Good grief. Galatasaray have won the league and Graeme’s got his big flag back out.

Delighted to say that Inside Qatar has been shortlisted for the 2023 The Orwell Prizes for Political Writing.

Incredible to see it among such prestigious company. I'm thrilled beyond words.

In the latest issue of The Nightwatchman, John McManus reports on the most popular game in Qatar which, perhaps surprisingly, isn't football

Buy your copy here:
bit.ly/3TmmTOi

I'm talking about Qatar Daunt Books in London on Friday. Do consider joining.

To anyone in London on March 17th 📢
I'm talking about Inside Qatar at Daunt Books Marylebone, alongside the excellent Prof. Eugene Rogan). Do join us. dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/events/jo…

I spent 3 weeks volunteering, attending matches and interviewing people at the Qatar World Cup. It was strange, conflicting and confusing. So many different universes existing in parallel. Here are my reflections, for New Lines Magazine.

newlinesmag.com/first-person/t…

The Qatar World Cup has 137 players playing for a country other than the one they were born.

France sent 38 of these players (more than Spain, Brazil, England, Germany and Argentina combined).

Here’s a quick thread on why:

This is the nuance that too often is lost in discussions of Qatar's World Cup.

The NYT piece by Vivian Nereim is worth a read also.

Question to Twitter: does anyone know of any England or Wales fans staying in Riyadh or Muscat? #FIFAWorldCup

🧵[THREAD] #SaudiArabia 's victory against Argentina celebrations from across the Arab World 🇸🇦

#FIFAWorldCup #Qatar2022

📢Türkçe bilen arkadaşlar: bu akşam sevgili arkadaşım Can Evren ile Katar Dünya Kupası 2022 üzerine konuşacağım. Gel!

The party has very much started at the family fan zone in Doha. To be honest, It’s quite refreshing to know that no-one’s going to throw beer over all of us #FIFAWorldCup

This point deserves more of an airing. The overall thread is an important corrective to assumptions about international football fandom, too.

During my visits to Qatar, I have been struck by the strange role that hotels play in the country. A piece for the FT Weekend on how they act as 'the lungs of Doha' - at least for some.

ft.com/content/bdd457…

This looks like a great opportunity for those interested in better sport:

1/ “So often, writers like me are brought onto such projects to tick a box ... we’re often asked to just write about the same things covered by previous writers.'

@Arabnews asked me why working on @lonelplanet's new Britain guidebook was so important. This thread explains🧵

This is apparently Fenerbahçe's first 'marşı', a genre of psuedo-militaristic song football fans in Turkey like to produce. It was written by the Armenian Harutyun Sinayan -- a reminder of early Turkish football's ethnic diversity.

Qatar Tourism launch a campaign featuring David Beckham to promote stopovers in Qatar.

It showcases David Beckham's action-packed 48 hours stopover, highlighting all from cultural hotspots to scenic landscapes and friendly locals in Qatar. x.com/ntc_qatar/stat…

The first (of no doubt many) attempts to get Dele Alli to lead Beşiktaş fans in a chant. Rate the enthusiasm, but definitely room for improvement.

Hoşgeldin Dele ve hayırlı olsun 🦅

Just seen this beautiful specimen for the first time. Out on Thursday!