Imagine a World Cup in an honest, welcoming, sports-mad country, whose emerging soccer league would be transformed by local stadiums hosting global superstars. Imagine a World Cup where organisers are motivated primarily by a desire to put on a great party for the world. Imagine a World Cup in Australia.

Australia was among those who bid for the right to host the 2022 cup but was outmuscled by Qatar, who won by a controversial landslide, ahead of the United States, South Korea and (separately) Japan at the vote in Zurich on December 2, 2010. It was laughable that such a credible campaign as Australia’s should finish last. It summed up FIFA’s tainted voting system that the most legitimate bid went out in the first round. It is no surprise that half of the 22 executive committee members involved have since stepped down, some of them totally discredited. This was the vote that probity forgot.

Let us just consider those contenders for 2022. The US, for all its magnificent arenas, powerful commercial appeal and talent development, has staged the competition before. So have South Korea and Japan. The tournament should be pioneering, pushing back the boundaries. Qatar could not be taken seriously from a sporting perspective; there could be no genuine footballing legacy from holding the event in such an artificial environment. No soul. No integrity.