Now that the semester is winding down, you may invariably find yourself with some extra time on your hands. So what do you do when you’ve finally recuperated from the sleepless nights spent cramming for finals? Some of you might want to relax with a glass of wine and some cheese. But for those of you who are inclined to be more active, cheese-rolling might be something to look into.
Yes. Cheese-rolling. The sport is pretty simple: all you have to do is find a wheel of cheese, roll it down the side of a hill – preferably, the steeper the better – and chase after it. If you think you’ve got what it takes to be a professional, you can head over to Gloucestershire, England to participate in their annual cheese-rolling competition which takes place in the spring. But if chasing cheese down a hill isn’t your cup of tea – maybe you're extremely lactose intolerant and can't come within 50 feet of cheese or maybe you're not too keen on ending up with a lot of bandages on your knees and some on your face – chasing a ball on a flat field might be more appealing.
Although that’s not to say that football (or soccer as the Americans call it) doesn’t have its fair share of injuries. But generally speaking, football is an overall more popular pastime than cheese-rolling. So if you happen to be an avid football fan, you might already be aware of the situation with the several upcoming World Cups: it has been determined that the 2014 tournament will be held in Brazil, 2018 in Russia, and 2022 in Qatar.
And the recent decision to let Qatar host the 2022 World Cup has caused quite the flurry of reactions. For one thing, Qatar will be the first Middle Eastern country to host the tournament so being in the international limelight will help foster cross-cultural understanding between the Middle East and the rest of the world.
Additionally, Qatar is promising to leave a substantial football legacy behind: some of the stadiums that the country is building for the World Cup will feature a design which can be dismantled after the tournament. Once the tournament is over, this special feature will allow Qatar to rebuild up to 22 stadiums in developing countries that looking to develop their football infrastructure.
But while Qatar is looking to create an impact on the history of football, the country itself doesn’t have a particular outstanding football history. Ranking as 113th in FIFA’s official rankings, Qatar has never actually qualified for the World Cup. This may be a potential problem as the host team traditionally advances past the opening playoffs. In fact, FIFA takes pains to ensure that the host team has a good chance of moving past the opening round by giving the host team a top seed.
However, before it needs to even worry about moving past the opening round, Qatar must first overcome its infrastructure and weather challenges. Since the country currently lacks a complete public transportation system and only has 3 of the 12 stadiums that FIFA requires its host countries to have, Qatar will have to commit to some serious building and infrastructure development to accommodate the players and spectators.
The scorching weather –temperatures can reach up to 50 °C (122 °F) in the summertime – is also challenging Qatar to incorporate innovative design mechanisms into its stadiums’ cooling systems. Which is why the country is looking to utilize solar energy to power the nine new, fully air-conditioned, and carbon-neutral stadiums that the country will be building.
If all goes according to plan, Qatar will finally be able to deliver on it’s promise of “[showcasing] the best traditions of the world’s greatest sporting event, while presenting astonishing innovations aimed at further propelling football’s worldwide growth” when 2022 finally rolls around.
What do you think? What are your opinions on Qatar winning the bid to host the 2022 World Cup?
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