At the 2034 World Cup, fans will not be able to drink alcohol in the stadiums. Following the controversial awarding of the tournament to Saudi Arabia last week, FIFA has not publicly addressed the issue of alcohol, but senior sources have told The Guardian newspaper that they do not foresee the possibility of selling beer during matches.
Unlike other Muslim countries, the sale of alcohol has been banned in Saudi Arabia, even in luxury hotels, since King Ibn Saud imposed it in 1952. A store in Riyadh has started selling alcohol since January, but only to non-Muslim diplomats and under strict controls and quotas.
FIFA sources say they learned the lesson from Qatar during the 2022 World Cup. The emirate had been pressured to allow beer to be sold in the stadiums, but two days before the start of the championship the ruling Al-Thani family put its foot down and gave reverse authorization.
As a result, tens of thousands of barrels of Budweiser had to be removed from stadiums, a move that cost FIFA around £40m. [unos 48,4 millones de euros] in compensation to AB InBev, the sponsoring company and owner of the Budweiser beer brand.
In the stadiums you could only buy Bud Zero soft drinks and non-alcoholic beers, except in one of the FIFA fan areas where Budweiser was sold at a price of £12 a pint. [unos 14,5 euros por un poco más de medio litro de cerveza].
Despite this episode, AB InBev extended the commercial alliance it has had with FIFA since 1986 until the 2026 World Cup. The beer company has also agreed to sponsor the 2025 Club World Cup. AB InBev is said to have asked FIFA during negotiations to clarify its plans for 2034.
FIFA has announced that the sale of alcohol in stadiums is not planned. But what is not so clear, with a decade to go, is the regulation of alcohol in hotels and fan areas. Saudi Arabia is a much more conservative country than Qatar, where the sale of alcohol is allowed in luxury hotels in Doha, and where there are several pubs in the capital.
FIFA sources told The Guardian that they were not planning to pressure the Saudi government to relax its laws. The Riyadh store selling alcohol is not a first step towards legalization but an attempt to fight illegal sales by diplomats who smuggle bottles of liquor.
The Saudi government maintains a very close relationship with FIFA, which depends on Riyadh for its financial support. State oil company Aramco pays FIFA £320m for four-year sponsorship deal [unos 387 millones de euros]. On the other hand, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia is willing to invest in the company streaming Dazn, who has paid 800 million pounds to FIFA [unos 968 millones de euros] in exchange for global rights to televise the Club World Cup.
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