There are plenty of reasons why a Fifa World Cup hosted by the USA is a bad idea – public apathy; empty stadiums; rip-off prices; high temperatures; and that’s before we even get into the whole big arena of political tensions and ongoing war – but, for me, the biggest problem is the match kick-off times.

Now, I know that I am speaking from a purely Eurocentric perspective, but the time difference between the USA and Europe means that most matches end up taking place either in the evening or during the night, GMT.

Problem?  It is for me.

Where I might be prepared to watch South Korea play the Czech Republic in order to fill a couple of otherwise dull hours in the afternoon, I am not going to stay up to 3 o’clock in the morning for the same dubious pleasure.  And even matches that do interest me – Scotland versus Haiti – I am not going to lose hours of precious sleep to watch live.

It is a shame, because one of the things I enjoy most about a World Cup is precisely watching matches like South Korea play the Czech Republic; matches that I would never normally be interested in, but which are the very essence of the competition.

Now, I know that the rest of the world experiences this same time-difference issue wherever the World Cup is held – for Asia it must be a problem when it is hosted in Europe; for the Americas when it is hosted in Asia – but I am only expressing my own personal irritation.

Plus, USA 1994.  Pants.  One of the worst World Cups I can remember.

Let’s just hope 2026 proves me wrong, and England go on and win it.

© Donnie Blake

Donnie Blake is a bit of a Europhile.

As well as being the author of a series of detective novels with a World Cup backdrop.