The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is just around the corner.
In December, the event will be launched and the organizers are fine-tuning the details regarding the arrival of visitors to a country that is far from having the customs to which Westerners are accustomed.
In a meeting held between the 2022 FIFA Cup Organizing Committee and the accredited embassies, a series of guidelines were agreed.
One, for example, is that they will not let anyone enter who has not previously contracted accommodation.
On the other hand, the consumption of alcohol and “displays of affection” in public will be severely restricted to specially designed spaces, as will the arrival of tourists that are not related to the World Cup.
Qatar 2022 World Cup group draw
It is not yet known exactly which countries will be present, since the draw will take place on April 1, once the details of all the classified teams are available.
This Thursday, March 24, for example, it was learned that Italy will not be present. And Japan, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Ecuador, among others, have already confirmed.
Likewise, the Organizing Committee, FIFA and the Qatari state defined key issues regarding coexistence in the country that will host a new edition of the biggest soccer event.
What can and cannot be done in Qatar
The organizers are seeking to harmonize the Muslim traditions of the host country with the customs of soccer fans, two issues that are quite at odds in some respects.
For example, an important issue is the consumption of alcohol in public at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The consumption of alcoholic beverages on public roads is common in each World Cup event, but Muslim laws prohibit it.
Suffice it to say that one of FIFA’s biggest sponsors is the Budweiser beer brand. There is a problem there.
In Qatar, you can only consume alcoholic beverages in restaurants that are located inside hotels. And as long as it’s inside buildings, not at sidewalk tables.
There is a wholesale beverage store in the suburbs of Doha. However, to buy, you must be a resident and apply for special permits.
If you drink beer or any other alcoholic beverage on public roads, there are fines. And they are very tall.
Special areas to drink beer
This Friday, March 25, after a meeting between the president of the Organizing Committee Nasser Al Khater and the ambassadors, it was established that FIFA is going to set up perfectly defined Fan Zones where alcohol can only be drunk before the matches.
Outside these “corralitos”, you will not be able to drink beer or other drinks.
In addition, it was determined that tourism that is not linked to the World Cup will be suspended from the first day of November 2022 and until the end of the Cup.
Another issue that was discussed at the meeting is that of “demonstrations of affection.”
Regarding this, it was agreed that they will meet again to try to establish guidelines that determine what can be done and what cannot.
Everything indicates that the rule of the Fan Zones also applies to kisses and hugs in public.
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