World Cup kicks off today, and I am really non-plussed about it.
I’m a proud Englishman. Love watching us in the rugby, in the cricket. Will support any Englishman in the darts, snooker, F1 and lawn bowls. But like many I have had a love/hate relationship with the English national team.
As a home and away Gooner, I found it hard to go from hating the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Gary Neville one weekend, to then cheer them on the week after just because the colour of their shirt had changed.
I have mellowed in recent years, but I still struggle to cheer a Harry Kane goal, and when watching England my first thought is “I hope the Arsenal players do well”.
For decades, England have been boring to watch.
Friendlies, qualifiers and the Nations league really do not get my blood flowing. But by the time the summer tournaments come round I usually show a flutter of excitement.
A mixture of good weather and it being an excuse to meet the lads I go week in, week out for a boozy session usually ends up increases my interest for tournaments – although I do despise the non-football fans who look down their noises at us for 11 months on the year only to put on a £5 Tshirt from Asda and fake interest.
This World Cup, however, I have almost no interest in.
A key factor is the location.
We have long been a voice against sportswashing.
I hate the way F1 has been going for some time. Liv Golf can do one. As can the Olympics that sell their soul to the highest bidder. But football has topped it all off with back to back World Cups in Russia and Qatar.
The World Cup has no business being hosted in the middle-east.
Millions paid into secret bank accounts to secure a World Cup in the hope it will show a state with backwards views in a good light.
Built on slavery, with thousands dying, it really has taken too long for media and others to talk out on it.
In my opinion, national teams should be boycotting the World Cup.
But here we are, the season suspended for 6 weeks, just so some old men can make some a few million in secret payments.
This World Cup is corrupt and everything that is wrong with modern football.
Normally I would disappear to the pub during work hours to catch the game. Tomorrow I will not be upset that I’m missing it.
I will write a few blogs on England, and I will take an interest in how our players get on. But ultimately I can not wait for Boxing Day and real football to restart.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
The biggest reason you give to boycott the world cup is reason enough to boycott everything in England that built it’s civilisation on the back of slaves and mass murders for centuries in the name of Queen, country and religion. It’s the world cup not the European cup.
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Good post expresses well what many of us gooners (and other football fans think).
We don’t even have to over anaylse this do we? It’s reached a pinnacle of digustingness and fakeness. There are no grey areas here. As you state as simply as possible – all decent social democratic and liberal footballing nations should have and could have boycotted this bullshit facade. The takeover of the world’s major sports (and football clubs) by feudalistic middle eastern countries in order to enable their “sportswashing” has finally reached its zenith. Let’s hope this is the final straw and there is a push back.
Yep roll on boxing day!
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