Life is no sweat for Ally Begg, even when Qatar gently heats up.

When we caught up this week, evening was descending on Doha and, as he remarked: "The temperature is dropping now, so it's a delightful 35 degrees. To be honest, having spent six years in Singapore, I am now acclimatised to the heat. I have no problem with it."

This 42-year-old Aberdonian has a cv which doesn't follow the career trajectory of your normal sports producer. After leaving Ellon Academy in the early 1990s, he moved to London to become a model, was signed up by A & M records as part of a newly-formed pop band with a mission to emulate the chart-topping exploits of Take That and enjoyed regular chart success when Bad Boys Inc had six top-30 hits and a top-10 album.

However, when the group split up, Begg was left in "dire financial straits", so he returned to Scotland and did a coaching course with the help of former Gothenburg great Neil Simpson and the SFA. Next up, he became a coach and fitness instructor, working out of a small gym in north London and subsequently graduated to Manchester United TV, as the prelude to stints with Sky, Celtic TV, and ESPN in Asia.

He knows and loves his football with a passion, and will launch his autobiography, Begg to Differ, with a foreword by Sir Alex Ferguson (Rudling Books £12.99) at his beloved Pittodrie next Wednesday. But, for the moment, the peripatetic Scot's energies are increasingly focused on the thorny question of whether Qatar should be allowed to stage the 2022 World Cup, despite allegations of corruption among FIFA officials . . . and, of course, the sweltering weather which, it is claimed, could endanger players' lives.

He doesn't duck the issue, but Begg doesn't agree either with the knee-jerk sentiments expressed by some critics, particularly given the spectacle of matches being stopped because of the heat at Brazil's global carnival this summer.

"Only this week, [FIFA Executive Committee member] Theo Zwanziger was the latest high-profile figure to have his say, claiming 'medics say they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions' but, despite the outcry, this was simply one man's opinion, so let's slow down," said Begg.

"I have been living here for 12 months now and the passion for football in this country and the rest of the region is as fierce as anywhere in Europe, and they want to be given the opportunity to show the world they are worthy of hosting the biggest football tournament on the planet.

"I am not naive to the fact there are problems here. But earlier this month, FIFA's newly set-up task force met to discuss when the World Cup should take place, not if the World Cup should take place. Safety is of paramount importance.

"Only this summer, during Brazil 2014, a revolutionary air-conditioning system was tested inside fan-zones throughout the city - and it worked.

"This same system will be used in 2022 to cool stadiums, fan-zones, public transport and training facilities. The organisers are determined to ensure this system leaves an ever-lasting legacy for other countries with similar climates."

Begg has bounced back from his own setbacks with the resilience of a human Zebedee and clearly believes much of the anti-Qatar sentiment is a product of hidebound tradition. For him, football should be exported to fresh nations beyond its heartland and that is the philosophy by which he has lived his life. Namely, to expect the unexpected.

"I think it was pure chance when I fell into the TV world, but I poured everything I had into it, and that is how I ended up working with ESPN in Singapore," said Begg.

"A few years later, the rug was pulled from under my feet again and I was taken off air because of my Scottish accent. I was very disillusioned for a while, but I have always been a battler and eventually I gained the chance to move into television production in Qatar. I have really enjoyed it and I actually believe I am quite good at it." As for the boy band, and his introduction to the realm of Top of the Pops, he is more ambivalent as readers of his roller-coaster ride of a book will discover. "We were given a five-album deal and everything went a bit crazy for a while," said Begg, whose group had the same management company as Eternal and Dina Carroll. "But when we split up [in 1995], it wasn't a good experience. I came out of the whole thing without any money. In fact, I was in debt, and I had to look for other jobs."

All of which brought him to football and flying Qatar solo. Ultimately, one suspects it is the sphere where Ally is at his happiest.