Qatar Football World Cup: No alcohol sales at stadium sites

The tournament which kicks off in two days is the first to be hosted in a Middle Eastern nation. Major World Cup sponsor Budweiser was to sell alcoholic beer within the ticketed perimeter surrounding each of the eight stadiums three hours before and one hour after each game.

“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,” FIFA said in a statement.

“There is no impact to the sale of Bud Zero which will remain available at all Qatar’s World Cup stadiums,” it added.
The decision will likely result in moving concession stands serving alcohol further away from the stadiums, the person said. The tournament, typically the world’s largest sporting event and a decade in the planning, kicks off Sunday with the hosts taking on Ecuador.

The move to ban alcohol sales within stadiums is an about-face from Qatar’s previous position. The Supreme Committee on Delivery and Legacy had promised alcohol will be available in designated “fan zones” outside stadiums and other hospitality venues. InBev has paid FIFA millions of dollars for exclusive rights to sell Budweiser at the World Cup.

Representatives for FIFA and Qatar declined to comment and a spokesperson for InBev could not be reached for comment. FIFA and AB InBev have previously said they’re trying to create an atmosphere that’s “respectful” toward Qatar’s customs and traditions while still making alcohol available for those who want it.

Fans who have been critical of the Middle Easter nation hosting the tournament, have been vocal about worries about the availability of alcohol in the conservative Muslim country. Qatar prohibits alcohol sales at almost all restaurants not associated with a high-end hotel or resort. With employer permission, foreign residents can also buy bottles of liquor, beer and wine for home consumption from a single Qatar Airways-run depot on the outskirts of Doha.

Qatari organizers initially said they wanted FIFA events to be alcohol-free but backtracked. Prior to the latest reversal, some fanzones were set to sell “international beverages.” Fans would have been able to purchase Budweiser beer inside the stadium perimeter — in designated beer areas, up to three hours before and one hour after each match, but not allowed to take them in the stands.

The decision is a major blow to AB InBev’s Budweiser brand, the official beer of the tournament and a sponsor of the World Cup since 1985. In September it launched its Official FIFA World Cup campaign in more than 70 countries, the broadest reach in the brand’s 146-year-old history.

Only the tip of the iceberg?

Qatar has been feeling the heat virtually since the day that its sports-crazy former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, celebrated securing the tournament at a vote in December 2010.

A FIFA investigation into vote-buying allegations ruled there was no hard evidence to take action. But most of the 22-member committee that backed Qatar were replaced or investigated for corruption.

The tournament had to be moved from its traditional summer spot to the northern hemisphere winter because of Qatar’s scorching heat.

But the first World Cup in an Arab nation has come under the most intense fire over Qatar’s rights record — ranging from the deaths and wages of migrant workers to women’s rights and LGBTQ rights.

Qatar is an Islamic state that criminalises homosexuality and severely restricts alcohol.

Right up to kick-off, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have been demanding that FIFA and Qatar sign up to a $440 million workers’ compensation fund.

“The legacy of this World Cup 2022 depends on whether Qatar remedies with FIFA the deaths and other abuses of migrant workers who built the tournament, carries out recent labour reforms, and protects human rights for all in Qatar — not just for visiting fans and footballers,” Rothna Begum of HRW told AFP.

Qatar officials say their country has been the target of “racism” and “double standards”. They point to the reforms on working conditions and safety that have been hailed as groundbreaking in the Gulf region and are now talking of “legal” action.

The current emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, said there had been an “unprecedented campaign” against his country that has built extraordinary stadiums and new roads, hotels and museums for the event.