One of life’s simple pleasures involves hopping in a car, sticking on some desert rock tunes by Queens of the Stone Age or Kyuss, and going for a spin on some of Leitrim’s back roads.

On some of the quieter and more isolated stretches there’s even a chance that you won’t see anyone or pass other traffic for considerable time.

But as quiet as the North-West can be at times, it cannot compare to the way Qatar was at the turn of the 20^th Century. Back then the country’s population was more or less equivalent to Leitrim’s current population.

Of course the population has exploded since then to over 1 million – mostly a result of immigration from the Asian subcontinent and the Far East.

It is densely populated however as the state’s area only covers about 11,500km squared which is smaller than Counties Kerry and Cork combined.

As we all know, this is where FIFA decided to host a World Cup in their infinite wisdom. Of course one can point out that small countries like Uruguay and Switzerland hosted World Cups on their own in its early years.

But they were different times with far fewer requirements in terms of planning, transport and stadium infrastructure and organisation.

Controversy is bubbling away in the upper echelons of football as European leagues vehemently oppose the idea of moving the World Cup to November, a move that would end up throwing the European calendar into chaos.

The idea that a country like Qatar - which has never qualified for the World Cup nor possesses a veritable football culture that does not involve buying up European clubs – gets to host such a major tournament already makes many people’s blood boil faster than a kettle in a Qatari desert.

That’s also not mentioning the country’s human rights record, slave-like treatment of migrant workers or the relatively open intolerance towards fans of differing sexual orientations.

But it is the divergence between the promises in the bid and the current mess that is of more concern. Qatar’s successful bid was based on the fact that they supposedly had the technology to cool down the stadiums during the sweltering Qatari summer.

FIFA and Blatter took their eye off the ball as often happens

FIFA and Qatar’s suggestion to move the tournament to winter means one of the key facets of the bid was built on sand. They knew it but pressed on regardless.

Now both parties have two options if they cannot achieve a November date: keep the World Cup in the summer or contemplate giving it to a bidder with more deserving criteria.

The first option is a no go. Wayne Rooney will have long since retired by the time 2022 comes around but can you imagine him or any other player running around in 50 degrees heat for 90 minutes or more.

The nearest I’ve experienced to those temperatures was in Sevilla where you need a shower after crossing one side of the street to the other, let alone running the equivalent of 10,000km under the burning sun.

As for moving the World Cup, a whole host of problems are thrown up. It’s less than nine years to that edition of the World Cup. In terms of infrastructure and preparation is there enough time to make the switch?

Australia, USA, South Korea and Japan all bid for the tournament and are viable candidates. But it is unclear whether the timescale is forgiving.

The USA seems to be the best option and there have been murmurings that it will be the destination if the World Cup is moved.

Although FIFA have denied that possibility, the USA did finish second in the voting, losing to Qatar for reasons unknown.

The tournament has been moved before, namely for 1986. Colombia was chosen to host that tournament in 1974, but less than four years before kick-off, they declared that they could not afford to fulfil their obligations so Mexico was given the reins.

For 2022, the USA or another potential replacement for Qatar has nine years to plan at least, given the way that the bidding process for 2018 and 2022 was organised.

In the USA, Japan and South Korea cases, the stadiums are already in place - renovations aside - while infrastructure should not be a pressing concern even in the face of the economic downturn.

However, chances are Qatar, FIFA and its President Sepp Blatter will get their way.

But if they have fans and players in mind, they should look at a particular Queens of the Stone lyric:  ‘First it giveth [to Qatar], then take it away.’