FIFA & Qatar finalise policy on selling beer at World Cup

Beer will be available in stadiums at the Qatar World Cup, but fans will have to wait until 6:30pm each night to drink alcohol in the official fan zone.

In Qatar, alcohol is only available at certain licensed hotels and restaurants, but talks between FIFA, sponsor Budweiser and the Qatar authorities have yielded a compromise.

Fans will be able to drink alcohol outside a small number of premises – however, they will only be able to drink at specific times and locations throughout the tournament.

A statement from FIFA on Saturday read: “Inside the stadium bowl ticket holders will have access to non-alcoholic Budweiser Zero. At the FIFA Fan Festival, Budweiser will be available to purchase from 6.30 p.m.”

The World Cup is expected to attract more than one million supporters to a small nation whose population is only around 2.8 million.

Qatar is not the only country to relax its alcohol regulation for a World Cup. Brazil eased its stance in 2014 as local lawmakers passed a special bill exempting the competition from a ban on selling alcohol at stadiums.