Following the recent ban of beer, liquor, and other forms of alcoholic drinks by Qatar in their stadiums for the 2022 World Cup sporting event, pictures of Heineken and other alcoholic brands wrapped in soft drinks and other beverage coverings such as Pepsi, Cocacola, has gone viral.
According to the gist vine, the beer cans in beverage casing and wrappings will then be smuggled into the stadium in Qatar by the visiting tourists.
They would also be sold in the stadium, though there would most likely be a secret channel for doing this. Imagine an unsuspecting visitor buying a can of Coke, only to get a mouthful of Heineken.
Qatar’s decision to ban the sales and consumption of alcohol in their stadium, hours before the FIFA World Cup resumes also did not go well with the sponsors, major among them being the brewer of Budweiser – Anheuser-Busch InBev.
They felt betrayed by FIFA, the governing body, and voiced out a breach of contract with the Qatar authorities. FIFA had in an earlier statement, announced that alcohol will not be sold inside the stadium and outside its perimeters. However, it will be sold in some specific centers.
“Following discussions between host country authorities and Fifa, a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the Fifa Fan Festival, other fan destinations, and licensed venues, removing sales points of beer from Qatar’s World Cup 2022 stadium perimeters,” it said.
“There is no impact to the sale of Bud Zero, which will remain available at all Qatar’s World Cup stadiums.”
Alcohol however will be sold in some centers in some set matches, but the associated cost is sky-throttling. The least suites cost about £20,000 a match and in some fan zones after 7 pm, a 500ml of Budweiser will cost about £12.
Though the Qatar authorities have cited religious beliefs as well as accommodating other non-alcoholic drinking fans, majorly from the Gulf and Asian countries as the reason for the ban, many fans fault the last-minute and sudden change without proper and prior communication, wondering how some of their sponsors, such as the makers of Budweiser that deal in the business of alcohol, will make good profit out of the business.