TO suggest that most things in life come down to money is hardly an earth-shattering revelation.

While we would all like to think that the world of sport retains at least one eye on its ideals - that would mean decisions being made with a view to what is best for the athletes, the fans and each sport as a whole - it does not work quite like that. If anyone has a glimmer of hope that this concept was still true then it has been well and truly blown out of the water in recent weeks.

For the last decade or so, Qatar has been extending its influence across the sporting world.

The country, home to some of the world's wealthiest individuals, has not quite reached the status of sporting super-power just yet, but it is slowly but surely getting there.

The first bombshell came four years ago and was stunning: it was announced that Qatar had been awarded the right to host the 2022 football World Cup. Four years on, and countless disputes later regarding, first, the logistical challenges of hosting the most prestigious football competition in a country in which temperatures regularly top 50 degrees and, second, allegations of corruption which would not go away.

The toing and froing regarding when exactly the World Cup will take place - summer or winter - has, so far, been resisted and the claims of corruption were put to bed with the release of FIFA's independent committee report last week.

Except that they were not put to bed. At all. FIFA cleared Qatar of any wrongdoing in the bidding process but, extraordinarily, the chief investigator, Michael Garcia, claimed that FIFA had completely misrepresented his findings. There are surely few observers who believe that the Qatar bid was squeaky clean.

Then, just last week, the country further strengthened its position in the sporting sphere when Doha was awarded the right to host the 2019 World Athletics Championships, an event that the governing body of athletics claim is the third largest event in the sporting calendar.

Over the next year, Qatar will host no fewer than 43 international sporting events including world championships in squash, swimming, boxing, handball and para-athletics. There have been strong rumours that the Gulf nation will bid for the 2024 Olympic Games: a bid which they would have a more than decent chance of winning.

While the emergence of another willing and able country to host major international sporting events should be welcomed - the vast majority will not touch bidding for a major event with a barge-pole these days - it is not quite as simple as that. Qatar may hype up claims of its people being a new, untapped market for major sporting events but there remain several significant flaws in pandering to the Gulf state.

Firstly, the nation has few home-grown athletes. It 'buys' most of its medal-winning athletes from other countries, by offering sportsmen and women significant sums of money to defect from their home nation and represent Qatar on the international stage. At this year's Asian Games, most of Qatar's medal winners on the track had changed allegiance to represent their 'new country'.

There is also the challenge of the overwhelming heat. Normal competition schedules must be scrapped in order to allow the athletes to compete at the coolest times of the day; the marathon at the 2019 World Championships will take place in pitch dark on artificially lit roads to ensure the runners avoid the worst of the temperatures.

Yet the most worrying factor in Qatar's increasing sporting portfolio is its dismal human rights record. The way Qatar treats its migrant workers who have been employed to build the facilities which are required to host the raft of sporting events which are pending is scandalous. More than 180 workers have died in the last year as a result of unsafe working practices, and many more injured, yet little seems to be being done about it.

On hearing the news that Doha would host the 2019 World Athletics Championships, Labour's Shadow Minister for Sport, Clive Efford, said: "The IAAF must be aware of the scandal of the treatment of migrant workers in Qatar. This is an appalling decision that risks bringing the sport into disrepute and I urge the IAAF to reconsider."

There has even been talk of a boycott, with Olympic long jump gold medallist, Greg Rutherford saying he would lend his support to any athlete who chose to boycott the event. He went on to say that he hopes athletes and governing bodies would have the courage to "speak out" and ensure that Qatar's questionable practices are not allowed to continue.

A boycott is unlikely but Rutherford makes a salient point; if money continues to be the deciding factor then Qatar will continue to make up its own rules. Sport has a responsibility to ensure that its prestigious events go to the most deserving host.

And that does not always mean the one with the most money.