I suppose one could point out that many of the participating countries have terrible problems with poverty, corruption, oppression and lack of human rights. But the point of a world sporting competition, I would have thought, is to put all that temporarily to one side and bring peoples together for a superb sportfest. This could influence nations to change by example and contact. I don't see how the football does much harm, and millions around the world are getting immense pleasure from all the excitement. We have a nice big England flag tied on the house, and some smaller ones too. My husband is rapt with them and has put photos of these flags on his Facebook page. My sis up in Scotland saw them and remarked that she dare not do the same, as the Scottish Independent lunatics would put a brick through her window!
(I hardly dare confess that we had to buy a copy of The Sun to get the big flag free. What a strange paper that is. It went straight in the bin of course.)