It’s just a day, a damn day. But the sign that FIFA is sending out is fatal. In order to give the world stage exclusively to the high gentlemen from Qatar, the world association buckles. It doesn’t matter for the tournament. The next nail in the coffin for the officials’ credibility.
FIFA doesn’t care anyway. So why not just postpone the World Cup. Well, it’s only about one day. Now the tournament starts on November 20th, on Totensonntag. And not only the next day with the opening game Netherlands against Senegal and the opening game Ecuador against Qatar much later in the day. Also somehow a great point of this controversial major event. And the next absurdity on a long list that began with the choice of location, continued over the time (winter) and now ends with the postponement of the date. Incidentally, it is completely unclear why the original schedule did not include a real opening game.
Of course you can now also say: artificial outrage, who works on something like this emotionally. But this one day is not the point. World Cup hosts Qatar apparently not only want to welcome the world with open arms (just kidding), but also block the first day of the tournament exclusively for themselves. So that means: playing the opening game without international competition. As has been the case with the world tournament since 2006. But this year shouldn’t be the case. Until then, at least for outsiders, the sudden desire for it arises.
The world association is happy to comply with this wish. 100 days before the start of the tournament. Unfortunately, that’s not a surprise. Because President Gianni Infantino not only likes to cuddle with the high and rich gentlemen from the emirate, but has even moved his residence there. It’s a sign. But not in the way one would wish. The Swiss is now not the first guard on the construction sites in Qatar and strict guardian of human and freedom rights. Infantino is in Qatar and loves life. But this decision was not easy to make. Is it [called. The decision was preceded by “an analysis of the sporting and operational effects as well as extensive consultations and agreements with the most important interest groups and the host country.” Oh well.
It is actually a banality whether the tournament takes place on Sunday or Monday. And it doesn’t really matter whether the first game of the Desert World Cup is Qatar against Ecuador or Senegal against the Netherlands. For the well-being – rather woe – of this tournament, the appointment has no meaning. But there is also a brutality in this banality. It is always devastating that powerful associations like FIFA allow everything to be dictated to them by despots or unjust states.
The world association sells the decision as a treat, as an even greater spectacle for the fans (topics such as early arrival, TV broadcasts and the like are confidently ignored in this bliss). A nice talk that no one has longed for. But what should FIFA say? Sorry, the pressure from Qatar was so great that we couldn’t help it? You don’t need to answer that. She gives herself. According to “The Athletic”, there should actually have been this pressure. Firmness not even when it comes to the date, anyone who still had the last doubts about the value and moral instability of the Infantino squad should now have completely cleared them up.
What would have happened if the association had stuck to its decision seven years ago? Qatar would not have given the World Cup voluntarily. But although international football has been fatally dependent on Qatari wealth for years, there would certainly have been opportunities for sanctions or withdrawal in this area. But you don’t want to alienate good friends. And the major sports associations now have them almost exclusively in the unjust states and under the great despots of the present.
Their ignorance of human rights, environmental protection and sustainability, their idle talk about humility and against gigantism and the repeated stories about corruption have made officials undesirable in most democracies. The fact that the fight for credibility and trust is too exhausting for them and they prefer to take the path of least resistance (or the greatest convenience) is now reflected in the postponement of the desert World Cup. Even if it’s just one damn day. It’s the damn day Qatar will take the world stage and show how great things have turned out in the desert nation. It’s the day FIFA smiles with satisfaction. Like its President Joseph Blatter when awarding the prize. It was the ugliest smile in recent football history.
