What we learned from the Qatar World Cup

It is a measure of the unexpected success of the Qatar World Cup that it could be hailed as the best, by Fifa President Gianni Infantino, and the boast was not entirely laughable. This World Cup had its share of longueurs but had plenty of excitement and ended on such a high note that conspiracists might suspect the final moments were contrived. But the high drama of the final aside, what did we learn from this extraordinary sporting event?

First, that we care about the exploited and the marginalised and disapprove of corruption but… not that much. No end of newsprint was devoted to the subject of the unknowable number of migrant workers who died building the glittering jewel-like stadiums in the sand, the bribery allegations, and alleged human rights abuses. But no team withdrew from the tournament, or even threatened to, and not a single player boycotted the event. 

Such protests that did take place were synthetic and transparent, like poor quality replica football shirts: There were armbands, specially designed shirts, and choreographed hand gestures.