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| Photo Credit: AP. |
GENEVA (AP) — Organizers of the World Cup in Qatar have finalized a policy to serve beer with alcohol to soccer fans at stadiums and fan zones in the Muslim-majority country.
FIFA said
Saturday fans will be allowed to buy Budweiser beer with alcohol within the
eight stadium compounds — though not at concourse concession stands — before
and after games, and during evenings only at the official “Fan Festival.” That
is being held in a downtown Doha park.
Game tickets
promising access to Champagnes, wine, liquor and beer for hospitality clients
at Qatari stadiums have been on sale since February 2021 as part of corporate
packages offering “premium beverages.”
The beer
policy affecting most fans was announced just 11 weeks before the first game
and finally fulfills an expectation since Qatar campaigned 12 years ago to be
the first World Cup host in the Middle East.
Budweiser
has been the exclusive World Cup beer brand since 1986 and parent company AB InBev
renewed its deal through 2022 with FIFA in a 2011 signing after Qatar was
confirmed as host.
FIFA said
Saturday that Budweiser with alcohol will be sold “within the stadium perimeter
prior to kickoff and after the final whistle.”
“Inside the
stadium bowl ticket holders will have access to non-alcoholic Budweiser Zero,”
soccer’s world body said. “At the FIFA Fan Festival, Budweiser will be
available to purchase from 6.30 p.m.”
Alcohol is
more available in Qatar than some Middle East states though it is served only
in hotel restaurants and bars that have licenses. It is illegal to consume it
elsewhere.
Still, Qatar
has had to relax its regulation of alcohol for the 29-day tournament starting
Nov. 20. It is expected to attract more than 1 million visitors including fans
from 31 other nations to the tiny Emirate.
Qatar has
tested its alcohol policies at games soccer including the 2019 Club World Cup
that featured Europe’s then-champion Liverpool, South American champion
Flamengo and Mexican club Monterrey.
Qatar is not
the first World Cup host to ease its stance on alcohol. Before the 2014 World
Cup in Brazil, pressure from FIFA led local lawmakers to pass a special bill
exempting the tournament from a ban on selling alcohol at stadiums.
Qatar beat
four rival bids, including the United States, to win a World Cup hosting
contest where candidates were expected to respect FIFA’s deals with commercial
partners.
At the time
of the FIFA hosting vote in 2010, those World Cup deals included MATCH
Hospitality selling corporate packages and AB InBev. Both firms re-upped with
FIFA one year later.
“It is
important to remember,” MATCH Hospitality executive chairman Jaime Byrom told
The Associated Press in a recent interview, “that the entire bid process of the
FIFA World Cup is designed to deliver the kind of World Cup experience that all
fans from around the world have a reason to expect and to look forward to.”
More AP
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