Gary Lineker maintains that he is reporting - not supporting - the World Cup in Qatar as he admitted to feeling uneasy about the tournament.
The hosts will kick things off when they play Ecuador on Sunday with England beginning their campaign a day later. Issues surrounding the tournament in Qatar, as well as their successful bid over a decade ago, continue to be major talking points, as do the country's attitudes towards modern day issues.
Lineker will lead BBC's coverage of the World Cup and is aware that, when the football starts, he must not stop highlighting issues away from the pitch as he tries to avoid being complicit in sportswashing projects.
He said: "This is our job to come and report it and show people what it's about at home and hopefully in a fair way. There are significant issues around this World Cup, obviously with human rights issues, what has happened with the building of the stadiums and workers' rights and homophobia and various things they have here.
"I am accustomed to it as I've spent most of my life in the build-up to World Cups talking about issues other than football, but when the football starts you tend to stop talking about it. But that is how sportswashing works so you have to be careful."
England players and Gareth Southgate have continually been quizzed on the moral issues surrounding the World Cup. Harry Kane will wear a rainbow captain's armband, despite the threat of a fine, as the squad look to play their part in highlighting the key issues.
"It's a delicate balance between sportswashing and trying to make change. We will raise the issues at hand but will it really make a difference?" Lineker added. "We don't and the footballers don't get asked where the World Cup is. Footballers can never win, if you speak up and make a stand, people say stick to football. If you don't say anything, they say why aren't you speaking up? And we don't necessarily get this in other sports."
Former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter has confessed that awarding the World Cup to Qatar was a "mistake" with Lineker suggesting the organisation didn't do enough background on the country with several key figures since sanctioned.
He claimed: "That was a real lack of self-awareness from Fifa to say that. We have all seen the documentaries now, even though we felt it at the time. Most of the people who were involved in the decision to bring the World Cup here are in jail or expelled from Fifa or fined or banned so we all know. We are stuck with it but I guess we will try and make the most of it."
