So, Qatar 2022 is really happening then; World Cup draw takes centre stage – The Warm-Up

FRIDAY'S BIG STORIES So this is really happening then? Ad/> Today, the draw for the group stages of the World Cup in Qatar will be made. World CupWorld Cup draw LIVE: Build-up as teams discover fate for QatarAN HOUR AGO Yesterday, Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA and grown man of fully 52 years, stood up in front of FIFA's congress in Qatar and compared himself to Nelson Mandela. And also to Gandhi.

Yes, now that the business of qualification is over, it's time for the world to sit up and say to itself: «Hang on. So it's really in Qatar? Weird.» And then lots of other words much less complimentary than «weird». Perhaps the draw is when World Cup really comes together, when it changes from an abstract question for the future into an actual series of football matches.

Leading the criticism yesterday was Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian FA. After first dragging FIFA for World Cups «awarded by FIFA in unacceptable ways with unacceptable consequences,» she then lined up her hosts: «There is no room for employers who do not secure the freedom and safety of World Cup workers. No room for leaders that cannot host the women's game.

No room for hosts that cannot legally guarantee the safety and respect of LGBTQ+ people coming to this theatre of dreams.» Courageous, pointed stuff; naturally, Klaveness was told off and roundly patronised by a number of the men that spoke after her. We'll come back to her last point there in a moment, but first let's consider that peculiar triumvirate: Mandela, Gandhi, Infantino. Here's what football's dearest leader was getting at.