Thursday, December 02, 2010

So glad England aren't going to host the 2018 World Cup

I really don't like football. I make an exception where Inverness Caledonian Thistle are concerned, but other than that, every time a World Cup come round I check to see if there's another planet I can disappear to for the month.

My dislike of the sport is probably fuelled by a resentment at the disproportionate amount of money, tv time and resources it gets. There are plenty other sports, not that you'd know it from the way football dominates the sports media.

The thought of the biggest tournament on the planet taking place on British soil and the hyperbolic coverage that would attract, which would make the Royal Wedding look as small as a village charity coffee morning in comparison, made me feel quite sick. I'm sure the bid was very good and everything but I am so glad that it'll be at least another 20 years before it will take place on British soil.

Having said that, I would much rather the event was taking place in England as opposed to either Qatar or Russia on human rights grounds.

You might be interested to know that  FIFA awarded the next two world cups to countries which voted in favour of an amendment taking out the specific reference to sexuality in a motion condemning the arbitrary use of the death penalty, as reported here on the New Humanist Blog. Even Israel voted against that, for goodness' sake. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, punishable by 5 years' imprisonment.

It always makes me feel angry when countries who have scant regard for human rights gain such major international accolades.

2 comments:

cynicalHighlander said...

And the UK is whiter than white by being complicit in torture storing cluster bombs for the US has weapons of mass destruction evicts the innocent and etc.......

http://glasgowunihumanrights.blogspot.com/2010/12/labour-leader-of-shame-gordon-matheson.html

Debra Storr said...

So what we need is to make the Qatar games, the pink games.
... Are there any gay international footballers?
Can we get pink triangles as part of national strips?

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