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The taps at the FIFA World Cup have run dry.
Alcoholic beer will no longer be sold at the World Cup stadiums in Qatar, according to a statement from FIFA on Friday. The change is a stunning about-face, given that Budweiser is one of FIFA’s longest and biggest sponsors and the start of the tournament is just two days away.
“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 … stadium perimeters,” FIFA said.
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While alcohol isn’t illegal in Qatar, drinking in public is not allowed and it is a crime to be drunk in public. But Qatar assured FIFA officials when it was bidding for the World Cup that it would not impose local customs on the tournament and also promised to respect FIFA’s deals with sponsors.
So much for that.
The original compromise was that alcoholic beer would only be sold within the stadium perimeter before and after games and not within the stadium itself. Similar to how fans can tailgate outside of some college stadiums but not purchase beer once they go inside.
