Footballers and football fans and enthusiasts all around the world are not exactly rocket scientists, which might perhaps explain what happened between Egypt and Algeria last year over the infamous football match, and then what happened in Jordan this month during the game between Al-Faisali and Al-Wihdat, which is by all means shameful. After Russia was awarded the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup and Qatar the 2022 FIFA World Cup, I noticed that football-induced intelligence, or the lack thereof, has also spread to heads of states and officials who have nothing in common among them except sour grapes, or jealousy. President Obama, who is usually very cautious in what he says, proclaimed that the decision by FIFA's Executive Committee was wrong; he said this after Qatar defeated his county by a 14-8 vote. What is wrong instead is that the United States should host the World Cup again, when it had done so in 1994, and while there are more than one hundred nations seeking the glory of hosting the World Cup for the first time. The World Cup in the United States was one of the most successful World Cup championships to be ever held. Some 3.2 million fans attended the matches, still a record number, and the success of the championship also encompassed the economic aspect, perhaps outdoing the sports aspect. Britain was even more envious and angry. Even after sending Prime Minister David Cameron, Prince William and the footballer David Beckham, in addition to the bid team, Britain only received two votes: its own and that of Cameroon's representative in the Executive Committee Issa Hayato. The strangest thing about the British attacks against FIFA and the voting system, were the accusations of bribery and corruption published by British newspapers, while bearing in mind that BBC Panorama had exposed corruption cases involving six FIFA officials who wanted to sell their votes, including Hayato himself. Neither did London's newspapers omit mentioning that Russia is accused of football racism, and that there is an investigation underway into the conduct of Russian spectators who call black players in visiting teams ‘monkeys' and throw bananas at them. Russia responded by saying that it was Britain's failed bid for the World Cup that was behind the accusations of spying against Katia Zatuliveter, an assistant to Lib Dem MP Mike Hancock, and the attempts to deport her from the United Kingdom. But the worst comments I read were on Arab websites. For instance, this major and rare triumph was portrayed as being “an American and Zionist conspiracy and a major setback to the Islamic project, as it is the implementation of Condoleezza Rice's instructions to benefit Israel and distract Arabs with football away from their concerns, especially in Jerusalem.” The conclusion was that “The nation is without a Caliph or a leader, and it lives under American and Zionist hegemony when it comes to political decision, costing the nation rivers of blood every day…” Rivers of blood? Hold your horses, man! If there is any murder and blood, it is mostly inflicted by the known terrorists who kill other Muslims every day, when they fail to kill ‘Jews and Crusaders', and yet they still find those who justify their actions. The talk about a conspiracy would have been funny were it not for the opinion of many who want Arabs and Muslims to focus on the affairs of their religion and causes, and forget all else. To them, I say that I once read in the Prophet's biography that he saw a young man praying in his mosque at Medina. When he asked him how he was, the young man said that he agreed with his brother that he would pray on both their behalves, and that the brother would work to support both their families. The Prophet then said: Your brother is more devout than you are. Congratulations to Qatar and to us for the football victory. All I have left is to make some comparisons: Russia, the largest country in the world, won the right to host the 2018 World Cup, while one of the world's smallest countries won the right to host the 2022 World Cup. Also, temperatures in Russia may plummet to below 30 degrees Celsius, and in Qatar, they may soar to 50 degrees Celsius. While spectators in Russia may need to travel on board a plane to go from one stadium to another, and cross a few time zones, spectators in Qatar will be able to walk between stadiums. The plan in Qatar is to build 12 stadiums, including the principal stadium which will have a capacity of 86 thousand spectators, all within an area of 30 square kilometers. The Football World Cup is held in the summer, usually in June and July, i.e. when temperatures are highest in Qatar. It is difficult to choose another time because the European club championships are held between August and May each year, and clubs will not accept to dispense with their best players so that they can join their national teams. Qatar promised to fit its stadiums with air conditioners, even when FIFA regulations require that the games take place in open stadiums. However, the technology that will be available in 12 years will be adequate to make Qatar's promise materialize. Once again, congratulations to Qatar and to us. Winning the right to host the championship is an honor to all Arabs, and all I want to say to the others is that they are having sour grapes. [email protected]
