Fifa 2022
Football

Qatar 2022: FIFA announces ban on beer at World Cup stadiums during the tournament

Beer has been prohibited at Qatar’s World Cup stadiums, according to Fifa, only two days before the tournament begins.

This comes after Qatar’s authorities reportedly wanted an alcohol ban, despite a multi-million pound sponsorship contract with Budweiser for the tournament.

Budweiser used to be the sole alcoholic beverage offered at stadiums, but spectators can now only purchase Bud Zero.

“Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing sales points of beer from Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium perimeters,” a statement from FIFA explained.

The World Cup hosts were said to be putting pressure on Fifa to cease selling Budweiser near the stadiums and relocate the vendors. This is because drinking is not typically part of the culture in Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries.

Fans will still be permitted to consume alcohol in designated fan zones, but the event calls into question Fifa’s level of supervision over the tournament.

The decision comes just two days before the commencement of the games in Qatar, and it comes 12 years after the country originally agreed to respect FIFA’s commercial partners.

Budweiser planned to sell alcohol before and after each game within the ticketed boundary around each of the eight stadiums. The beer company, which is a FIFA partner, tweeted, “Well, this is awkward,” but the remark was shortly deleted. Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, owns Budweiser.

While such a rapid decision may appear excessive in the West, Qatar is an autocracy ruled by a hereditary emir who has complete control over all governmental decisions.

Qatar, an oil-rich Gulf Arab state, adheres to an ultraconservative version of Islam known as Wahhabism, as does neighbouring Saudi Arabia. However, alcohol sales at hotel bars have been legal for many years.

The choice casts doubt on Budweiser’s $75 million sponsorship of the event and is expected to infuriate many tournament organisers and spectators who are already miffed over the limits placed by Qatar for the World Cup.

In order to allow Budweiser, the World Cup’s sole beer distributor since 1986, to sell its goods in official Qatar World Cup venues, notably stadiums and fan zones, Qatar first relaxed its alcohol laws.

The declaration on Friday raises serious concerns about management and planning issues in addition to the difficulties that arise when a religiously conservative nation hosts a customary beer-filled event.

The tournament’s hosting by Qatar, which is anticipated to draw 1.2 million tourists, has drawn attention to and criticism for a number of reasons. These include challenges with human rights, working conditions, tourist capacity, cultural and religious constraints, and the fact that the World Cup is being held in winter for the first time ever owing to the country’s high summer heat.

Kajal S

Kajal S

kajal

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