France champions of the world

[toonfalifekevbrown]

Great final.well deserved winners

[Ragatino]

Mushrooms of the world.

Yeah, I guess they deserve it. I don't give a **** about England. Didn't have a horse in the race. Decent spectacle. Over all a great world cup. Good matches and the fans seems to have a great time.

I watched 100% of the matches, deploying a dual screen set up during the last group stage matches, as I'm sure many others also did.

On to the next one. 2022.

Living & working in Qatar for the last 2 & a half years it's been amazing to see this proud little nation develop the infrastructure and facilities to host the worlds biggest sporting spectacle.

I'm sure many will p!ss on the prospect of 2022 like the did 2018 in Russia.

Let me tell you, the experience of a world cup here in Qatar will be first class. Life here is very comfortable. It's very safe, clean and organised.

It's amazing to be part of the fastest developing nation on earth as they battle against the blockade from their GCC neighbours.

See you all in the desert in a few years, unless I see you in passing at Christmas when I'm back visiting me mam & da.

[Jammy89]

I'm probably one of those that counts as pissing on it.

I just don't like it being in the middle of winter here - i get why it has to happen i just don't like it.

I also think they got it because of the total corruption of FIFA. Not a dig at Qatar, if everyone else is doing I can understand why they did but it's just systematic of how football is now at higher levels, whilst at ground roots being starved of money.

[Ragatino]

I'm probably one of those that counts as pissing on it.

I just don't like it being in the middle of winter here - i get why it has to happen i just don't like it.

I also think they got it because of the total corruption of FIFA. Not a dig at Qatar, if everyone else is doing I can understand why they did but it's just systematic of how football is now at higher levels, whilst at ground roots being starved of money.

I know what you mean, I was not please when they announced that it would be held I winter, but, then I moved out here for work & experienced my first summer in 2016.

Today I was on the way to work and the car was telling me that it was 47 degrees outside.

Next month is predicted to hit 52-55 degrees (August last year we had a couple of days that my iPhone was telling me 'it feels like 59). So a summer world cup is out of the question.

However they did have the Gulf equivalent of the Champions League final last year before the other GCC countries decided to isolate Qatar. The match was held in June in one of the new show piece stadiums, which is totally awesome & it's fitted with air conditions for the spectators the temperature for the match was a pleasant 24 degrees. Proof that with the right amount of cash & new technologies you can tame even the most hostile environment.

Also looking into the Qatar bid in more detail & chatting with a few of the other ex-pats who are working on the project it was cool to discover that several of the stadiums are being build as huge Meccano sets.

These stadia will be dismantled after the tournament and shipped to poorer countries in Africa & Asia and rebuilt on the Qatar's dollar!

So unlike the waste of millions in resources & man-power like the abandoned stadiums in the Amazon & other parts of Brazil (which no one had a problem with, or moaned about BTW) the Qatari world cup with actually give birth to a genuine legacy for nations which couldn't possibly consider, let alone afford to build a 600-800 million dollar stadium.

So it's not all bad.

How the European leagues pan out that year will be interesting to see.

[Kal]

Riots and looting in Paris, nowt new there then.