remembered, is something of a discredited voice. a man who presided over fifa, of course, at a time when we know that there was corruption. but he is the latest in a long list of people, it has to be said, who have expressed some regret about the fact that this tiny desert state in the middle east won the right to stage football s showpiece event. and the reasons for that regret are well known. those allegations, the suspicion of corruption that will continue to hang over the bid, regardless of the denials of the organisers and the fact that there s never been any concrete proof or evidence to suggest that votes were bought. it has required a hugely disruptive rescheduling in terms of the football calendar, which means now, of course, the world cup is being played slap bang in the middle of the european football season, in the northern hemisphere winter. perhaps most importantly, though, and damaging,
has been concern over the human cost of building seven new venues in such a tiny country, with no real significant footballing culture to speak of previously, in such a short space of time has required the human rights organisations to say a great deal of strain and exploitation when it comes to migrant worker labour. and then, of course, finally, the concern about a world cup being staged in a country where being gay is illegal and where the rights of women are curtailed. it is, though, a bit of an own goal for a country which does have a very questionable human rights record, isn t it? are there signs of any kind that the qataris realise that they ve probably not done the right thing by their reputation? there s no doubt, from the conversations i m having,
john, that they are becoming more and more exasperated with this unprecedented barrage of negative headlines. i think many would wonder, if this is sportswashing, if that s what the motivation is in hosting this £200 billion event that s the amount of money that some believe has been spent on it then it s not working. on the other hand, some say that regardless of whatever controversy surrounds it, and there s plenty, it is still going to elevate the country s profile in the eyes of many people around the world. and i think what the hosts and fifa are banking on now is that once the matches get under way, a lot of the negativity and controversy that we re discussing in the build up will be put to one side. and that s what we ve seen in the past. i rememberjust four years ago, in russia, there was no shortage of negativity and controversy around vladimir putin s world cup. but once the action began,
is it going to be a good world cup? on the pitch, there s every possibility it will be. there s a huge amount to look forward to, and there s no doubt that there will be some classic games and some great goals. i think as well, when you assess it, john, you have to acknowledge, and this is interesting when it comes to this question that i think qatar 2022 has forced sport to consider, is to whether or not these events act as a vehicle for change, can they do? the organisers would tell you that they can. and indeed, we have seen reforms when it comes to labour laws in qatar. a minimum wage has been introduced. the kafala system which effectively prevented workers from leaving without their employer s blessing has been dismantled. there have been regulations brought in in terms of working in the heat of the day. it s very hard to believe that those changes would have happened, were it not for the world cup being staged in qatar. dan roan, the bbc s sports editor. seven years ago, in
programme as well. if netanyahu does manage to pull together a coalition, that s not going to last long, is it? remember, he s on trial for corruption. now, these are allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust all of which, he denies but this has been what has helped to destabilise his position over the last four years or so. that trial is going nowhere, albeit that the other parties and his own are probably going to try and introduce laws that may help him swerve some of those allegations. again, something he says he won t do. you know, we have seen a move now where israelis have said, you know, enough of them will support netanyahu. because we ve seen a surge in far right support, that is probably enough to keep him in power for a while. 2022 fifa world cup is qatar! 60% of people in britain think it was a mistake.