This decision has to be one of the biggest disgraces in world sport, let alone football. That bloody executive committee will be sending the showcase of sport to a country of blazing heat, minimal space and potential security fears.

People will say I’m being a sore loser with sour grapes, but at this point of time I seriously could care less because we all know that this decision wasn’t made for football.

Sure, Qatar is an opportunity to unite the Arab world and take the World Cup to a place it’s never been. But for goodness sake, the main focus is the four-week event of football not the cultural effects. No doubt those effects are important as seen in South Africa this year, but give me a break.

In my opinion, and that only, I believe FIFA saw the remarkable, perhaps, ‘monetary potentials’ of Qatar and used the whole ‘first time it’s been there’ excuse as a smoke screen over it all. Cause let’s face the facts; Qatar is as rich as anyone out there. This talk about ‘fully air conditioned stadiums’ is all fine and bloody dandy, but how can such claims be made some twelve years out of the event? Does that mean all games are played indoors? Are you having a laugh? What about the fans who won’t be staying in these stadiums for the whole length of the tournament?

Not only this, but when FIFA released their technical reports a few days ago, analysing each bid, they said Qatar was a major concern. Yet in some few days and I’m sure many cheques later, this executive committee does a one-eighty so to speak? Qatar doesn’t even allow alcohol! What the bloody hell is with that? I’m not saying that’s bad, but you’ve got to face the fact that Europe, arguably the biggest football landscape in the world, loves a pint or two before, after and during games. You’re going to take that away from them and the world FIFA?

The country is ranked in the one-hundreds and has never even been to a World Cup before for crying out loud. And the fact that we were finding out the results of not only 2022, but also Russia 2018, some sixty minutes and more before the actual decisions just stinks of corruptness.

I like many other Australians in the world am just venting in a way, but Australia and even the USA had stronger bids than Qatar. By all means good luck to Qatar, I’ll be watching come 2022 and for the sake of football I hope it goes well.

But deep down, we all know FIFA is getting more deceitful with each day.

SBS Journalist Craig Foster came out and made some valid points about the way our final presentation went down and the fact that our country doesn’t quite yet understand football. The fact that by bring Hugh Jackman, Paul Hogan and Elle Macpherson down doesn’t mean we just waltz in and get the Cup. To him it was like a ‘tourism ad’ the way this cup was run.

I think he makes plenty of valid comments. Perhaps we aren’t ready yet, it’s not our time.

But the fact is Australia only registered one vote. One vote out of twenty-two. Japan and South Korea registered seven votes collectively and they’ve already had a World Cup eight years ago. That just doesn’t seem right.

This voting system seems to be absolutely flawed and people are so scared by FIFA and the consequences they can create that up until now, minimal questions have been asked of them and all the crap that goes on behind closed doors. For now, all we can say is congratulations Russia and Qatar.

Let us now band together, reunite and make sure that football continues to grow as a sport in Australia.

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