AS one of the more cerebral, political and socially aware former footballers working in the media today, it would have been no great surprise if Pat Nevin had politely declined to attend Qatar 2022.
The World Cup might be the biggest and best tournament in the beautiful game and Nevin may well have covered every one of them since France ’98 some 24 years ago.
These finals have, though, been mired in controversy from the moment that FIFA decided, amid widespread and well-founded accusations of bribery and corruption, to award them to the Gulf state way back in 2010.