The prospect of a winter World Cup in the Arabian desert has left some commentators feeling cold about what is typically the greatest show on the sporting calendar.
And while the kickbacks and the corruption, the human rights scandals and stadium sagas that have plagued the build-up to the tournament will rightly dominate the news cycle, those that seek solace in sports will find time to enjoy the spectacle.
It might seem a first world indulgence to focus on football being played in glittering new stadiums against the backdrop of allegations of exploitation and abuse of those who built them.
But once the first whistle blows in Qatar on Sunday, the necessary work of unravelling the motivations and consequences of FIFA’s hugely controversial decision to award the tournament to a country known more for its patchy human rights record than any prior association with the game will, rightly or wrongly, take a back seat.
Football has always been a place where the worries of the world can be displaced, however temporarily, by the escapist drama on the field.
Cayman’s league of nations
The World Cup will be followed avidly in Cayman, where one of the most diverse populations in the world throws fans from virtually every participating nation together.
The early kick-off, given the eight-hour time difference with Qatar, means breakfast- and lunch-time fixtures.
Supporters from England, Brazil, Holland, Germany, Canada, the US and even Iran can rub shoulders in bars around the island as the action unfolds.
There are 140 different nationalities in Cayman and almost all of them are represented among the 32 teams competing.
Of those countries, few can lay claim to ‘ownership’ of the World Cup more than the Brazilians. The five-time winners go into this tournament as favourites.
Among the contingent of Brazilian expats living in Cayman, Marcos Tinoco is perhaps the most knowledgable.
The Cayman Islands Football Association’s general secretary will be travelling to Qatar this weekend along with president Alfredo Whittaker for the FIFA congress and to watch several games, including the opening ceremony.
Tinoco, a former national team coach, lived in Qatar in the 1990s, coaching a domestic team.
And he is less cynical than some about the opening of a new frontier for the tournament.
“The government there has always invested in sports. The Arabian culture is to invest a lot in sports, arts and music,” he said.“Even in the 90s the team that I coached in Qatar had a stadium and facilities that are much bigger than Truman Bodden.”
Tinoco backs Brazil
He believes the football pedigree in Qatar is better than some realise. But he doesn’t expect the host team to go far in the competition.“It is hard to get surprises in the World Cup,” he said, noting that even great football nations like France and Spain took decades to break the hegemony of the Brazilians, the Germans, the Italians and the Argentines.
With the exception of Italy, who failed to qualify, those super powers are among the likely favourites again.
France looks strong on paper, while Holland, England, Belgium and Portugal will all believe themselves capable of going deep into the knockout phase.
But Tinoco can’t look past his native Brazil as the likely champion.He was 4 years old in 1970 when Pelé led one of the greatest teams in tournament history to victory.
He was among the throngs of fans that greeted the 1994 team at Copacabana beach as they brought the tournament home again from the USA. Carlos Alberto Parreira, who coached the national team to glory, was one of his former teachers as an up-and-coming coach.
“That was a special moment. We hadn’t won for more than 20 years. There was a massive street party in Rio. It was an amazing, amazing time,” said Tinoco.
Since then his football journey has taken him to Qatar, the Cayman Islands, Tanzania, Trinidad and back to Cayman. He’s been to World Cups in Germany, Russia and his native Brazil, among others, and is looking forward to being there for this one, where he will take in eight or nine games, including Brazil’s group games.
He goes into the tournament with high hopes.
“I always think we are going to win. But when the ball rolls it can be a different story.”
Related Videos
