Messi turns it on for Gizzy visitors

SNAPPED: George with Saudi Arabia coach, Herve Renard, at The Pearl, Doha.

I am a football fan. I have been involved in football all my life.

My dad (Charlie Ure) was a footballer and played for Gisborne City in their National League heyday. My brother and I grew up in the Gisborne City clubrooms and were always surrounded by football. I have been involved as a player, coach and administrator my whole life.

I had the opportunity to go to the World Cup because my brother Jody lives in a neighbourhood called The Pearl, in Doha, Qatar. He works for Qatar's Supreme Committee as a graphic designer.

Jody lives there with his wife Laura, and they had room in their apartment for me and my 11-year-old son George. My wife Mel and daughter Grace are less enamoured with football and were not particularly keen on holidaying in Qatar, so George and I had a boys' trip. The opportunity to watch a World Cup with my son and my brother was too good to miss.

Jody and Laura's apartment complex made the perfect base for our trip.

A lot of discussion has focused on whether Qatar should have been awarded the World Cup. Three major criticisms emerged.

The first was that the global football calendar would be disrupted because the tournament had to be held in Qatar's winter rather than the traditional June/July period during the European leagues' summer break.

The second was that Qatar has a poor human rights record. Homosexuality is illegal, dissent is suppressed, and women do not have equal rights.

The third was that Qatar mistreats its migrant workers by underpaying them, having them live in poor conditions, and taking inadequate health and safety measures. The final number appears to be disputed, but a lot of migrant workers died during construction of the stadiums and other infrastructure used for the World Cup.

All of those criticisms are valid, and Qatar should improve.

However, I think some of the criticism is coloured by Eurocentrism and hypocrisy. Why shouldn't European leagues be disrupted by the World Cup? Southern Hemisphere leagues are disrupted when the tournament is played in the European summer.

No country has a faultless human rights record; and refugees and migrants are poorly treated in many places.

I agree Qatar's record is bad. Suppression of dissent is particularly troublesome. They can run their country according to their cultural beliefs, but I think they should be prepared to allow criticism and then try to answer the criticism.

Where fundamental human rights are breached, change should occur. Let's hope engagement with other countries through things like the World Cup will help expose these faults and encourage faster change.

In our experience, the organisation of the tournament was excellent. Every visitor had to have a Hayya ID card/visa. Spectators needed this to get into games, and with it they also got free access to public transport and discounts on attractions like the national museum and sports museum. Free SIM cards with data for three days were handed out at the airport.

The metro was a potpourri of fans from around the world and a great place to mix.

The workers directing fans to the metro became stars in their own right by creating tunes and singing out their directions — “Meeettrrooo, this wayyyy”. Their tunes were so popular they were sung by fans in the stadiums at games.

Qatar was immaculate in its architecture and tidiness. The weather, of course, was reliably warm.

I was able to go to six games and George, seven. We could only get two tickets to Mexico-Argentina, so Jody took George to that match to see Leo Messi score in front of adoring fans, while Laura and I watched in front of a big screen on the beach at a hotel, where you could get a (fairly expensive) drink.

Before the tournament kicked off, Qatar U-turned on agreeing to sell Budweiser at the stadiums and people were concerned that it would be hard to find a beer. But getting a drink was possible (at roughly two-and-a-half times the price we pay in New Zealand) in bars in hotels throughout Doha. I think the lack of alcohol at the stadiums made for a far better experience for families and kids.

Together, George and I saw Cameroon v Switzerland, Portugal v Ghana, England v USA and Tunisia v France in the group stage, and England v Senegal and Brazil v South Korea in the Round of 16.

George's favourite player is Antoine Griezmann of France. Although he was rested for the start of the Tunisia v France match, he came off the bench and changed the game. His ability to find pockets of space and play first-time penetrating passes was exceptional. He scored in the last minute of the match, although his goal was ruled out after VAR (video assistant referee) involvement.

We saw Cristiano Ronaldo score a penalty for Portugal followed by his famous “Siuuu” celebration near the corner flag in front of us. Given he is 37 and Portugal have now been eliminated, it might be his last goal for Portugal. However, I'm sure he is still confident of getting more — it seems not much dents his confidence.

We saw England turn the game and end up giving Senegal a good hiding, and witnessed a smashing finish by Harry Kane. His playmaking was great to see live, even if, with my Scottish roots, we were leaning towards a Senegal upset.

The highlight was watching Brazil. They are every football fan's second-favourite team. The history attached to that team and the yellow-and-blue strip conjures up memories of football at its best. Pele, Zico, Romario, the original Ronaldo and many other greats have all played in those colours. For that reason, watching Brazil at a World Cup has been a lifelong ambition of mine. To share that with my brother and my son was out of this world.

Brazil did not disappoint. They were 4-0 up within 37 minutes and Richarlison scored a wonder-goal to boot. We were sitting behind the goal next to Brazilian supporters who sang and danced all night. It is a memory I will never lose.

I'm writing this just after the quarterfinals. In time, the Argentina-Netherlands game will become a World Cup classic. From the outset, I picked Argentina to win the World Cup, and they now have to get past Croatia to reach the final. (Editor's note: they did.)

The first World Cup I remember was Mexico ‘86. I wasn't yet four when New Zealand played in Spain ‘82, although I know the Gisborne-based players from that team very well now, as they were Dad's teammates at the time.

Since Mexico ‘86 I have always thought of Maradona as the greatest player in the world (Ally McCoist being just behind him!).

But Messi has electrified this World Cup, and what a way it would be for him to bow out, lifting that iconic trophy above his head in front of 80,000 fans at Lusail Stadium.

We shall see . . .