FIFA: Exposure - Trailer (Netflix)
This is not the time to complain or whine, all in all it's a pretty reasonable job: sending the website to the World Cup in Qatar.
These are the moments that a young man dreams of when he chooses to work in sports journalism - in his imagination he sees himself walking slowly between stadiums with a backpack, getting free tickets to all the important games, sitting down comfortably and watching the events, and towards evening sitting with a glass of wine in his hotel room and cheering him on On the laptop are a few sentences about football, making a decent living and living modestly.
And again, I don't mean to complain or whine, there is no doubt that there are more difficult jobs in life, but sometimes things are not as simple as they seem, especially if you are an anxious person prone to unnecessary worries and disturbing thoughts, and are traveling to a demanding mission in a hostile country.
Right, fun.
But there is but.
Traveling to Qatar (Photo: GettyImages, Matthew Ashton - AMA)
God save us
Yes, this may be the source of the concern - Qatar, Doha, a Muslim country, supporting terrorism, funding Hamas, God bless us.
Even when traveling in Europe, I arrive suspicious, look to the sides and carefully check every suspicious type, so in Qatar?!
One can only imagine what thoughts will go through my mind upon landing, when I deposit my passport with the official at the border crossing, and he will look at the passport and look at me, see the inscription "Israel" and his cheeks will shrink at the sight of the evil Zionist standing in front of him, who knows what he is planning, who he is calling , on which red button he hums under the table.
And then when I arrive at the hotel, how will I sleep peacefully knowing that the receptionist is already planning the hijacking of the decade with his friends, and in fact at every corner I turn, will I be able to for a moment avoid the thought that everyone around me is plotting.
I am of course exaggerating, and not only because in such events there are increased security forces and a police presence everywhere, but mainly because the Qataris will try during the World Cup to present to the world an advanced, modern, rich and successful Qatar, and the last thing the authorities need now is an attack or a reminder to the world of the dangers of Islamic terrorism .
It is likely that the terrorist organizations were also instructed by the higher levels to take a short break for a month - not because they have become peacemakers but because it is better not to interfere with the government "showing the world who we really are", and at least that is what we are all building on when we arrive in Qatar: that at least this month, when all eyes are on them, they They will really try to protect us.
Yes, we can only rely on this, on the maturity and containment of terrorist organizations.
What is the role of the messenger?
But this very fear clouds the whole experience, mainly because it is impossible to get rid of this elephant in the room: the knowledge that choosing Qatar for hosting is wrong and unfortunate, and originates from sin and bribery.
And here comes the real anguish of all sports fans, their representatives in the media and of course the emissaries to Qatar: how much to deal with the moral injustice, and to remind again and again how Qatar won the tender for hosting in a very strange and distorted way, even though it had no stadiums, tradition or a proper summer, because here it has come, In the middle of winter, in the middle of the season, and everyone is wondering what this puzzling break is, how they let it happen and why Qatar in particular.
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To continue with the moral injustice and the unbearable corruption, or to go back to talking about football?
Foreign workers in Qatar (Photo: Reuters)
Because when the question of the coverage of the tournament comes up, the dilemma is what is right.
Not only what the audience wants, but what our role is.
Should we continue to mention and bring up the corruption of FIFA and its officials, the crime in the construction of the stadiums and the exploitation of the foreign workers, the fact that senior officials in the country asked the LGBT community not to stand out too much in order to "respect the laws of the place", to raise and flood all the dirt - or is it already Getting annoying, boring, disturbing?
Aren't we already tired of this messing with the foreign officials who have been exploited, in FIFA and its corrupters, with human rights? Isn't it time to mess with the most watched sports tournament in the world, which produces eternal legends?
Or in other words, from the point of view of the concerned messenger: where to invest the energies?
Should the representatives of the media in Qatar continue to look for the relatives of the exploited workers and the families of the dead workers to hear about the horrors of the organization - or maybe it is better to look for the joy and highlight the great international celebration?
Which is more correct: to quote an unhappy verb, or a drunken Englishman celebrating?
Because at the end of the day, it's about football.
And the goal of soccer is a complex thing: as an entertainment product, the goal is to calm down the daily worries a little, to provide a short escape to a world of excellence and sportsmanship at its best, to be elated by the quality performances of the best players in the world.
At the same time, of course, the goal is to reflect a complex reality, that the game is a whole world, including being a business and dark conduct.
But how much can you bass?
And in general, how much to deal with this exhausting tension between Israelis and Arabs?
Should I report an encounter with a hostile Tunisian journalist?
About evil looks from the Qatari in the press center?
About the pressure I felt in my chest in front of the swarm of Saudi fans?
Or on the contrary, to publish a photo of me hugging with Iranian fans, after we discovered to our astonishment that "we are all brothers, we just want to watch football in peace"?
Legends, football, eternal moments.
But at some point is the messenger allowed to get bored? (Photo: GettyImages, Matthias Hangst)
Wait, what about me?
And there is also a personal side.
I'm not talking about the severe damage suffered by my account book with my wife, because here I have a debt that I doubt I will ever be able to repay.
It is estimated that the classic excuse of the working husband ("What do you think, that these trips are a lot of fun?") will not really be accepted this time, when you hear the neighbors cheering from the games, and assume that her partner is celebrating now.
There is also a one-year-old boy who is attached to his father and is about to suffer from traumatic abandonment anxiety, there will be severe homesickness and a feeling of loneliness (and where the hell do you get beer in this place?), but it is doubtful that this should bother our readers.
Of course, this is not an easy task from a professional point of view, but one of constant tension and running around.
These are long and intense days, which include a series of tasks, full of bureaucracy, sending texts, press conferences, transferring files, following the competitors, panicked instructions from the top, making quick decisions, etc.
But it is also doubtful whether it will lead to mercy.
Because in the end, there is a messenger here who goes on a rather pleasant mission, which mostly involves watching football, but he is also bothered by it: will I ever get bored of the games?!
After all, this is football, a game that could turn into an uneventful chewing gum.
And when a person watches four games every day, they may lose interest.
And here the fear grows: when will the enthusiasm fade?
Will I ever arrive at a stadium full of tens of thousands of fans, for an international match that two senior national teams have been preparing for for many years - and feel tired and overwhelmed, worn out and exhausted, wandering around on my phone with no interest?
Will the game become boring?
If I forget the boy who fantasized and cursed all his life to reach the World Cup, and now fulfilled his dream?
And what about the security man with the suspicious look, why is he looking like that?
FIFA World Cup
Tags
World Cup 2022