No Beer For You!
I guess we shouldn't be surprised to find out that Qatar has thrown another monkey wrench into the whole World Cup fiasco. I have to be honest, I am not a soccer (football) fan, but I am a fan of sports and a fan of finance, so I find sports like this interesting to say the least.
If the rumors of massive deaths among migrant workers during the construction of the facilities isn't enough, the host country has found themselves committing an equally (okay not really) egregious civil rights violation by not allowing alcohol sales for the World Cup games.
This could serve as a huge blow to Budweiser who spent something like $750 million dollars to be he sponsored vendor of the World Cup or something like that.
The fact that they waited until two days before the event started to announce this is pretty "sus" if you ask me.
Honestly, I don't necessarily blame Qatar for all of this even though I led with that at the beginning of this post. Instead, I actually blame FIFA for their oversight on this.
FIFA was draw by the money that Qatar was waving in front of them and in my opinion every incident, controversy, violation that comes from this lies squarely at their doorstep.
You knew the bed you were laying in when you took that money and awarded the games, so you have absolutely zero excuse.
It sounds like Budweiser still has some plans to make the best of this situation, but I still feel horrible that they have to deal with the aftermath of this anyway.
Don't get me wrong, given the recent behavior by some soccer fans and the loss of life attributed to it, not serving alcohol at the World Cup might not be a bad thing. That being said, as responsible adults, we should be able to control ourselves.
There is a reason soccer hooligan is a thing. You are basically alienating more than half of your fan base by making this decision. On top of that, this ban is simply going to cause people to seek out subversive ways of doing what never should have been banned anyway.
In a country where the powers that be are just looking for a reason to throw people in jail or even worse execute them. Qatar has already hinted at the fact that homosexuals aren't welcome in their country.
It's going to be a pretty lonely crowd if you turn away all of the beer drinkers by default as well.
I dunno, did you see this story? What did you think about it? Are you planning on going to the World Cup? If you were, does this change your mind? Do you have any safety concerns travelling to Qatar?
I look forward to seeing your comments!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11SudsNYXOVVyJAy_iIvWsKppnvybQeMCwhjWvFxUqb8/edit
I'm not that into soccer, but I sometimes watch some of the World Cup. This one is controversial in various ways. Hosting it in a country that has never qualified and does not have much of a soccer scene seems weird for a start. I'm sure it was all about money, but isn't the sport pretty rich anyway? Then there's all the alleged deaths of construction workers who are poorly paid. That is not good for the image.
There would have been long negotiations between the hosts and sponsors, so changing the rules at the last minute seems strange. Did you hear that a beer would cost £12/$14 there? It would be expensive to get drunk.
I feel for the fans and the players who just want to play for their country. This is all a distraction from the sport.
It might surprise many, but it seems that Qatar has actually had a "pro" league since 1972, and teams were around since the fifties (according to wikipedia), and whilst their top division only has 12 teams currently, given they are a relatively small country their soccer scene is well established.
That said, I agree having them host it was the worst decision FIFA could ever have made, and as has been widely publicised since it was awarded to them the level of corruption and bribery at the heart of FIFA's decsion making process would rival perhaps a US presidential campaign (ooopsss ... a bit controversial lol). Add to that the treatment of migrant workers building the stadia, civil rights issues, including the potential for the mistreatment and worse of the LGBTQ+ communties that have arisen over the years only adds fuel to fire. Recent comments by FIFA officials haven't helped asuage the thoughts of most that having such a prestigous tournament in such a country was always a mistake.
The issue over removing mainstream alcohol at the event is also a bit of mockery of the tournament and the sponsors, since it has also been revealed that certain privileged VIP guests (commonly known as freeloaders) will be able to quaff champagne/sparkling wines and cocktails to their hearts content.
I'll admit I don't know much about the country beyond what I have been reading recently. The native population is pretty small with a lot of ex-pats. The fact is that big money drives sport and the actual fans may not be seen as so important by those in charge.
I expect you heard that Joe Lycett plans to shred £10k unless David Beckham pulls out of his well paid promotional position.
It will be interesting to see if people watch anyway. I know my Welsh colleague wants to see his team do well.
Thanks for the awesome comment! Yeah, this seems like it was a road to ruin right from the get go. Paved with bribes and nefarious back room deals. It will be interesting to see how many visitors end up being detained during the events and how many of them are never heard from again. If the US thinks the Russia/Griner thing is crazy, can you imagine what is going to happen here?
How much does that equate to per beer in US dollars. Beers at sporting events are horrendously priced, so it might not be as out of bounds as you think. Okay, yes, totally outrageous, but unfortunately, not uncommon. I wrote a post a long time ago about the migrant workers who were just disappearing during the construction phase. Definitely not a good look. I think this falls really similar to the Olympic games. It is likely more about money than we want to admit.
As I said above, about $14 for a beer. Would you pay that much?
Oh, okay, I see you did both. I usually get confused when I see that pound mark show up. Yeah, I think I have paid that before. I don't usually drink at concerts or events because then I have to pee and I might miss something. Occasionally, I will have a drink or two. That sounds about normal price-wise for a stadium drink.
If it's even £7 for a beer I'll think twice about it and I also don't want to be peeing during a gig. It can be an expensive night out anyway. Not as much as people are paying to be at the World Cup. I heard people are paying a lot just to sleep in a tent, but they want to be part of it.
I don't know if it is the same over there, but you would be shocked with the mentality at concerts in the US. I have seen people drop hundreds if not thousands of dollars on drinks at a show. Spend all their time talking and going back and forth and nearly passing out they are so drunk. It makes you wonder why they even bought the tickets unless they got them for free or something.
Oh yes, I've seen that. So much for an unforgettable experience. Maybe I'm just old, but I'm not interested in getting really drunk now.
Btw we've got tickets to see Sting at an outdoor gig next year. It's actually across the road from where my parents live.
That's awesome Sting would be great to see live. He has been doing some really great collaborations lately plus all of his original stuff. It should be quite a show!
and on top of that, the cultural/traditional restrictions limits the joy of the fans who just wants to enjoy football. Totally understandable that we need to follow their rules but why give it in the first place.
Also, I read a reliable source that after Qatar was granted to host the World cup, six months later they purchased fighter jets from France costing around $14.6 billion.
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I think Budweiser uses this as a global promotion so they won't be overly concerned about the no drinking at the stadiums. Had to happen and I am sure FIFA are making it up to them in some other way. Imagine being a main sponsor for all these years and this happens 2 days before the event kicks off. Shows you how much control FIFA has as this should never have ever happened. personally if religion is going to play a part in a sporting event and you have sponsors who have been with you for decades then choose another country. This is all on FIFA and Budweiser should get whatever they invested back since the last World Cup.
Yeah why grant it in the first place knowing there'll be so much restrictions that fans must follow. Labor slavery, unreported deaths, poorly setup hostels to cater growing demands for hotel and accommodation, gender malpractices, and most importantly a very hot country to host.
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I totally agree with you. FIFA is taking play out of the Olympic committee handbook here. All they cared about was the money.
Budweiser will be in a good position regardless. They're being talked about. Any news is good news, so the fact we're talking about Budweiser means that their investment isn't total BS. They should definitely be compensated. The real $$$ will be at "home" in America in 2026. The extra teams and extra games at the 2026 World Cup will pay dividends
I remember when the World Cup was down the road in Detroit, MI. I was just a little kid, but everyone was so excited. That was back when the Silverdome was still in use. You are probably right, I am sure Budweiser will be okay. It's still pretty crappy of them to do that.