LTL Qatar is a country that is half the size of South Yorkshire. 95% of the population come from other countries. Despite what you read in the British press, there are gay people who have a "visible" lifestyle in that country not only amongst my partner's circle but also noticeable amongst staff working in shops and restaurants. As I said, I have been there twice this year and it is far from the repressive regime described in the UK. It is not good but the press is pretty poor at outlining the positives. I went there with a closed notion of what it would be like but I was laergely impressed albeit disturbed by the somewhat artificial nature of it. If you are a fan and behave yourself, you will have a good time. I am not happy about the way workers are treated and this is by far the most visible concern a visitor would have. By contrast, you can visit the souk and find it far safer than shopping in Southampton as well as being much cleaner. I would also add that I had no problem personally with the Qatari;s. They tend to keep temselves to themselves but they are extremely polite and respectful. I found the hospitality element in Qatar extremely professional and welcoming . Most of the people you will encounter either come from SE Asia or Africa. All are polite to a similar degree of say 1950's Britain. I am disappointed that the World Cup has disrupted out league season and that it is cost prohibitive. I think the cost element and difficulty in getting tickets will be something that will become increasingly apparent. Clearly the Blatter administration was corrupt and not fit for purpose. I would be far more upset over Russian hosting than Qatar which is a paragon of virtue in comparison. There is a lot to criticise Qatar for yet, by the same token, I think they have made big efforts to ensure this FIFA is a success. My gut feeling is that the low expectations will quickly be overturned.
I'm still fascinated to see how the logistics will work and with all the grounds being so close together and fans bound to meet regularly.
Ian, I’m very aware of Qatar and what it’s like, having done a lot of work in and with companies in Doha, where I also have many friends. You can take what you’ve said there and apply it to quite a few places in the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE, and though stricter in rules, even to Saudi Arabia). That’s not the point. The point is that all of those countries are playing the “we’re not so bad really” game (you’ll find that particularly with the PIF schemes in Riyadh) whilst continuing to run deeply repressive regimes, with extremely dubious human rights abuses.
The Qatari football ambassador describing homosexuality as “damage to the mind” is OK with you then, Ian?
It's fine LTL, because the Qataris are polite and the souks are clean so having repressive laws that are a direct threat to some of the fans who may have visited the country are just a small matter. I'm sure they'll be polite to any fans who break their medieval laws just by being themselves. And we should all forget that the whole decision to award it to Qatar was down to bribery and corruption. And a winter World Cup is such a marvelous idea as it only slightly screws up the fixtures in almost every major league. But apart from that, everything is going to be wonderful.
I think I was replying to Ian's reply to this post... "Their attempts to recruit ‘spy’ fans would heavily suggest that there’s no interest in changing…" It all gets so confusing, when you're easily confused like me
So who will be in the England squad? GK Ramsdale, Pope and Pickford DF Trippier, Walker, Maguire, Stones, Shaw, Coady, Dier, Alexander-Arnold MF Saka, Rice, Phillips, Bellingham, Mount, Foden, Henderson, Grealish FW Kane, Sterling, Rashford, Abraham, Toney That's 24. Then probably Tomori or Guehi plus one other maybe Ward-Prowse or Bowen?
Whether or not Prowse goes depends on whether Phillips is fit imo, unless Gallagher has pulled ahead of him at the last min.
Southgate isn't one to choose players based on form, otherwise half the players from the Euro 2020 squad wouldn't be going.
Southgate tends to favour sticking by players in rough patches bar a couple of exceptions. Prowse has been in the England squad pretty much the whole way through WC qualifying so I think he still has a decent chance even if he is having a poor season so far.
