that word again? 

Ah yes, hypocrisy. 

[oldjamfan1]

[Herbie6590]

 

[Ianrally]

13 hours ago, ben_the_beast said:

On the subject. Two others who stick in my mind are Ronaldinho and Neymar. Both players who never quite reached the levels of those already mentioned due to their mentality. But in terms of insane natural ability, absolutely astounding. 

Neymar should never be mentioned alongside some of the previous Brazil greats, he may be gifted in his ability but that is more than spoiled by the fact he is a diving cheat. 
My greatest Brazil side has to be the 1970 version. 

[jim mk2]

Qatar has banned beer from World Cup stadiums

I've just read the "security" will be in the hands of Pakistani soldiers and Turkish anti-riot police

Gay fans beware

What a fun World Cup this is going to be