Qatar prohibits its sale in stadiums and surroundings

The Qatari authorities and the FIFA announced this Friday that beer would not be sold around the stadiums during the World Cup, in a statement published two days before the start of the competition.

“After discussions held between the authorities of the host country and FIFA, the decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festivalother meeting places for fans and venues that have a license to do so, and remove the beer sales points from the perimeter of the World Cup stadiums,” the statement said, without clarifying the reasons for this decision.

This change casts a shadow over the conservative Muslim emirate’s previous commitments to host the World Cup.

“Some fans want to have a beer at the game, others don’t. But the real issue that this change illustrates is much bigger: the total lack of communication and transparency from the organizing committee towards the fans,” denounced the FSA, the fans’ association. English, expected to number in the thousands on Monday during their opener against Iran.

Asked regularly about the reception of LGBTQ+ fans In a country where homosexuality is criminalized, the authorities have repeated that “everyone would be welcome without discrimination.”

It is also a delicate matter because the Budweiser beer brand has been one of the main sponsors of the event for three decades.

Like in any other World Cup

In their statement, the organizers of the soccer World Cup thank the group AB InBevof which it is a part Budweiserfor their “understanding” and specify that the brand maintains the possibility of selling non-alcoholic beers around and inside the stadiums.

The organization has long maintained uncertainty about the sale of alcohol during the World Cupnormally highly regulated in the country, giving rise to much speculation.

In early September it was confirmed that beer stands would open around stadiums three hours before and up to half an hour before kick-off. They should be open again for an hour after the final whistle. Only non-alcoholic beers should now be available in stadiums.

“I think there has been a misconception about the sale of alcohol in the stadiums. We operate like any other World Cup,” World Cup CEO Nasser Al-Khater promised during a press conference on September 8.

On Friday morning, shops in the red and white colors of Budweiser were still visible around Khalifa International Stadium, Ahmed Ben Ali and Lusail, AFP found.

Alcohol in VIP areas

A source close to the organization told AFP that “for the last four days” these stores have been moved away from the fans’ entrance because they were “too visible”. “It is an order that comes from above,” added that source.

The VIP spaces of the stadiums offer packs that include “beers, champagne, wines and spirits”.

In the main FIFA fanzone, buying alcohol is possible from 18:30 local time. On other private fanzones, the rules vary.

In Qatar, consuming alcohol is legal for non-Muslims over the age of 21 but is very strictly regulated.

It is forbidden to bring alcohol into luggage, even that bought in the “duty free”. Residents can shop at a dedicated store that is not open to tourists. Visitors can drink at most international hotels, where a beer or glass of wine They can cost about ten euros and a cocktail more than 15 euros.

The rules regarding the consumption of alcohol in football stadiums vary from one country to another. During the 2014 World Cup, Brazil lifted the ban on consuming alcohol in stadiums at the request of FIFA.