Cape Town - It is ironic that with the World Cup just a heartbeat away, Sepp Blatter should declare that Qatar was a “mistake” and a “bad choice”.
After all, it happened under his watch as Fifa’s president and he should take responsibility for its indiscretions.
Now 12 years after Fifa made the decision, many experts believe it was a bad decision.
At the time, granting the Middle Eastern nation the hosting rights seemed like Fifa was carrying out its mandate to expand to new regions.
Instead, Blatter has outlined the role of former Uefa president Michel Platini in manipulating the vote after Fifa’s executive decided the US would be the preferred choice for the quadrennial football jamboree in 2022.
The build-up to Sunday’s kick-off at the 60 000-seater Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor has become increasingly toxic for football, its international administrator and the host nation.
It is far from the cherished ideal of celebrating the world’s biggest sporting spectacle.
There has been a relentless stream of accusations of human rights abuses and abject migrant labour practices.
Last year it was widely reported that since the construction of stadiums started a decade ago, 6 500 migrant workers had died in the county. It could be more.
Fifa, however, claims that there have only been 37 deaths during the construction of the World Cup stadiums as they continue to sportswash any concerns.
There are also major concerns regarding basic human rights, especially concerning women and the LGBTQ community.
This dark side of this tournament, therefore, could overshadow the 29-day football showpiece.
On the field of play, hosts Qatar are rank outsiders to win the opening match of this controversial World Cup against Ecuador. On the world stage, the tiny Persian Gulf nation remains an unknown quantity.
Qatar were automatically placed into Group A after qualifying as hosts and will be desperate to prove they are worthy of competing on the grandest of stages, despite never qualifying for the tournament in their history.
They might succeed, but whether this World Cup will be remembered for the beautiful game, or a legacy of controversy will be left to the annals of time.
Cape Times