Qatar is set to be the centre of the planet this weekend making history as the first middle-east country to host the World Cup. However, for over 12 years since FIFA awarded them, the state had to answer to reports of worker abuse, homophobia, sexism & racism which are well documented with exposés in the media. On the money side, Qatar has spent over $300 billion on the event, which is over fifty times more than what Germany allocated in 2006 - money that could've been better used to fix the internal issues in the country. Will these be still remembered after the first ball is kicked and have they successfully sports-washed their global image? Sports writer Bob Holmes joins us on the programme this week.

Photograph: Marko Đurica/Reuters