Sport

Elaine Byrne: Qatar’s appalling record corrupts joy and celebration of World Cup

From the thousands of migrant workers who have died to the second-class status of women, the host country is so problematic it will be almost impossible to watch the football tournament

The 2022 World Cup final will be held in the 80,000-capacity Lusail stadium outside Doha. The new stadium looks like a golden vessel and reportedly cost just shy of $800 million to construct. Picture: Getty

I still have the jumper my mother knitted me for Italia 1990. It is white with the Irish flag, a football, and the word Éire emblazoned on the chest. It must have taken her ages to do.

Although I was still in primary school, I can remember where I sat in our pub on a rural Wicklow crossroads to watch the games. I know who was there and what they wore, even though it was ...