When planning to host the 2022 World Cup, the World Football Federation (FIFA) signed a $75 million sponsorship deal with famous beer brands such as budweiser and Anheuser-Busch InBev. Currently, when the products of these two companies cannot appear in the stands in every live match within the framework of the World Cup, FIFA will violate the contract and will definitely have to pay.
The The Guardian, FIFA have been very disappointed with this ban from the Qatari government. Sponsors are still waiting for FIFA to quickly handle it in the final hours. Once their rights are violated, they can file a lawsuit against the organization right before the World Cup takes place.
"After discussions between the host country's government and FIFA, alcoholic beverages will be sold in licensed places, strictly prohibiting the purchase and sale of this item in the area inside and around the stadiums that host matches within the framework of the 2022 World Cup. In addition, drinks like bud Zero ( Budweiser's non-alcoholic beer) are still sold in full at the stadiums" - the announcement on FIFA's homepage said.
budweiser's reaction is confusing FIFA. As soon as the Qatari owner's ban was issued, the American beer company posted a tweet on its homepage with the content: " well, how awkward is this". FIFA could not help but worry when reading that message even though it was deleted shortly after.
FIFA did not have time to react to this scenario because Qatar had previously allowed the sale of alcoholic beverages inside and around the stadium. The ban was issued just 72 hours before the opening date, which was too urgent.
With a solution for FIFA, they can take advantage of their resources to market and sell beer to fans in gatherings across Qatar. There, the host country does not prohibit it. This method does not help the image of the budweiser beer bottle appear in the stadium, but it also somewhat limits the damage of this company.
Alcohol and beer are considered not in accordance with the customs of Qatari people in particular and Hoi giao countries in general. Now, FIFA has sent a working group to the local government to harmonize the interests of the organizer and the culture of the host country. The difficulty for FIFA is that Qatar does not need money, so when negotiating, it is difficult for this organization to bring digital benefits to the negotiation table.
A representative of the Football fans Association (FSA) said that they were disappointed with this behavior of the host country because it would reduce the heat of the tournament. The FSA said that if Qatar wants to ban it, do it from the start instead of using the "turn around" scenario. In addition, the FSA is also concerned that more strange laws will be issued and fans will suffer losses when enjoying the World Cup in this Middle Eastern country.
