I love football. My father was a professional footballer from the 1980s until his retirement in the mid-1990s, around the time I turned five. His passion for the sport did not translate into any great skill on my part, but it did foster a lifelong love of watching the game.
My first memories of the World Cup hark back to the 1998 tournament in France. I was only seven, but I still felt the magnitude of the occasion and enjoyed the handful of matches I watched. My first true World Cup experience, however, came in 2002, when Japan and South Korea hosted the tournament.
At 11 years old, I was invested enough to want to watch every game. The time difference helped. The earliest fixtures kicked off in the morning UAE time, while the latest were over by 8pm.
I was so engrossed that I kept a journal of every match. I wrote down starting line-ups, goal scorers and final results. It made the experience even more immersive in the days before social media, when following football still felt tangible and analogue.
Since then, the World Cup has remained one of the highlights of the sporting calendar. While I stopped journalling matches long ago, I still tried to watch as much of every tournament as possible, savouring the goals, storylines and moments of drama regardless of who was playing.
Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which is being staged across three countries for the first time, I find myself feeling something unfamiliar: indifference.
There are several reasons for that; my biggest concern is that the host nation that will stage the majority of the tournament's matches is the US. Over the past year, it has been difficult to ignore the policies, travel restrictions and rhetoric that have left many visitors feeling unwelcome.
That feeling has only intensified as teams and officials have begun arriving for the tournament. Some have reportedly faced extensive questioning at the border, while Omar Artan, a referee from Somalia – widely regarded as one of Africa's best officials – was denied entry despite holding a diplomatic passport intended to facilitate travel.
An event on the scale of the World Cup should be an opportunity to bring people together. It should be a celebration of cultures, identities and shared experiences, united through a love of football. When stories of exclusion and unequal treatment become part of the conversation, it diminishes what the tournament is supposed to represent.
That makes it all the more frustrating when viewed alongside the other two host nations. Canada and Mexico have embraced the occasion with the warmth and enthusiasm one would expect from countries welcoming the world to their doorstep. At times, it makes me wish they had been given the chance to host the tournament on their own.
I should stress that this is not a rejection of American culture. Far from it. I watch professional wrestling, follow IndyCar racing and occasionally tune into Nascar. There is much about the US that I admire and enjoy. My concerns are directed at the circumstances surrounding this tournament, not the country as a whole.
The other factor pushing me away is far less serious, but perhaps even more decisive: time.
Most matches will take place between 9pm and 6am UAE time. There was a point in my life when that would not have mattered. I would happily stay awake into the early hours or rearrange my sleep schedule to watch football.
In my mid-30s, though, every hour of sleep feels valuable. The thought of waking up before dawn to watch a group-stage match no longer fills me with excitement. More often than not, I would rather get a full night's rest and catch the highlights over breakfast.
Perhaps that says as much about me as it does the tournament. The older I get, the more selective I have become about how I spend my time. The 11-year-old me who meticulously filled notebooks with line-ups and score lines would probably be horrified by that admission.
Even so, I hope the tournament is a success for the fans who embrace it. For millions around the world, the World Cup remains a source of joy, excitement and connection. I hope it creates the kinds of memories that stay with people for decades.
Part of me envies the young fans who will experience that feeling for the first time. I remember exactly what it was like. This year, though, I'll be content to follow along from a distance.
