I used to go to great lengths for a drink before a football match. But there is joy to be had without booze

After the alcohol ban in Qatar, there is the possibility that England could win the World Cup roared on by sober fans

Watching football without a drink was once unthinkable. Then again, there were all sorts of things I wouldn't have countenanced without the benefit of alcohol: going to a wedding, say; or any party; or any kind of date. The list was long. The length of your list is as good a way as any of gauging your dependence on alcohol. I never got to the stage of needing a drink to go to the shops, but I was most definitely at the stage when an evening with a dear friend wouldn't hold much appeal if there wasn't going to be drink involved.

I'd go to all sorts of trouble to facilitate pre-match drinking. I'd always try to take the train rather than drive to matches, a case of doing the right thing environmentally, but for the wrong reasons. Good for the carbon footprint, bad for my liver. It became incredibly important to speed-drink a couple of quarts of beer in some pub or other, a pre-match ritual that wasn't for tinkering around with.