According to the Associated Press, the eight soccer stadiums used for the World Cup will not allow the sale of any beverage that contains alcohol.
The choice was made only two days before the start of the Qatari season and 12 years after Qatar originally agreed to respect FIFA’s business partners.
Fans will still be allowed to purchase non-alcoholic drink during the 64 games, according to the source, who requested anonymity.
In the stadium hospitality sections, champagne, wine, whiskey, and other alcoholic beverages are still expected to be provided. Beer is often the sole alcoholic beverage offered to ordinary ticket holders outside of such locations.
“Extremely concerned,” said Ronan Evain, executive director of the football supporters’ organization Football Supporters Europe, of the move to prohibit alcohol sales in stadiums.
“This is a minor point for many fans, regardless of whether they don’t consume alcohol or are used to dry stadium regulations at home. It won’t affect their competition “On Twitter, Evain posted. However, with just 48 hours left, it is evident that we have reached perilous ground where previous “assurances” are no longer relevant.
Even while a quick decision like this would appear excessive to many in the West, Qatar is an autocracy where the hereditary emir controls all political choices.
Like its neighbor Saudi Arabia, the energy-rich Gulf Arab nation of Qatar practices Wahhabism, an ultraconservative branch of Islam. However, hotel bars have long been able to sell alcohol.
Requests for response were not immediately answered by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy of Qatar.
Only weeks before the World Cup started, Qatar has changed the date of the first game.
The parent company of Budweiser, AB InBev, spends tens of millions of dollars each World Cup for the exclusive right to sell beer. In anticipation of selling its product to millions of fans, AB InBev has already sent the bulk of its stock from Britain to Qatar.
The firm and FIFA have been working together since the 1986 World Cup, and they are now in talks to extend their agreement in time for the 2019 World Cup in North America.
When Qatar first announced its intention to host the World Cup, the government consented to FIFA’s demands that alcohol be sold in stadiums, and again when contracts were signed when Qatar was chosen in 2010.
Brazil’s 2014 World Cup host nation was compelled to amend its legislation to permit the selling of alcohol in stadiums.
After Qatar was chosen as the host nation, AB InBev’s contract with FIFA was extended in 2011 for two tournaments until 2022. The specifics of where the Belgian brewery may serve and sell beer in Qatar, however, have been unclear in recent months.
An arrangement enabling the sale of alcohol-laced beer within the boundaries of stadiums before and after games was made public in September. Only alcohol-free Bud Zero would be offered for sale in the stadium concourses so that spectators may take branded mugs to their seats and drink.
Last weekend, Qatari organizers implemented a new rule that required moving alcohol booths to less noticeable spots within the boundary. This caught AB InBev off guard.
Additionally, Budweiser was only going to be available in the nights in the official FIFA fan zone at Al Bidda Park in the city’s center, where up to 40,000 people may congregate to watch games on enormous screens. It was confirmed that a beer will cost $14.
An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by Ab InBev.
The business will have a headquarters at a posh hotel in Doha’s West Bay neighborhood, complete with a branded nightclub.
