The 2022 FIFA World Cup starts this Sunday, with hosts Qatar kicking off against Ecuador in Doha.

We asked island residents are they watching the tournament and if so who are they going to support?

The Examiner spoke to ex-journalist Paul Hardman, from Ramsey, about if he is going to watch it.

He said: ‘The only sports I really follow are boxing and occasionally rugby union.

‘I’m one of those annoying people that only watches football when it’s during the World Cup. I’m also doing a dry November this month and I usually enjoy the matches a lot more when I’m either betting on them or in the pub watching them. If I was to support anyone it would be Australia.’

FIFA has predicted that the tournament to be watched by five billion people, however, many people have said they will not watch due to the human right violations allegedly committed by the hosts during the preparations for the tournament and the building of the seven new stadiums in the middle-eastern country.

A total of 6,500 foreign workers of the 30,000 that were hired have to work on the new infrastructure for the football festival have died.

Ian Marshall, Donny Strathie and Yvonne Cagli are three Scots who will watch the World Cup.

They, however, have strong reservations about the hosts.

Ian, from Glasgow, said: ‘I’ll be watching and supporting Wales because Scotland’s not in it this year.

‘The venue is a downer. When it was decided 10 years ago, it was purely money, nothing else.

‘It shouldn’t be there at this time of year. Instead they should have gone to South America, North America or Europe.’

Donny, from Falkirk, said: ‘ I’ll be watching the World Cup.

‘In terms of support, I’ll have to sit on the fence.

‘I would support Wales but I just can’t bring myself to, and I won’t support England either. I’ll just settle for good football.’

Yvonne Cagli, who lives in Douglas, is interested to see how Qatar are received as hosts.

She said: ‘I like football and I’ll be watching it but I’m not bothered who wins. I’m interested to see what the atmosphere is going to be like.

‘I disagree with the venue but I will be interested to see how it goes because this never happens.’

The games are taking place at an awkward time for football fans, with group games taking place from 10am and the last games starting at 7pm.

Chris McCormick, Steven Holmes and Darren Armstrong have different approaches to this tournament.

Chris, from Onchan, said: ‘I’m going to be supporting England in the World Cup. I’m off for a few days so I can watch a couple of games from the start.’

Steven, from Tromode, said: ‘I have no interest in football, I’ve just never been pushed into it when I was younger, nor did I have mates who liked football.’

Darren, from Onchan, said: ‘I’ll be supporting England too. I’ll go out with some of the guys I play football with on a couple of the Saturdays and watch a few games. Someone’s going to be unhappy with any country you choose. Sometimes it is good thing to highlight issues.’

James Douglas, from Douglas, said: ‘I don’t believe the World Cup should be going ahead in November/December. The players are gong to be wrecked before the season’s over.

‘I think it’s an absolute shambles. I’ll watch it but only until the English are out.’