The World Cup says bye to booze

World Cup matches officially began yesterday. But arguably the biggest pre-kickoff news concerning the tournament 62.5% of the world is projected to watch came on Friday, when Qatari officials banned alcohol sales at any games.

Though the move is an about-face from the country’s initial promise to serve beer outside of stadiums and before games, it doesn’t exactly come as a surprise. A week ago, Qatar’s royal family decreed that beer tents be moved to less prominent areas around the stadiums – and in general, the country is known for its strict laws surrounding drugs and alcohol.

Some fun facts:

• There are only two liquor stores in the country.
• Drinking in public? Straight to jail (plus a fine). Being drunk in public? Also straight to jail (plus a fine).
• As of 2019, there’s a 100% tax on alcohol imports. Which leads Qatar to have the most expensive beer in the world, per a 2021 report from Expensivity. (An 11-ounce bottle will set you back $11.26.)

🍻📉 The boots-on-the-ground impact: Just like Barry Bonds’ home run record, Qatar’s beer ban has an asterisk or two. Booze can be purchased at a handful of dedicated FIFA Fan Festival zones outside of the stadium – or even inside the stadium, if you shell out $22,600 for a corporate hospitality ticket.

And despite these asterisks, FIFA has to be fielding some… not so nice emails from Budweiser execs. The beer giant, which has been the World Cup’s official beer sponsor since 1986, paid $75 million to sponsor the event. Per the chief supply officer at Budweiser’s parent company, more of its beer was projected to be drunk in the country during the four weeks of the World Cup than in an entire year.

+In other on-the-field news: The US plays its first match at 2 pm ET today. See a full tournament schedule and results.