Jump to content

Qataris want last minute alcohol ban at stadiums putting FIFA at risk of breaching Budweiser contract

decapitated

By decapitated,
in 2022 World Cup Forum

 Share

Recommended Posts

decapitated

decapitated

Posted
Posted

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/world-cup-qataris-want-complete-stadium-beer-ban-f5bcjprqh

 

Quote

Only three days before kick-off, the Qatari hosts were last night putting pressure on Fifa to perform a U-turn on the beer policy at the World Cup and stop selling Budweiser at the eight stadiums hosting matches. An announcement is expected today but it is understood that 48 hours before Qatar face Ecuador in the tournament opener on Sunday, it is likely that fans will be told they cannot buy beer at any games.


If Budweiser, one of Fifa’s main sponsors, is not allowed either to sell its product or have any visibility at the matches, then football’s world governing body will be in breach of a multimillion-dollar contract.

As it stands, the only place it is certain that beer will be available to all football fans is at the Doha fan parks. Considerable pressure has been put on Fifa by the Qatar 2022 organisers about the availability of beer at the stadiums. It is understood that this has come at the insistence of Qatar’s Al Thani royal family. The late intervention has come as a shock to Fifa, and talks were continuing late last night. Fifa has already made one concession this week, when Qatar 2022 insisted that the Budweiser stands were too obtrusive and had them moved into positions where they would be less visible.


It is highly unusual for a change such as this to be made to an agreement with a sponsor so close to the start of a big event. However, it now appears that the tournament organisers wish to push even further. It has long appeared that Qatar 2022 has had the whip hand in its relationship with Fifa. It was only three months ago that it requested the start date of the tournament be brought forward by a day, so that the Qatar team, as the hosts, could have the opening day all to themselves.


This late change of position from Qatar 2022 is an indication of the lack of comfort that the host country feels about the month ahead.
Qatar is a dry nation with alcohol normally available only in certain hotels in Doha, but it had appeared to have accepted the reality that it would have to relax its alcohol laws during the tournament.


The latest move raises the prospect of hospitality boxes being the only places inside stadiums serving alcohol. The cost of a suite starts at $22,450 (about £19,000) for a box for one match and the hospitality suppliers have said they will not be affected by the restrictions on alcohol.
The advertising for the hospitality suites promises a “selection of drinks available according to custom and preference; soft drinks, beers, champagne, sommelier-selected wines and premium spirits” and that these will be available “before, during and after matches”.


The Al Thani royal family dominates many of the country’s most important institutions, including the body responsible for the delivery of the World Cup.

A worrying omen for how the rest of the tournament will go.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • Replies 139
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

SouthCoastRed

SouthCoastRed

Posted
Posted

Having been in charge of the Heineken operation for 2012 I would imagine the poor bastard running Budweiser feels like drinking his entire stock himself this morning. 
 

The amount of logistical planning that goes into these things and then have the jokers move the goalposts miles, with 48 hours notice is the stuff career suicides are made of!!  
 

I sincerely hope AB inBev (Buds parent company) sue the living **** out of FIFA

1
Link to post
Share on other sites
Weezer

Weezer

Posted
Posted

I don’t really care about beer at stadiums, I’d probably be behind it being banned at games anyway. I wouldn’t be queuing for an overpriced beer in Qatar or even here at a football game. It’s pathetic that FIFA have even got themselves in this situation though, not only giving Qatar the World Cup but bending over to their demands every time.

2
Link to post
Share on other sites
Wiggins Top Boys

Wiggins Top Boys

Posted
Posted (edited)

I don't drink in stadiums either but the choice should be there and people can vote with their wallets if it's overpriced.

Pretty sure FIFA threatened to strip Brazil of the WC if they didn't change the law about selling alcohol in football stadiums. double standards to bend over to a backwards country

Edited by Wiggins Top Boys
5
Link to post
Share on other sites
GunmaN1905

GunmaN1905

Posted
Posted
23 minutes ago, Barry Cartman said:

I'm all for Fifa being screwed over by Qatar as much as possible, they deserve everything they get 

I'd love it if there's some massive organizational f-up or infrastructure failure, without anyone getting injured of course, so they have to cancel games or even worse.

Both the Qatari and FIFA deserve to get embarrassed.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Weezer

Weezer

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, Wiggins Top Boys said:

I don't drink in stadiums either but the choice should be there and people can vote with their wallets if it's overpriced.

I don’t dislike it because of the price, I’d be for a ban here because too many middle aged children can’t control themselves. 

Link to post
Share on other sites
Tony85

Tony85

Posted
Posted

Not really surprised. Qatar have said loads of things about this competition that they've changed after the fact. They probably decided years ago they weren't going to allow this but they know they have all the power / money to do whatever they want. Just waited for the appropriate moment to release the news.

1
Link to post
Share on other sites
Darren Moores Mum

Darren Moores Mum

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, Smallen said:

there are a few sides to this argument and I can’t side with any of them :D 

Qatar - nope

Fifa - nope

Budweiser - were happy to advertise their brand on stadia built by slavery. nope.

Fans going to Qatar - nope.

Work colleague of mine is flying out today to Qatar. I didn't think it possible I'd be so ambivalent to someone telling me they were going to a WC.

He's a non-drinker so at least this is fine for him...

1
Link to post
Share on other sites
Katarian

Katarian

Posted
Posted (edited)

Any decent organisation would just say **** off and cancel the whole thing and sue the crap out of Qatar. It's not going to happen but one can dream.

More seriously it's always been extremely dodgy that FIFA force countries to change their laws to host the World Cup. Qatar should never have been chosen as hosts but having been chosen they shouldn't have to be forced to allow alcohol sales because it's hurts FIFA sponsors.

Edited by Katarian
Link to post
Share on other sites
Darren Moores Mum

Darren Moores Mum

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, Katarian said:

Any decent organisation would just say **** off and cancel the whole thing and sue the crap out of Qatar. It's not going to happen but one can dream.

More seriously it's always been extremely dodgy that FIFA force countries to change their laws to host the World Cup. Qatar should never have been chosen as hosts but having been chosen they shouldn't have to be forced to allow alcohol sales because it's hurts FIFA sponsors.

Is it forcing or is it saying "if you want to host the WC you need to be able to agree to doing XYZ"? If they're unable to agree to that they shouldn't be bidding in the first place.

That not forcing anybody to do anything. Nobody forced the WC on Qatar.

4
Link to post
Share on other sites
Katarian

Katarian

Posted
Posted

The reality is that probably every country on the planet has some law that would prevent them hosting the World Cup. It's dodgy that FIFA force the hosts to cave to their often ridiculous demands in the pursuit of maxing the money FIFA make rather then accepting choosing a certain host might mean they have to adapt to local laws/customs.

In this case Qatar should have never come close to being allowed to bid let alone accepted as hosts for a multitude of reasons beyond the fact alcohol is banned in the country.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Coulthard's Jaw

Coulthard's Jaw

Posted
Posted

Alcohol being banned shouldn't stop a country from hosting the World Cup, it's insane commercial contracts mean it has to be a condition of hosting. And in most circumstances the host country screwing FIFA over like this at the last minute would be very funny.

Then you remember how many people have died building the stadia we are all going to be watching non stop for the next month. **** Qatar.

5
Link to post
Share on other sites
The_jagster

The_jagster

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Coulthard's Jaw said:

Alcohol being banned shouldn't stop a country from hosting the World Cup, it's insane commercial contracts mean it has to be a condition of hosting. And in most circumstances the host country screwing FIFA over like this at the last minute would be very funny.

Then you remember how many people have died building the stadia we are all going to be watching non stop for the next month. **** Qatar.

I've no love for Qatar but who would have thought they would be the ones to stand up to FIFA when they have the most to gain from a smooth world cup.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Weezer

Weezer

Posted
Posted (edited)

Really don’t think Qatar know what they’ve let themselves in for. Football fans aren’t your normal holiday makers and tourists. It’s a World Cup, they’re going to want to be rowdy. I’ve already seen videos from flights taking fans over and they’re in the aisles singing and cheering, they’re not going to suddenly become placid and respectful once the football starts.

The alcohol selling fan zones are going to be carnage :D 

Edited by Weezer
Link to post
Share on other sites
Darren Moores Mum

Darren Moores Mum

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Weezer said:

Really don’t think Qatar know what they’ve let themselves in for. Football fans aren’t your normally holiday makers and tourists. It’s a World Cup, they’re going to want to be rowdy. I’ve already seen videos from flights taking fans over and they’re in the aisles singing and cheering, they’re not going to suddenly become placid and respectful once the football starts.

The alcohol selling fan zones are going to be carnage :D 

Wonder if Arse Flare Guy is going out.

Link to post
Share on other sites
profii

profii

Posted
Posted

Doing this with 2 days notice is nuts.

If they had said from the outset that alcohol would be prohibited in line with their laws then that would be fine, it's their country and people would know.

I'd love to know how it really played out - like everyone saying Qatar being hosts is corrupt, but if it was that corrupt why pander to FIFA wanting to serve alcohol. I guess there is some internal politics being played there which kind of makes me think they are all pretending everything is legit.

 

Also, BBC are reporting that alcohol will still be available in corporate areas- thats really crazy but probably means it's more a PR distraction from other worse issues.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
Weezer

Weezer

Posted
Posted
Just now, profii said:

Doing this with 2 days notice is nuts.

If they had said from the outset that alcohol would be prohibited in line with their laws then that would be fine, it's their country and people would know.

I'd love to know how it really played out - like everyone saying Qatar being hosts is corrupt, but if it was that corrupt why pander to FIFA wanting to serve alcohol. I guess there is some internal politics being played there which kind of makes me think they are all pretending everything is legit.

 

Also, BBC are reporting that alcohol will still be available in corporate areas- thats really crazy but probably means it's more a PR distraction from other worse issues.

 

From the beginning Qatar have always been against alcohol in stadiums, I think it’s only recently (like within the last few weeks) that it was announced that had changed. Maybe FIFA jumped the gun by announcing that it was okay. Either way it’s obvious Qatar never had any intention of allowing it to happen.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Rob1981

Rob1981

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Coulthard's Jaw said:

Alcohol being banned shouldn't stop a country from hosting the World Cup, it's insane commercial contracts mean it has to be a condition of hosting.

Yes and no. Rightly or wrongly, alcohol is a huge part of fan culture all around the world. Otherwise Budweiser wouldn’t want to sponsor the thing in the first place. So it’s not just a slap in the face to the commercial partners, it’s a slap in the face to all the supporters that want to watch the football and also have a drink. Like they do every other week of the year.

You say selling beer isn’t essential. But if they want to host the World Cup, they are obliged to offer a ‘normal’ fan experience. Especially if they have said for months that this will be on offer, and then only changed their minds at the last minute once people have paid thousands to get out there.

Edited by Rob1981
1
Link to post
Share on other sites
Rob1981

Rob1981

Posted
Posted (edited)

But yeah, very much has the feel of some orchestrated PR management. Drop this Budweiser bombshell two days out and it fills the news agenda. And suddenly people aren’t talking about how they hate the gay fans or kill the construction workers.

I knew if I posted here long enough me and @InigoPatinkin would finally agree on something :D 

Edited by Rob1981
Link to post
Share on other sites
Weezer

Weezer

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Confused Clarity said:

I don't see alcohol sales in the fan of zones lasting the week.

That'll be next I reckon.

I don’t think they’d dare go that far. Given that they were talking about alcohol and alcohol free separate fan zones I’m assuming the idea of no alcohol at the actual games was to ‘protect’ Qatari citizens and Muslims from being exposed to it.

The hypocritical thing is, my girlfriend has frequented the bars and clubs out there and in Dubai and she says it’s completely normal to see Arab guys there drinking alcohol and surrounding themselves with women. As with most imposing conservative leaderships it’s a case of “do as I say not as I do”.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...