In a release In a press release, FIFA indicated that: “Following discussions between the authorities of the host country and FIFA, the decision was made to concentrate the sale of alcoholic beverages at the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and authorized venues, eliminating the beer outlets around the perimeters of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup stadium.”
Attendees who want something similar to a beer they will have to be content with the non-alcoholic option, the Bud Zero that will continue to be sold in all the 2022 World Cup stadiums.
Alcohol will continue to flow freely inside the stadiums’ VIP suites, which the FIFA website advertises as offering a selection of premium beers, champagne, sommelier-selected wines and spirits.
Budweiser will sell its non-alcoholic beer throughout the stadium for $8.25 per pint (161 pesos), according to the statement.
Budweiser’s million dollar deal
FIFA has a longstanding sponsorship agreement with Budweiser. Dozens of tents had already been set up for the sale of American beer before the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador.
The decision made days before the competition kicks off puts FIFA’s $75 million sponsorship deal with Budweiser at stake. The sale of alcohol, however, will continue to be available at the FIFA Fan Festival.
Just this week it had been announced that a half liter of Budweiser beer would be sold for almost 14 dollars, in the permitted areas of the World Cup in Qatar, a conservative country that controls alcohol consumption in its territory.
The parent company of the American beer giant Budweiser said on Friday that the alcohol restrictions in place at the 2022 World Cup are beyond its control, after FIFA and host country Qatar announced that no beer would be sold around the stadiums.
The multinational group AB InBev took note of the measure taken just two days before the opening game on Sunday.
As partners of world soccer’s governing body “for more than three decades, we look forward to activating our FIFA World Cup campaigns around the world to celebrate soccer with our consumers,” an AB InBev spokeswoman told the AFP in a statement.
“Some of the planned operations in the stadiums cannot go ahead due to circumstances beyond our control,” he added.
The host nation anticipated that more than one million soccer fans will visit that country for the 29-day tournament.
With information from AFP and Reuters.