Qatar 2022 is here – a tainted World Cup barely worthy of the name

It was a moment, in its own way, as electric as anything that has been happening in the World Cup play-offs. That was when Norwegian FA president Lise Klaveness forced everyone at Fifa Congress in Doha to confront the true cost of these games.

“In 2010, World Cups were awarded in unacceptable ways with unacceptable consequences,” she said in an impassioned call for inclusion and human rights. “The migrant workers injured, the families of those that died, must be cared for.”

Many in the room didn’t care for the discussion.

One federation head, clearly looking for his own 15 minutes of approval from the football family, insisted she should not have said that. That, apparently, is not the point. The point is all the World Cup livery, the sense of occasion in Doha.

Shortly afterwards, a package was shown with great moments from previous World Cups, the emotion echoed by that seen in Senegal, Algeria and the United States in the last few days.

That is what the World Cup is supposed to mean. That is what sportswashing projects are actually playing on.

It could be difficult not to get swept along with the emotion of it all. Many of the England set-up felt the same as they looked at the reactions elsewhere after their own friendly win over Ivory Coast. They want some of that. They want the emotions of 2018.

There was a sense of excitement among many arriving at Hamad International Airport, where one of the first things that greets you is of course a huge sign for the World Cup. The tournament surrounds you. This is why the draw is the true first step. The tournament is laid out. You can start to picture how it plays out. It all becomes “real”, to use the words of some of the delegates here.

It is at this point it must be