This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 26, 2022 - January 1, 2023

It was held in the wrong place at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. Yet, like its main attraction, Lionel Messi, the Qatar Fifa World Cup is being widely hailed as the greatest of all time (GOAT).

It did not just surpass expectations, it lapped them; it didn’t just prove the doomsayers wrong, it routed them. The football was fabulous: just the right number of shocks to get our attention, but not too many to dilute the quality for the business end.

From flawed inception to epic finale, this most controversial of tournaments was full of contradictions. At times, it seemed there were two events running concurrently — one on the field and one off it. Argentina may have won the football, but Qatar won the political football. Fifa? The governing body made money but lost an awful lot of face.

Two — and certainly three — wrongs don’t make a right, and it is a formula that will never be repeated. But why football’s voice was heard so clearly above the background noise was because many of the perceived negatives turned into positives — at least for this tournament.

Even its much-derided timing and location — a “miniature-sized” host nation — may have been factors in its success. Not that they excuse Fifa for plonking it there or justify the outrageous cost, both human and financial.

But the 22nd World Cup provided a welcome diversion for much of humanity at the end of a difficult year. It didn’t solve the cost-of-living crisis or halt global warming, but its remarkable spillover effect united the Arab world, however fleetingly.

Football reaffirmed its status as the planet’s favourite sport with record viewing figures in every participating country from Japan to the US — even for the group games. The total global audience is expected to be far in excess of the 3.572 billion, “more than half the world” that Fifa claimed watched in 2018.

The game itself displayed a more attacking style with a welcome levelling up between the haves and have-nots. And after Gen Z have been accused of watching only highlights, it was exciting enough to send their attention spans soaring beyond 30 seconds.

It was helped by both a storybook script and a favourable alignment of the megastars. Even at 35, Messi had unfinished business: he still craved the only trophy missing from his collection and this would be his last shot at it. The little maestro became the world’s sentimental favourite.

Meanwhile, his anointed successor, France’s Kylian Mbappé, was also on a mission — to retain the trophy he won four years ago and show the world he’d be a worthy heir.

It was as if someone up there was directing this thriller: in time-honoured Hollywood tradition, there was a shock opening defeat for Argentina to ramp up the anxiety. But thereafter, the two Paris Saint-Germain teammates locked on to sharing their date with destiny.

The hero had to win and Messi duly achieved his life’s ambition, while for Mbappé there was the consolation of scoring a hat-trick as a losing finalist. The climax had enough drama to warrant health warnings.

The Argentine also scooped the Golden Ball (best player) award and the Frenchman picked up the Golden Boot (most goals). It was as close to win-win as you can get, while many France fans didn’t begrudge Messi his ultimate reward.

Following the Olympic tradition, Fifa declared it the best World Cup ever and, on the face of it, it was hard to argue. It had the best stadiums — eight of the top 20 in the world — apart from the best playing conditions and best-behaved fans, all capped by the best final in history.

Who would have believed all this when it elbowed its way into the middle of the European season, taking its stars hostage for a month, before dumping them, blindfolded, back on a roadside in worse condition than they found them? Happy Christmas!

That’s how it seems to clubs who only now are discovering the true cost of the disruption and the extent of wear and tear on their stars. If it distorts the title races, the World Cup will cop the blame.

But it may have helped the tournament. Instead of arriving after an end-of-season break as is the norm, players were parachuted straight into action with barely a week between their last club game and the first for their country.

Those with relatively minor injuries missed out but the fit ones hit the ground running. The group games looked all the better for having players who were battle-ready and the tempo was set: it never slackened.

Then there was the size of the country. The World Cup is supposed to be a moveable feast, spreading football’s gospel around the world to an ever-growing audience. Before a catchment area of three million and only slightly bigger than Selangor, the missionary aspect was minimal. But for the players, it was paradise.

Instead of long-haul flights of up to five hours — as there was in Russia in 2018 and will be in North America in 2026 — the longest journey in Qatar was 45 minutes by road.

Even with VIP privileges and business class, in-tournament air travel is a hassle that players dread. Removing it meant more training, more recovery, more rest — and better performances. And the temperature — cooled by stadium air conditioning — was perfect.

A levelling up between traditional powerhouses and Africa and Asia was already under way. The elite clubs all boast a generous leavening of talent from beyond Europe and South America. Notably, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has invested heavily in youth and infrastructure.

A devil’s advocate would point to the above and say an exciting final was long overdue. But Morocco’s success was not the only “coincidence”. On the other hand, there were still some serious flaws and nothing will ever remove the stench that preceded it.

There were a lot of empty seats — not surprising when the draconian laws deterred hundreds of thousands of European fans. Take England, a traditional bellwether of fan attendance — 100,000 fans went to Germany in 2006; just 5,000 were in Qatar.

Not surprisingly, the atmosphere at some games suffered. One report claimed the tension-filled England-France quarter-final “felt like a pre-season friendly”. And although the booze ban may have made people feel safer, behaviour was improving anyway: in Qatar not a single England fan was arrested. But in Russia, there were only three and in Brazil, just 22.

There were some tricky moments with rainbow banners, Germany’s mouth-covering protest and Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s embarrassing monologue. And Fifa were rudely reminded of who was really in charge with the host’s last-minute about-turn on alcohol.

It has much to ponder as it counts its US$7.5 billion (about RM33 billion) profit from the tournament — up by US$1 billion from the 2018 tourney. But Qatar will have much more to celebrate: it’s ridden roughshod over the complaints and is now a serious player on the global map.

Sport has been used to upgrade the infrastructure of the entire country and a future bid for the Olympics no longer looks fanciful. Against all odds and some stubborn stains, sports washing has worked and international football is grateful for the rinse, having never shone more brightly.

Bob Holmes is a long-time sportswriter specialising in football

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