Qatar World Cup stadiums can be alcohol-free
Qatar’s World Cup stadiums will be alcohol-free, with the sale of beer outside the arena only allowed before and after some matches.
Key points:
- While drinking in public is illegal in Qatar, World Cup organizers plan to create special “zones” and curfews for travel fans
- An estimated 1.2 million visitors are expected for the November tournament, which has a long-standing cultural association with alcohol
- Currently, alcohol can only be purchased at a select few clubs and designated hotels, where a pint of beer can cost around $18
This year’s World Cup is the first to be held in a Muslim country with strict alcohol controls, presenting a unique challenge for event organizers often associated with beer aficionados and sponsored by global brewing brands.
“At the stadium, the plans are still in the final stages, but the current discussion is to allow fans to drink beer on arrival and while leaving. [a] stadium, but beer will not be served during games or in stadium bowls,” a source told Reuters on Friday.
A document dated June 2 provides the first insight into how organizers plan to deal with the demands of some 1.2 million football fans, many of whom are used to drinking unlimited beer on matchdays.
Football’s relationship with alcohol has long been a delicate one and ahead of the 2014 World Cup, Brazil lifted its ban on alcohol in stadiums after coming under pressure from governing body FIFA.
There have been question marks over alcohol at this year’s tournament since the Gulf Arab nation won the hosting rights in 2010. While not a “dry” country like neighboring Saudi Arabia, consuming alcohol in public is illegal in Qatar.
However, fans at the November World Cup will also be able to purchase beer for a limited time in a select part of FIFA’s main fan zone at Al Bidda park in Doha, Qatar’s capital.
“Unlike previous World Cup fan zones, beer will not be served throughout the day, but at limited times,” the source added.
Alcohol will also be available to 15,000 to 20,000 fans in a corner of the former Doha Golf Club, a few kilometers away from the stadium and the main fan zone, the documents show.
In addition, a sandy plot of land surrounded by a 3-meter wall and located between the hotel’s delivery entrance and the district’s refrigeration factory will be converted into a 10,000-capacity venue promising Techno music and alcohol, the documents show.
A spokesman for the organisers, Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Shipping and Heritage, said that together with FIFA they would announce plans for the availability of alcohol at the 28-day tournament “in due course”.
Although FIFA’s website advertises free-flowing “beer, champagne, sommelier-selected wines and premium spirits” in the stadium’s VIP hospitality suites, alcohol was not sold at the stadium in December during a test event for the World Cup.
Visitors are prohibited from bringing alcohol into Qatar, even from the duty-free airport, and they cannot shop at the country’s only liquor store, on the outskirts of Doha, where foreign residents with a permit can purchase for home consumption.
Alcohol can be purchased by Qatari visitors at some licensed hotels and clubs, where a pint of beer can cost $18.
Beer prices within the fan zone and near the stadium have not yet been agreed.
Earlier this year, another source close to the discussions told Reuters alcohol prices would be capped in the fan zone, suggesting that at the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, a pint of beer costs around five pounds ($6.55).
Although the document anticipates “strong demand for international drinks”, it says the main party zone adjacent to the FIFA fan festival will be alcohol-free, offering up to 70,000 fans a 6-kilometer “family-friendly” street carnival.
Rules regarding the sale of alcohol in football stadiums vary around the world. In England, alcohol is sold in the stadium area but fans cannot drink it in front of the pitch, while in France none is allowed on the stadium grounds.
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