Fifa World Cup: Qatar football organisers to ban alcoholic beer sales at stadiums
- Surprise reversal of policy allowing major sponsor Budweiser to sell alcoholic beer at the tournament announced just two days before kick-off
- This is the first World Cup to be held in a conservative Muslim country with strict controls on alcohol, the consumption of which is banned in public
Fifa announced on Friday that beer will not be sold to fans around any of the eight World Cup stadiums following “discussions” with hosts Qatar.
The announcement comes just two days before Sunday’s kick-off of the World Cup, the first to be held in a conservative Muslim country with strict controls on alcohol, the consumption of which is banned in public.
It gave no reason for the stunning u-turn on beer sales just two days from the start of the tournament. A Fifa statement said alcohol would only be sold in fan zones, “removing sales points of beer from Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium perimeters”.
“A larger number of fans are attending from across the Middle East and South Asia, where alcohol doesn’t play such a large role in the culture,” a source said on condition of anonymity.
“The thinking was that, for many fans, the presence of alcohol would not create an enjoyable experience.”
Budweiser, a major World Cup sponsor with exclusive rights to sell beer at the tournament, was to sell alcoholic beer within the ticketed perimeter surrounding each of the eight stadiums three hours before and one hour after each game.
But the reversal of that policy comes after long-term negotiations between Fifa president Gianni Infantino, Budweiser, and executives from Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), which is organising the World Cup, the source said.
Qatari authorities have been pressing Fifa to ban all sales of Budweiser at the eight venues.
Budweiser’s parent company, AB InBev, pays tens of millions of dollars at each World Cup for exclusive rights to sell beer. The company’s partnership with Fifa started at the 1986 tournament.
When Qatar launched its bid to host the World Cup, the country agreed to respect FIFA’s commercial partners, and again when signing contracts after winning the vote in 2010.
At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the host country was forced to change a law to allow alcohol sales in stadiums.
AB InBev’s deal with Fifa was renewed in 2011 – after Qatar was picked as host – in a two-tournament package through 2022. However, the Belgium-based brewer has faced uncertainty in recent months on the exact details of where it can serve and sell beer in Qatar.
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An agreement was announced in September for beer with alcohol to be sold within the stadium perimeters before and after games. Only alcohol-free Bud Zero would be sold in the stadium concourses for fans to drink in their seats in branded cups.
Last weekend, AB InBev was left surprised by a new policy insisted on by Qatari organisers to move beer stalls to less visible locations within the perimeter.
Budweiser was also to be sold in the evenings only at the official Fifa Fan Fest zone in downtown Al Bidda Park, Doha, where up to 40,000 fans can gather to watch games on giant screens. The price was confirmed as US$14 for a beer.
“Fans can decide where they want to go without feeling uncomfortable. At stadiums, this was previously not the case,” the source said.
While not a “dry” state like neighbouring Saudi Arabia, consuming alcohol in public places is illegal in Qatar.
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 at some hotels, where beer costs around US$15 per half-litre.
