In his first interview since being reappointed, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly laid down some clear diplomatic water between his party and Labour – confirming that, unlike Keir Starmer, he would attend this winter’s Qatar World Cup.
The Foreign Secretary won’t be alone. The Football Association expects that some 10,000 England fans will make the journey to a World Cup widely regarded as the most controversial in history (though Prince William, the FA’s president, will reportedly not be among them).
So what awaits them when they get there? If the headlines so far are anything to go by, they could be in for a rude awakening. From sky-high prices for a pint (and drunk tanks for fans rich enough to have too much) to potential airport chaos, the upcoming tournament is seen by some as a fiasco waiting to happen.
My own visit to Qatar – to attend a football match billed as a World Cup ‘test run’ – was less dramatic.
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