And by the time you read this it will be all over so bring on the 2030 World Cup and Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
Which we would suggest, Mexico excepting, is ‘football coming home’ to the Old World.
And closer, and less expensive, for those of us who live in the tip of an island in the North of Europe.
A Nou experience
Now Spain, Portugal and Morocco are loco about their football as we have discovered first hand.
When we helicoptered over Barcelona (is there any other way?) and gasped at the sight of the Nou Camp.
Only to be told by the pilot that that was the reserve side’s ground.
While Jose, our Special One guide, in Portugal explained.
That under the dictator Salazar he ran the country by the Three Fs… Football, Fado and Fatima.
Portugal’s secular God
All of which became clearer in that Marian site when meeting the niece of one of the Little Shepherds (as you do) in the porch of her house.
And seeing that among the stands of holy relics and statues of Our Lady what stood out was…
A beach towel of Portugal’s secular God, one Cristiano Ronaldo.
Now we’ve flagged up already this year how the AFCON tournament held in Morocco was pitched.
At the kind of prices that would buy you a hot dog and a beer at the WC.
Although once Gianni Infantino gets his claws into that we expect tagines and mint teas to surge in price.
Shirt hits fan in Morocco
While you’ll have to have your wits about you when it comes to bartering.
Again which we found out to our cost when buying the oblig national football team’s shirt in Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakech.
Now if you’re reading this in South America, you’ve got the consolation of having single games in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
A nod to the centenary of the first competition held in Fray Bentos land back in 1930.
All that’s left now is to pull down the 48 flag bunting from the garden fence.
Who knows who’ll be on it in four years’ time but we do know should Scotland get there then they’ll do it the hard way.
