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Message from a football fan
The FIFA World Cup is about to start, and the negativity around this year’s tournament is growing louder.
Piers Morgan argues that we should keep politics and virtue-signaling out of football so we can enjoy the game.
I wholeheartedly agree as I’ve seen enough of the hand-wringing and despair over this Qatar World Cup.
Football has always been in my life, and I eagerly awaited those World Cup tournaments.
What a period of emotions, joy, and despair for any football fan!
Before the start of the tournaments, there used to be a lot of buzz around team preparations, winner speculations, trainers’ drama, and sports fan opinions and tribulations. Do you hear this now? No. It seems that all the media is talking about is how corrupt the process was to award Qatar the World Cup, whether the players will be miserable in the heat, or how much the fans will be disappointed by the lack of atmosphere because of all the empty seats.
It’s a real shame that current affairs are overshadowing what should be one of the most exciting sporting events in the world.
As for those social issues, it Is not my place to find excuses for Qatar’s problems but at least let’s put them into perspective.
Suppose the argument against Qatar is based on human rights concerns. In that case, it should be applied equally to all countries participating in the World Cup. To single out Qatar while ignoring other countries with similar records is simply hypocritical.
Let’s face it many of those countries are much worse for human rights than Qatar.
Using morality as your weapon or stigma is tricky as one might end up with no alternatives to host those types of events without appearing to endorse those possible human rights abuses too.
As for me, I’m actually excited that this is the first time the World Cup has ever been staged in the Middle East, considering how popular football is in this area. It’s a big step, a milestone, and we should commemorate that. I’ve always thought The World Cup is not just a meaningless football tournament. It’s much more than that. It’s a lesson in bringing people together, how countries and neighbours can laugh, scream, and sing for just a few weeks yet feel like lifelong friends.
The one thing that we can all agree on: football should be above Politics. The World Cup is a time when people from all over the world celebrate their love of the game, and it should be a time for us to put aside our differences and enjoy great football. Let’s do that!
