প্রকাশ: 20/11/2022
Football fans who travelled thousands of kilometres to get a glimpse of
the sport's most prestigious event savoured their first sips of beer at the
launch of a fan festival on Saturday, a rare place where they can drink alcohol
at the World Cup.
In a
last-minute U-turn, two days before the tournament's opening match, the
international football governing body Fifa said on Friday that alcoholic beer
would not be sold at Qatar's World Cup stadiums.
Budweiser,
a major World Cup sponsor, had been set to exclusively sell alcoholic beer
within the ticketed perimeter surrounding each of the eight stadiums three
hours before and one hour after each game during the month-long event.
Now fans
can only consume beer at the Fifa Fan Festival in Doha. Alcoholic beverages
remain available at the stadium hospitality areas.
One
Mexican fan in a sombrero, his country's tricolour flag draped over his
shoulders, balanced a cardboard drink holder containing four beers as he joined
a group of his compatriots at Doha's Al Bidda Park, hosting the Fifa Fan
Festival.
"Not
having alcohol is not good because the World Cup it's a party of the
world," said Brazilian fan Julio Cesar, wearing a felt hat in his
country's colours.
The 2022
World Cup is the first edition of the tournament held in a conservative Muslim
country with strict controls on alcohol, the consumption of which is banned in
public.
Qatar has
also faced criticism from some countries playing in the 32-nation tournament
over its rights record on migrant workers, women and the LGBTQ community.
For the
fans unfazed by Qatar's dire human rights record, the absence of beer at World
Cup venues has proven a major disappointment.
"It's
tough to tell what happened in Qatar, whether it is the truth or not,"
said 41-year-old Guilherme, another Brazil fan.
"My
only problem is banning alcohol."
- Reuters
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