When in December 2010 FIFA announced that Russia would host its World Cup this year and the tiny Arabian Gulf nation of Qatar the edition in 2022, it unleashed waves of controversy many of which remain unresolved.

Eight years on in Moscow this week things could not have been more acceptable.

As law enforcement authorities across the globe continue their inquiries into what may or may not have happened in the lead-up to the decisions made in 2010, lessons have clearly been learned by those running one of the world’s most powerful sporting organisations.

Only one member of the infamous FIFA Executive Committee which alone made those 2010 calls remains in office.

Each of the others has been forced from or has perhaps wisely chosen to leave office. None more so spectacularly that the former ringmaster, Sepp Blatter.

Now every national soccer federation gets a vote.

Whilst that too has its pros and cons, its first foray into decision-making delivered both a convincing and it seems satisfactory, outcome.

The combined North American bid from the United States, Canada and Mexico had a clear victory over Morocco’s campaign.

Even Donald Trump thought it was a good idea – despite generally showing a reluctance to do anything in partnership with his country’s two nearest neighbours.

Instead of the eleven candidatures in 2010 when two World Cups were on offer, this time around there were only two.

That goes a fair way to eliminating both strategy and politics from the vote.

So too did the decision to make the ballot open.

Instead of the secret process of 2010 amongst the 22 eligible ExCo members, every vote this time around was openly declared.

And then there was the further reform eventually instituted by FIFA after some prevarication to bar candidatures from countries from the continents which were hosting the two previous World Cups.

It meant that for 2026 no country from either Europe or Asia could be considered.

Thus even if Australia had recovered from being so badly burned in the last bidding process, we were out because of our transfer from the Oceania to the Asian continental grouping.

With South America still smarting from the fallout from Brazil’s hosting of both the 2014 World Cup and the Olympics two years later, and an Oceania without Australia effectively unable to mount a serious bid, it left only North America and Africa ready, willing and able.

The 2026 outcome was hence more evolution than anything else.

To make it work as much like clockwork as it seemed, FIFA had to do another about face given it had barred multiple-host bids after the Japan and Korea co-staging in 2002.

But even if that all works, the staging of the next ‘clean’ Cup, at least in terms of the host selection process, is still eight years away.

And if all remains the same in terms of eligibility, it would mean that the earliest Australia could again even contemplate hosting the world’s biggest sporting tournament would be in 2034.

Who knows what it might even look like then with the decision already made that 48 nations will take part in 2026, up from the current 32.

But perhaps at least for the next month we can put aside too many thoughts about how the World Cup came to be in Russia in the first place and just sit back and enjoy the action.

For those of us who remained unconvinced it perhaps only took the special encounter between Portugal and Spain on Saturday morning to get us hooked.

Cristiano Ronaldo showed we very part-time followers exactly why the way-more-educated have been rabbiting on about his brilliance for years.

The poetry of play couldn’t have provided another starker contrast. 

This time it was with that notorious World Cup or two not so long ago at which it seemed every second game was a nil-all draw.