The upcoming Fifa World Cup in Qatar will continue to divide opinion throughout the tournament.
Ahead of the tournament there is uncertainty as to what will take centre stage, the football or the politics.
As football looks to take centre stage, the feeling heading into the World Cup is one of excitement and joy knowing the biggest sporting event is upon us – but those feelings are coupled with a sense of controversy.
There is a fine line between fans watching the showpiece for its footballing splendour and ignoring the scandals surrounding the tournament, and the individual highlighting the seemingly never-ending list of scandals surrounding hosts Qatar.
Several thousands of workers have died building the stadiums to host the tournament, security officials signed what they described as “slave contracts” and the expression of a different sexuality remains illegal on top of several other human rights issues.
There are two kinds of people, those that feel sport and politics should be separated and those that feel the two belong together.
When the first ball is kicked all will seem well and football fans will be invested in their nation’s progress.
However football fans cannot expect the issues around Qatar to be sidelined for the football to be the main focus.
Every goal, every victory, every celebration will probably be met by unavoidable concerns within Qatar.
And who knows what other issues may arise during the duration of the tournament?
The players and managers themselves have outlined different protests that they will be taking part in throughout the tournament.
But the reality is, as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp put it, the players should not be expected to lead every protest.
Of course the players had no role in Qatar being decided as hosts but they do have the power to influence a crowd to put pressure on those higher up.
But if a player refrains from protesting during the World Cup it does not mean they are on one side or the other.
For the first time in the history of the World Cup, the excitement for kickoff is met with a sense of guilt that the joys of the tournament will be stained with the blood of thousands of victims.
Image source: @FrontOfficeSports
