With the World Cup quickly approaching, you might start to notice that your students and peers are losing interest and disconnecting from your class. Their minds are on the sporting event of the year which will take place on Dec. 18. The world cup showcases 32 countries from all over the world. They will arrive this year in Qatar to go head to head in a bracket-style competition; the winner will be rewarded $42 million and the World Cup trophy.

This year’s location is proving to be controversial. Qatar is now under scrutiny for its homophobic laws. However, in an interview with a student who would like to remain anonymous, they said “How come we are just now reviewing Qatar? Why weren’t we all concerned with the decision when it was made in 2010? Simply because our generation only likes looking like they are helping.”
Amongst the homophobic laws, there will also be very strict laws about weaponry and any illegal substance (including alcohol). If attending fans are caught with these substances, they will be fined and thrown out of all stadiums where the matches will be held.

You might just be thinking “this World Cup will be like every other; there’s nothing important about it.” However, this demeanor would be very incorrect; you see in multiple interviews, football stars like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, Manuel Neuer, Luis Suarez, Ángel Di Maria, Anderson Silva, Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira ComM, Luka Modric, and Sergio Ramos. When players say this, it usually means that they will be retiring permanently from football; a very sad story seeing that Neymar de Silva Santos Júnior, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo are considered the best in football.

Off of that very melancholy note, the first match of the World Cup will be on November 20, 2022, and the two countries battling it out will be Qatar and Ecuador.