Qatar World Cup

It is a propaganda exercise which is no different in some terms to Hitlers Berlin Olympic Games in 1936…god knows how they secured the games back then?
But then we learn very little from history sometimes?
 
Don't really see a problem with Nov-Dec every so often. Ultimately plenty of leagues break then around the world anyway. The Nordics presumably have stopped, all of the Southern Hemisphere and many European leagues take their 2 week break of the 4 weeks of it anyway.

Of all the problems with it, I don't have any with the time of year.
 
Garbo said:
It is a propaganda exercise which is no different in some terms to Hitlers Berlin Olympic Games in 1936…god knows how they secured the games back then?
But then we learn very little from history sometimes?
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By no means an expert, but according to wiki they were awarded the games in 1931, the Nazi party were gaining popularity at that stage but weren’t in power for another two years.
 
wingsnwheels said:
Playing our EPL season in one go without a several week gap somewhere in the middle. We could build a good head of steam in the league and lose it during an extended break.
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Plenty of other leagues deal with it fine every 4 years and there was about 8 years notice...
 
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/briton-found-hanged-was-tortured-by-qatar-police-x62fjh6qg

Point in case, if true is substantially more concerning than a winter schedule...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1575380228712665088

Twitter thread there outlining some of the headlines about it for those not registered (including me so I haven't read it fully).

Despite being aware of the concerns of the coroner and the family, the Foreign Office closed the case last September, exactly a week after Liz Truss became foreign secretary.

The next month Truss visited Qatar to start a “strategic dialogue” and to create “deeper co-operation on security, development, trade and investment”.

In May the emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, met Boris Johnson to unveil a £10bn investment package in Britain
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Question ........ it is a reprehensible regime, as are many others .... Iran, N. Korea, China, just to name a few.

So, why in the heck would anyone go there? Surely the guy didn't deserve the treatment he got ....... but did anyone hold a gun to his head to go there?

Sometimes people make stupid decisions and pay for them.
 
Toronto John said:
Question ........ it is a reprehensible regime, as are many others .... Iran, N. Korea, China, just to name a few.

So, why in the heck would anyone go there? Surely the guy didn't deserve the treatment he got ....... but did anyone hold a gun to his head to go there?

Sometimes people make stupid decisions and pay for them.
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Same reasons Africans go to work in Middle Eastern countries, MONEY
They have been warned and heard of many terrible stories but they still go. On arrival their passport is taken off them, they have to work long hours and get mistreated (rape and beatings) but their embassy does nothing. they have to stay there until their contract is up.
 
Kenya Cherrie said:
Same reasons Africans go to work in Middle Eastern countries, MONEY
They have been warned and heard of many terrible stories but they still go. On arrival their passport is taken off them, they have to work long hours and get mistreated (rape and beatings) but their embassy does nothing. they have to stay there until their contract is up.
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Sorry, I was unclear. Those situations I understand. Much like migrants, they take a huge risk but figure it's worth it.

Was thinking of the travel executive above. Or the woman reported earlier who had a Mexican citizenship but went over to work for the organizing committee and faced 100 lashes and jail time. Again, why?
 
He was working for Qatari Airlines and then he left to work for a Saudi company which is apparently what did for him. It was an airline, not like he was working for a security company/mercenary organisation!

Imagine working for Canadian Airlines and getting taken out by Trudeau because you were headhunted by United.


Toronto John said:
Sorry, I was unclear. Those situations I understand. Much like migrants, they take a huge risk but figure it's worth it.

Was thinking of the travel executive above. Or the woman reported earlier who had a Mexican citizenship but went over to work for the organizing committee and faced 100 lashes and jail time. Again, why?
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Toronto John said:
Sorry, I was unclear. Those situations I understand. Much like migrants, they take a huge risk but figure it's worth it.

Was thinking of the travel executive above. Or the woman reported earlier who had a Mexican citizenship but went over to work for the organizing committee and faced 100 lashes and jail time. Again, why?
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I've been in the UAE for just under 10 years, love it here. The UAE has done away with many of the things that they still get critisied for like not letting people leave before contracts are up (everyone is now on fixed term contracts but can leave at any time without penalty), taking passports is illegal, co-habitation with a girlfriend is no longer illegal although it was never enforced anyway.

Obviously inequality is massive but it is in the vast majority of the world as well and tbh, I don't know what the answer to that is. My gardener earns 20 times what he would in Pakistan (his words) but the press would label him a slave worker. He didn't go to school, but his children now will, because he's moved here to earn the money to pay for it. If you upped wages in line with what us westerners command, can you imagine how many people would just fly here with no resources to support themselves for more than a couple of days? Every job opening already gets thousands of applicants from South Asia. People have a habbit of over simplifying things.
 
Silent AFCB said:
I've been in the UAE for just under 10 years, love it here. The UAE has done away with many of the things that they still get critisied for like not letting people leave before contracts are up (everyone is now on fixed term contracts but can leave at any time without penalty), taking passports is illegal, co-habitation with a girlfriend is no longer illegal although it was never enforced anyway.

Obviously inequality is massive but it is in the vast majority of the world as well and tbh, I don't know what the answer to that is. My gardener earns 20 times what he would in Pakistan (his words) but the press would label him a slave worker. He didn't go to school, but his children now will, because he's moved here to earn the money to pay for it. If you upped wages in line with what us westerners command, can you imagine how many people would just fly here with no resources to support themselves for more than a couple of days? Every job opening already gets thousands of applicants from South Asia. People have a habbit of over simplifying things.
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It's a risk/reward judgement that different people will look at differently.

It's not uncommon for people to go over there have a good time, come back rich and retire early.

In the face of huge propaganda, coverups a robust counterargument for massive casualties, squalid conditions and the odd torture and murder case isn't oversimplifying IMO.
 
So, this daft spectacle will be upon us soon and no doubt we will get swallowed up in all the usual footballing hysteria, pre-match excitement, post-match analysis etc. This is normal and to be expected. But World Cup's are supposed to be a festival of enjoyment, not just for those of us watching from home but particularly for those that travel to the host nation.
For us at home, besides the match coverage, TV and radio broadcasts are normally full of all the silliness on the side too, pundits soaking up the local culture, showcasing host nation's best bits. All very celebratory. But I just feel a huge unease about this. This is exactly what the Qatari's wanted, so I wonder how the broadcasters will play it. Will they use this platform to throw light on the serious stuff or will they set it aside and just talk footy? Either way, it is probably going to be a very different kind of world cup experience for us remote spectators.
Then we come to the poor buggers who travel to Qatar to watch it, if they can find a place to stay. I think this has all the ingredients to go horribly wrong. They will have all the competing nation's fans in one city!!!! Then throw in the huge cultural differences, ability to drink/not drink, crowd control etc. Scary prospect.
It just won't feel fun or celebratory. Let's just hope the football is good or else this is going to be a very dour affair.
 
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