Alcohol will not be sold inside World Cup venues in Qatar, according to FIFA
FIFA, the organisation that oversees soccer worldwide, said just two days before the World Cup in Qatar begins that no alcohol will be served in the eight stadiums that will serve as the sites of the competition’s 64 games.
According to a statement from FIFA, “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 locations, and licenced venues, removing beer sales points from Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium perimeter.”
The Muslim nation is seen as being extremely conservative, and alcohol sales and consumption are strictly regulated.
Qatar had announced in September that it will allow ticketed soccer fans to purchase alcoholic beverages at World Cup events beginning three hours before kickoff.
Qatar Bans Beer Sales at World Cup Stadiums
Authorities in the host nation and FIFA will continue to make sure that all spectators have a good time, are treated with respect, and enjoy themselves when visiting the stadiums and their surroundings.
While some spectators might be happy that the stadiums are alcohol-free, others, like student Arnov Paul-Choudhury, 21, are perplexed and unhappy.
He told CNN Sport in Doha, “It’s the World Cup, it’s football, you need to be allowed to drink outside the stadium.”
Simply said, “I just don’t think they’re trying hard enough to draw in supporters.”
Before and after each game, Budweiser was supposed to sell beer inside the ticketed area around each of the eight stadiums.
Well, this is embarrassing, wrote the beer company, one of FIFA’s partners, before swiftly deleting the message.
According to the New York Times, Budweiser pays about $75 million for its sponsorship deal with FIFA.
An AB InBev spokeswoman stated, “As partners of FIFA for more than three decades, we look forward to our activations of FIFA World CupTM campaigns throughout the world to celebrate football with our customers.
FIFA bans beer sales at Qatar’s World Cup stadiums in a last-minute
Some of the scheduled stadium activations are unable to proceed because to events beyond of our control.
The decision regarding beer sales has been denounced by the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), the national official organisation for football supporters in England and Wales.
The FSA stated in a statement issued on Friday that while some fans enjoy drinking beer during games, others do not, the true problem is the decision’s last-minute U-turn, which points to a larger issue.
“Supporters will have legitimate concerns about whether they will keep their commitments regarding other matters pertaining to accommodations, transportation, or cultural challenges if they can change their views about this at a moment’s notice and without explanation.”
World Cup venues in Qatar, according to FIFA
The last-minute U-turn will displease more people than just fans.
The action, according to Ben Peppi, head of sports services at JMW Solicitors, is “hugely detrimental” to FIFA’s reputation.
For upcoming competitions, “Brands will be walking very cautiously around FIFA,” he told CNN Sport.
“Because if they flip around to a brand and tell them “you can’t do this and you can’t do that” and violate that contract two days before the largest global athletic event that they host, it’s not going to provide any security to any new businesses,”