Another year, another chance to reflect on what to wish for in 2023 and beyond. It’s easy to get cynical and assume things will never change (or at least not for the better). And, indeed, some things take a long time to come to fruition. And some never do. Which is why if you look at my past wishes you’ll see some things coming up time and again.
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But when you care about this sport and its community — from fans to players — you can’t help but want to continue to wish.
Gab’s wishes from: 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014
1. That we don’t forget how we got to Qatar 2022 (and Russia 2018): via a corruptible mechanism of favors, bribes and political interference. And we learn lessons from it. No, I’m not just pointing the finger at Qatar and Russia; most of the bidders — including those who often pretend to be squeaky-clean, like Australia, England and the United States — also engaged in highly dubious ethical behavior. It’s all there in the Garcia report and it’s not a coincidence that more than half the people who chose the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts were later banned or indicted. FIFA has reformed the mechanism for choosing World Cup hosts — no longer a committee of 25, but all 211 member associations vote — and, on paper, it should make the process harder to rig. But we need vigilance and transparency as well, otherwise we’ll always be vulnerable.
2. That no country the size of Qatar ever be allowed to host a World Cup on its own ever again, because the tournament should be about bringing football to as many fans as possible and leave the greatest possible legacy. I know some people liked the whole “compact World Cup” thing and having eight venues within an hour’s drive. I didn’t. It’s not a knock on Qatar and, in a perfect world, it would have shared this with other countries in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, maybe Iran and Oman too. (It may have been open to it as well, until the Saudi/UAE blockade made it impossible.) Spreading out a World Cup over a larger area (and population) may be inconvenient for journalists like me, but it ensures more people get to experience the event, leaves a greater footprint in terms of legacy and doesn’t end up wasting as much money on stadiums and infrastructure that may never be used again (or that later get dismantled). This was not an issue for wealthy Qatar, but it is for 99% of the world’s countries.
3. That the system used to determine injury time in Qatar 2022 become commonplace. Personally, I’d get rid of the running clock altogether. But since that’s not going to happen, I much prefer a system like this, in which the time to be added is calculated by the fourth official based on objective measures: goal celebrations, injuries, VAR interventions, etc. It makes far more sense than the status quo, with referees adding arbitrary amounts at the end of each half. The next step? Make the fourth official’s calculation public: X amount for this goal, Y amount for that goal, Z amount for the injury, etc.
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19. That Manchester United find new owners who will treat the club better than the Glazers did. I’m not just talking about the poor decisions since Sir Alex Ferguson left or the massive dividends they paid themselves or the staggering amounts of interest the club had to pay because of the debt they saddled it with. I’m also talking about fans not having to feel like they are being fleeced by the people who own the club they love. Owners are, above all, stewards of institutions that existed before they came along and will continue to exist after they’re long gone.
20. That Paris Saint-Germain remain in good hands if (when?) the Qataris sell up or scale back their investment. They insist they’re committed to the club long-term but, frankly, it’s hard to see PSG operating at the highest level without the current owners bankrolling losses year after year. And now that the World Cup has come and gone, how much longer will Qatar continue to subsidize losses? Whatever happens, the European landscape benefits from having major cities and strong brands such as PSG competing for silverware.
21. That Joan Laporta hasn’t turned Barcelona into a giant house of cards by selling off future TV, commercial and media income. The Barcelona president insists it was necessary to pull the “economic levers,” as he calls them. But it feels like a massive and frankly unnecessary gamble to avoid being remembered as the “austerity” president. And the worst-case scenario is too grim to contemplate.
