No one can remember a World Cup like it. For many of us it feels weirdly out of place, and fans are as confused as they are divided about a tournament that interrupts the domestic season and takes place in a nation with barely any football culture and, worst of all, stands accused of a string of human rights abuses.
There is little about the Qatar regime’s handling of the migrant workers who built the stadiums, or its treatment of minorities that fits with how our football culture likes to see itself, which is about inclusion, diversity and fair play.
But, as our columnist Simon Barnes says, this isn’t the first time the World Cup has been hosted by an authoritarian regime with a bad human rights record – and officials have argued that you can’t blame football for the wrongs in Qatar. Football is the world’s game. It belongs to us all.
With that view in mind, television is clearing the schedules for four weeks of international football – and we’re here to help you get the most out of the coverage. On our wall chart you will find a broadcast guide to all the matches, and a dream team of BBC and ITV pundits marks your card for the month ahead.
Will England go one better than when they reached the semi-final in 2018? Will Wales make the knock-out stages in their first World Cup since 1958? Will Qatar 2022 end up as more than a footnote in footballing history?
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Also in this week’s Radio Times:
- David Baddiel on the lack of Jewish representation on television, how authentic casting of minorities doesn’t apply to Jews and why Bar Mitzvah Boy, 45 years on, is still the best representation of ordinary British Jews he’s seen on TV.
- Welsh movie star and singer Luke Evans on coming out at the start of his career, recruiting Nicole Kidman and Charlotte Church to sing with him, playing Scrooge, unfulfilled dreams of being a hairdresser and shopping in Lidl.
- Kristen Bell on suffering anxiety after leaving The Good Place, how her new co-star Ben Platt was delivered as a birthday present and her kids never letting her sing, even though she starred in Frozen.
- Jared Harris on his father Richard Harris’s legendary career, Hollywood hellraiser image, drinking problems, hidden insecurities and unpredictable behaviour.
Read more:
- Who will win the World Cup 2022? Every team ranked
- Best players at the World Cup 2022: Top five stars in Qatar
- World Cup 2022 kits ranked from worst to best – in pictures
Looking for something to watch? Check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide.
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