I was not altogether surprised on Friday to open my copy of The Guardian newspaper and find that the latest twists in the Qatar World Cup saga had combined with the approach of Sochi 2014 to provoke columnist Simon Jenkins into an elegant tirade.
These mega-events, Jenkins argued, “are about the crudest form of politics, that of national prestige.
“The athletico-military-industrial complex seems to have a mesmeric appeal to world leaders, an appeal expertly exploited by bodies like the [International Olympic Committee] (IOC) and FIFA.”