Unique, divisive & controversial - the World Cup has landed

A few years ago Dave Hill - the buck-toothed, bucket-hatted guitarist from glam-rock heroes Slade - recalled how the band recorded Merry Xmas Everybody in the middle of a New York heatwave.

It was 1973, and according to Hill, "really hot… it certainly wasn't Christmassy. Eventually towards the end of the year we heard the song, and of course, then it made a lot more sense."

Will the Qatar World Cup ever have such an epiphanous moment? Unlikely.

For a start, beginning a World Cup just as the tinsel is going up feels as odd as screaming 'IT’S CHRISTMASSSSS’ in July.

But then everything has been turned on its head for this controversial, divisive tournament, which kicks off on Sunday when the host nation take on Ecuador.

Last week Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola exclaimed: "We have a crazy World Cup and the players can't rest."

Back in 2010 Guardiola - then Barcelona boss - signed up to become an ambassador for Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup. Presumably he believes did too good job.

In the same year Guardiola was bigging up the Qataris, David Beckham was part of the FA delegation aiming to bring the 2018 World Cup to England.

They lost out to Russia - a shock that was one-upped by the mic-drop confirmation that Qatar had won the race to host the 2022 edition. An ashen-faced Bill Clinton was part of the USA contingent in the room that day that fully believed they had 2022 in the bag. They were gobsmacked.

Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter opened the envelopes to reveal the winners and even he couldn’t believe the Qataris had pulled it off. "At the time, we actually agreed in the executive committee that Russia should get the 2018 World Cup and the USA should get it in 2022," Blatter said earlier this month.

"It would have