Boycotts should not be an option.

That's what organized sport claims when once again one of its mighty festivals is to be celebrated in a dictatorship, an autocracy, in a country in which people are oppressed in a wide variety of ways.

The officials then always invoke what brings people together in sport, change through proximity.

If he stays away, at least the business is saved.

This has been the case for decades, most recently at the Winter Olympics in China a few months ago.

There, sport bowed to power politics and toasted gold, while Uyghurs suffered untold in Chinese re-education camps.

Contrary to the opinion of many sports leaders, there is sufficient reason to say that boycotts have a salutary effect;

not necessarily to the domestic politics of a dictator.

But the refusal of a significant group of football fans in the West to watch the World Cup on TV will hurt broadcasters and sponsors of the world governing body (FIFA).

Will FIFA choke on their greed?

Probably not.

But she will have to understand the turning point.

And if only because their business suffers from the justified criticism, sponsors fear for their image and thus their profits.

Old calculation does not add up

When it comes to money, movement comes into play.

Countries like Russia, China or now little Qatar will therefore hardly have a chance in the future to present themselves as the playground of world sport without far-reaching reforms.

Otherwise there will be a boycott movement that could severely shake, if not destroy, the sport's federation system and its distribution of power.

The old, cold calculation no longer works.

This is also the result of critical reporting that Qatar has been exposed to, and not just since the ruthless, dubious FIFA elections of 2010.

After all, the country has won titles in a number of sports before, including the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha.

Reports and comments may not always have been balanced, often due to distance.

It is all the more important for reporters not to ignore an event that hundreds of millions of people follow every day.

Just the idea of ​​having to judge many millionaires playing football in a football temple built by exploited migrant workers, quite a few of whom lost their lives, is depressing.

But only those who go there, look, listen and ask questions will discover the good and the bad, the wonderful and the repulsive, the inspiring and the shocking, and be able to send a comprehensive picture into the world.

You will be able to read about it here in the next four weeks.

Of what happens on and off the pitch that moves people or, in every way, captivates.

We will not take this into account.

Neither to the expectations of critics nor to the wishes of enthusiasts.