The announcement comes two days before the World Cup kicks off on Sunday, the first to be held in a conservative Muslim country with strict controls on alcohol, the consumption of which is banned to the public. “Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been taken to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages at the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing beer outlets from the 2022 FIFA World Cup stadium perimeter of Qatar.” a FIFA spokesman said in the statement. The Football Supporters’ Association of England said the decision raised concerns about Qatar’s ability to fulfill its promises to visiting fans on “accommodation, transport or cultural issues”. For years, Qatar tournament organizers said alcohol would be widely accessible to fans at the tournament. pic.twitter.com/mlMfVIOW2h —@WeAreTheFSA “Some fans like a beer at the game and some don’t, but the real issue is the last-minute reversal which speaks to a wider problem – the complete lack of communication and clarity from the organizing committee to the fans.” the association said in a statement on Twitter. Qatar, the smallest World Cup host country, is preparing for an expected arrival of 1.2 million fans during the month-long tournament, more than a third of the Gulf Arab state’s population of 3 million.
Long time sponsor
Budweiser, a major sponsor of the World Cup, owned by beer maker AB InBev, was to sell exclusively alcoholic beer within the perimeter containing each of the eight stadiums three hours before and one hour after each game. “Some of the planned field activations cannot proceed due to circumstances beyond our control,” AB InBev said in a statement. Budweiser has sponsored the World Cup since 1985, a year before the event was held in Mexico. For 2022, it launched its biggest campaign ever, with activities for Budweiser and other brands in more than 70 markets and in 1.2 million bars, restaurants and retail stores. The World Cup usually boosts beer consumption, and the Belgium-based maker of brands such as Stella Artois and Corona is clearly looking to capitalize on the millions of dollars it pays to be a sponsor. However, he said those profits will come less from consumption at the event location than from fans watching on TV. Budweiser’s Twitter account tweeted: “Well this is inconvenient…”, without elaborating on Friday. The tweet was later deleted. The reversal of that policy comes after lengthy negotiations between FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Budweiser and officials from Qatar’s Supreme Commission for Tradition and Heritage (SC), which hosts the World Cup, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told Reuters . condition of anonymity. The SC did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment and FIFA did not confirm Infantino’s involvement. “A larger number of fans attend from across the Middle East and South Asia, where alcohol doesn’t play as much of a role in the culture,” the source said. “The thinking was that, for many fans, the presence of alcohol would not make for an enjoyable experience.”
Non-alcoholic beer will be sold
Champagne, wine, whiskey and other alcohol are still expected to be served in the stadiums’ luxury hospitality areas. Budweiser will sell its non-alcoholic beer throughout the stadium for $8.25 per pint, the statement said. Questions have swirled about the role alcohol would play in this year’s World Cup since Qatar won the hosting rights in 2010. Although it is not a “dry” state like neighboring Saudi Arabia, drinking alcohol in public places is illegal in Qatar. Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar is among eight stadiums in the tournament where the sale of alcoholic beer has been banned. (Carl Recine/Reuters) Visitors cannot bring alcohol into Qatar, even from the airport’s duty-free section, and most cannot buy alcohol at the country’s only liquor store. Alcohol is sold in bars in some hotels, where beer costs about US$15 per half liter. Budweiser will still sell alcoholic beer at the main FIFA Fan Fest in downtown Doha, the source said, where it is on offer for about US$14 per pint. Alcohol will also be sold in some other fan zones, while others are alcohol-free. “Fans can decide where they want to go without feeling uncomfortable. In the stadiums, that wasn’t the case in the past,” the source said.
