World Cup finals draw in Qatar puts spotlight on a tournament like no other

play

The World Cup draw Friday is the bell that signals the end of a race that began more than two decades ago. The Gulf state, poor in square miles, population and name recognition, but rich in per capita GDP and ambition, decided to make sports one of the central planks of its development.

When the oil and natural gas run out, sports would provide some sort of legacy for the country. It was just one part of the strategy, but in some ways it was the most significant.

- Ogden: How the World Cup contenders are shaping up

- World Cup finals draw: Date, time, format, seeds

- World Cup: Who has qualified and who is still in contention

The most significant step in the journey was when the World Cup was awarded to them. Three of the 25 ExCo members were suspended for corruption before the vote even took place, another 11 who voted that day were subsequently banned, prosecuted or suspended, and Sepp Blatter was ousted a few years later.

Things get real now.

The draw Friday will determine how the 32 nations will line up. Three spots are still to be determined because of a war and a Pandemic that have gotten in the way of real life. There will be contests by Australia, Australia, Australia, Australia, Australia, Australia, and Costa Rica vs. New Zealand. Fans in 37 countries can still hope for a spot in the World Cup, even though most of the nations have been eliminated.

When the Biggest Show in Sports kicks off in November, what will they find? The World Cup is unlike any other.

We are used to countries hosting World Cups, but this is a tournament held in a single city. The majority of the population of 2.5 million live in the metropolitan area of the country. Seven of the eight venues are within a couple of miles of the city limits. 30 miles away is the one that is not Al Khor. In the history of the game, never before has so much stuff been concentrated in so little space.

The World Cup is being held in a place that feels so new, so unmoored from the constraints of history and football culture.

Since the Stone Age, people have been living here, but the nation only achieved independence in 1971 and was ruled by other countries. It was a blessing that independence coincides with the discovery of oil and natural gas. It was spared from being taken over by foreigners, and suddenly found itself with a blank slate in terms of development and cash.

It feels like a work in progress, even though it is bigger and bolder today than it was 20 years ago. The stadiums themselves, not the mega-malls filled with familiar brands, are the only tangible things that are older than the turn of the millennium. Most of them look like what you would expect them to look like, but one (Stadium 974) deserves credit for being innovative, as it was built entirely from shipping containers and will be disassembled after the tournament.

They also contribute to the air of impermanence and rootlessness by being located in a country that has sports and entertainment, sponsors and politics.

- ESPN+ viewers' guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more

- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

That is an unfair criticism. Russia, Brazil, South Africa, and Germany were powerful global country brands because they had strong and distinct footballing cultures. There was an identity that people were familiar with and which the tournament built on. That is not the case in Qatar. To many, they are what the world chooses to project on them: a Gulf state with an absolute ruler, garish luxury constructions and designer stores, and a nation that mistreats migrant workers. Is it fair? Probably not.

Thanks in part to the spotlight the World Cup has brought, migrant worker rights and working conditions, as well as the strides they have made in terms of women's rights, democratic process, education and, especially, relative to their neighbors, would be pointed out by the state of Qatar. There is still more work to be done. If the World Cup is to have any purpose for the country, they will need to get better at telling their story to the rest of the globe.

This is the last lap and the bell has rung. It's time to make it count.