While it is natural for opposition voices in Bahrain to call for protest and objection to the current situation, when pro-government voices also begin urging protests against the existing reality, it signals that the loyalist side has been affected by official policies, and discontent has reached a significant level among government supporters.

In the year 2022, two influential figures in the Bahraini authorities' media, known for their involvement in incitement, sectarian disdain, and attacking and demonizing the opposition, passed away.

Almost simultaneously, the year 2022 witnessed the dismissal of the President of the Authority for Culture and Antiquities in Bahrain, Sheikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, on July 21, 2022, and the arrest and detention of prominent academic Dr. Nader Kadhim on July 20, 2022, for a week, followed by his termination from his position as a professor at the University of Bahrain.

Notable among the religious artistic productions in Bahrain during 2022 were the release of the anthem "Salam Ya Mahdi," and "The Lament of Ra'biya" poem. Bahraini elegy reciter Mohammed Ghuloom presented the first poem, with the author's name kept undisclosed, in collaboration with the Imam Hussein Institute for Recitation and Production, gaining widespread fame. The second poem was performed by reciter Sayed Isam Al-Hashemi in collaboration with "Maidan Ahlulbayt" channel.

On August 31, 2022, Sayed Haidar Al-Sitri, one of the prominent figures of the 1990s uprising and a distinguished religious and political personality in Bahrain, passed away at the age of 70.

The year 2022 carried with it somber news of the demise of prominent and influential figures, such as the Lebanese Samar Al-Haj, who spared no effort in advocating for the people of Bahrain for over a decade, Dr. Jalila Al-A'ali, a member of the imprisoned medical cadre, and the pursued activist Sadiq Al-Hayki, who passed away in exile, far from home, due to security pursuits by the authorities.

In the early hours of January 24, 2022, Serbia closed the file on Bahraini dissident and torture survivor Ahmed Jaafar, handing him over to Manama after about two months of detention. This took place despite a European court decision prohibiting it, following pressure from Interpol, now led by the Emirati Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi, and from Bahrain's security forces.

For the second consecutive year, Qatar continued to disregard Bahrain's appeals for normalizing relations and ending the political dispute initiated by Manama years ago. Despite signing the Al-Ula Agreement in January 2021, the Qatari ruling family decided there was no need to repair relations with its smaller neighbor.

The most prominent issues that dominated the scene in 2022 were revealed in August when information surfaced about a government plan to establish a "Jewish Quarter" in the capital, Manama, as part of the accelerating normalization agreements.

In 2018, the Bahraini government, along with other Gulf governments, began employing Pegasus software to track activists. Reports from specialized organizations led to legal actions against the company, involving applications such as WhatsApp and other entities.

Throughout the year 2022, Bahrain experienced a surge of Bahraini-Israeli normalization events and visits. During this time, the government aimed to make normalization with Israel an inevitable reality, even resorting to threats and pressuring employees to be present during Israeli delegations, as seen with doctors at Salmaniya Hospital.

On June 13, 2022, Bahrain witnessed the most significant ministerial reshuffle in its history, led by Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad, who heads the government. This reshuffle marked the elimination of the wing associated with the late Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman, along with the removal of most ministers aligned with the Khawalids, notably Justice Minister Khalid bin Ali and Oil Minister Mohammed bin Khalifa, the son of the Field Marshal.

In 2022, Bahrain's government amassed financial surpluses with the rise in oil prices, yet failed to implement measures to address the inflation's impact on citizens' livelihoods in a country where the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen.

The King extended an invitation to a coexistence forum with the aim of improving his image as a patron of interfaith dialogue. The objective was to use the Pope's visit to whitewash the king's record of sectarian persecution against the Shia majority, hoping that the visit would obscure his dark history in the realm of religious freedoms.

In November 2022, Bahrain witnessed new legislative elections, yet they were much like their predecessors. The ruling family selected who had the right to vote and who could run, excluding those they deemed undesirable from the familial electoral affair.

In the Bahraini reflection on the year 2022 and the World Cup, the harvest of fields unveils a disappointing reality in terms of competition, production, and development. Across these arenas, Bahrain finds itself devoid of any semblance of competitiveness, productivity, or progress. Instead, we witness a desolate landscape in every aspect.