The Greatest Show on Earth

The wait is finally over. The excitement throughout the world is palpable, the host Qatar is ready. The stage is set. The of the FIFA World Cup 2022 edition in Qatar, after four years, will kick-off today, at 10 PM Bangladesh time.

The first ever World Cup held in the Arab world—and the first staged outside of the northern hemisphere’s summer window—gets underway at the 60,000-capacity Al Bayt Stadium, where hosts Qatar take on Ecuador in Group A.

Already we can see football frenzy all around us. From today, newspapers, TV, and social media will be full of football stories and fantasies.

It marks the start of a month-long footballing extravaganza that embattled Qatari organisers desperately hope will be remembered for events on the field rather than off it.

So far discussions about the tournament proper has struggled to emerge from the long shadow cast by allegations of corruption, mistreatment of migrant workers and criticism of Qatar’s human rights record.

This year’s edition of the tournament is notable for being the likely swan song of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, two of the finest talents ever to grace the football field that we have been privileged to watch over the past two decades.

Not only that, but this year’s field is unusually even, and any one of over half a dozen countries has a good chance of hoisting the trophy.

From the moment till the next month, 32 top football playing nations will fight till the end for ultimate glory, alongside holders France, who will be out to defend their title.

The second ever tournament on Asian soil is not only a relief for fans around the world, as it is happening after a gap of two-year long Covid-19 pandemic, but this Qatar edition is also a especial one in terms of uniqueness despite controversies.

In the last two years, numerous global sports events were halted, cancelled, and held without fans in the stadiums. But thankfully the situation now permits the “Greatest Show on Earth” to take place in the way it deserves.

There were calls from many fans, players and organisations to boycott the first ever World Cup in the Arab world amid concerns about human rights abuses.

But when the tournament itself is bigger than anything, almost all of the three million available tickets have been sold and Qatar is ready to welcome an estimated 1.2 million fans from across the globe.

The World Cup, however, has always had a special resonance in Bangladesh even though we have never qualified for the tournament. In fact, there is a fair argument to be made that World Cup excitement is greater in Bangladesh than most other neutral countries. Certainly, few other neutral countries exceed Bangladesh in passion and enthusiasm.

With the advent of the World Cup, Bangladesh swathes itself in blue, white, yellow, green, white, black and red. Virtually every country has supporters and every flag is represented here in Bangladesh.

But if we look at our football we feel utterly frustrated as we are nowhere near the international standards.

A significant number of Bangladeshi football fans are now in Qatar during to watch the World Cup and watch the matches physically whereas we see a lack of interest in local football among the sports-lovers.

Football was the most popular game in our country until the 1980s. It was a totally different scenario then when spectators used to crowd around Dhaka Stadium to watch the Dhaka Derby– the Abahani-Mohammedan clash. Newspapers used to publish special reports on the match. Those days are gone.

Unfortunately local football has lost that flair. Due to our consistently poor performance, football in Bangladesh has also lost its magic. We hope this World Cup will rekindle the old passion and enthusiasm in our national football.

Be that as it may, this coming month promises to be something quite special for football fans. We hope that you will find the time to enjoy as much of the action as possible and you feast yourself on the footballing extravaganza ahead.