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FIFA President Gianni Infantino played down Qatar’s ban on the sale of beer at the last minute Globalism Cup stadiums are little more than a brief inconvenience to spectators.
“If this is our biggest problem, I will sign (the deal),” Infantino said on Saturday, a day after the conservative Islamic emirate made amends to the deal it struck to secure the soccer championship.
Infantino blamed Doha’s “crowd outflows” for the decision, though it appears to be a decision by the autocratic Qatari government to mollify its conservative Wahhabi citizens already angered by some incidents about heroism that they see as Western excesses.
Infantino said that banning beer in stadiums was done jointly between Qatari officials and FIFA.
Of allowing the sale of alcoholic beverages, Infantino said: “We tried to the end to see if it was possible. If you can’t drink beer for 3 hours a day, you’ll live. Maybe there’s a reason why in France, in Spain, in Scotland, alcohol is banned in pitches. Maybe they’re smarter than us, after they thought maybe we should do it.”
Viewers can drink alcoholic beers in the evening at the ‘FIFA Fan Fest’, a dedicated party area that also offers live music and activities. Qatar places strict limits on the purchase and consumption of alcohol, although it was allowed to be sold in hotel bars for years outside the venue areas of the tournament.
The World Cup kicks off on Sunday with an opening match between host country Qatar and Ecuador, and when Qatar hosted its home country to host the tournament, the country agreed to FIFA’s requirements for the sale of alcoholic beverages in stadiums. The alcoholic drink plans were only released 11 weeks before the start and then changed on Friday.
Fifa says non-alcoholic beer will continue to be sold in the eight stadiums, while champagne, wine, whiskey and other alcoholic beverages will be served in the luxury hospitality areas of the arenas.
Previous World Cup hosts have been asked to make concessions. For the 2014 tournament, Brazil had to change a law allowing alcohol to be sold in stadiums – but the same cultural issues just didn’t exist.
AB InBev’s deal with FIFA was renewed in 2011, after Qatar was selected as host. However, the Belgium-based brewery has faced uncertainty in recent months over the exact details of where it can serve and sell its beer in Qatar.
Infantio denied that banning beer sales had damaged FIFA’s relationship with Budweiser, its official beer sponsor.
“We have been partners for several decades, and we look forward to partnering for the future,” he said. “This particular situation brought us closer to each other.”
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