Located, as its own website says, in the “heart of the West Bay”, one of the most beautiful regions of Doha, the W Hotel charges a daily rate from US$ 300 (about R$ 1,500). It was the place chosen as the HQ of Budweiser, the company that paid US$ 75 million (R$ 401.5 million at current quotations) to FIFA to be the official beer brand of the 2022 World Cup.
An investment, in part, supported by the prospect of selling its products in the eight World Cup stadiums and their perimeters. Qatar expects around 1.2 million visitors for the tournament that starts this Sunday (20), when the home team faces Ecuador.
This Friday (18), part of that investment went down the drain. In a unilateral decision, despite Fifa’s claims that everything had happened by common agreement, Qatar abolished the sale of alcohol in arenas. Products will only be allowed at authorized “fan fests” and in places “designated” by the local government.
“Well, that’s weird”, published Budweiser, on its official Twitter account, even before the announcement made by FIFA.
“There is no impact on the sale of Bud Zero, which will continue to be available in Qatar’s World Cup stadiums. Local authorities and FIFA will continue to ensure that the stadiums and areas around them offer a pleasant, respectful environment and an enjoyable experience. enjoyable for all fans”, says the communiqué from the entity that controls football.
Bud Zero is a non-alcoholic beer.
Minutes after the ban was confirmed, Budweiser employees were setting up the structure of a bar built next to the W Hotel for the tournament. The brewery symbol is everywhere. Arnheuer-Busch InBev SA/NV, owner of the brand that is one of the most sold on the planet, is valued at US$ 108 billion (R$ 588.4 billion).
In a note, InBev states: “Some of the activations planned in the stadiums cannot go ahead because of circumstances beyond our control”.
The expression of company executives at the hotel reception said that the common agreement disclosed by FIFA was not that “common” after all.
According to one of them told the Sheet, although the measure had been signaled in recent days, the company did not believe it would occur, especially after agreeing to remove the brewery’s stands in the stadiums to a less visible location. The requirement had been made by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, responsible for organizing the Cup.
A national team leader who is already in Doha told the report that he considered the sponsor’s naivety because the Qatari government had already considered this possibility a few months ago, but left it to press the announcement button two days before the first match, when it would be impossible for FIFA take any action.
The discussion about the sale of beer is a subject that has dragged on since Qatar surprised and won the election to host the World Cup, in December 2010. The contract with Budweiser is considered by FIFA to be a fundamental part of the entity’s marketing and experience. of fans at the tournament. During the World Cup in Russia in 2018, 3.2 million beers were sold.
Each time they were asked, representatives of the Delivery and Legacy Committee said the matter would be resolved and the alcohol would be available in a way that respected Qatari law. For FIFA, it was an implicit acceptance that there would be alcohol in stadiums. But at the same time, the message from Qataris has always been that visitors would have to adapt to the country’s culture, not the other way around.
According to the Financial Times, which cited information from members of the World Cup organization, there was a change in attitude due to the government’s fear that Qataris would feel uncomfortable in places where people would be drinking for more than three hours before the matches.
Alcohol consumption is not allowed by Qatar’s official religion, Islam. Being seen drunk on the street is considered a crime.
The Supreme Committee, the body that decided to ban beer in arenas, is led by Secretary General Hassan Al Thawadi. Considered close to the royal family, he was appointed in 2020 by Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to the board of the Qatar Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund. Under the command of the emir, the fund has assets valued at US$ 445 billion (R$ 2.4 trillion).
Alcoholic drinks are only allowed in specific places, such as bars and restaurants in some hotels. And they’re expensive. A Budweiser costs 50 Qatari Rials (R$74).
According to the Expensivity website, which calculates the value of beers in different nations, Qatar is the most expensive in the world. The government applies a 100% tax on product imports. The measure was dubbed the “sin tax”.
It is also very difficult to obtain authorization to sell it, and distribution is state-owned. To receive the license, it is necessary to have Qatari citizenship and fulfill a long series of requirements that include the financial capacity to keep the business running and a commitment not to allow customers to take to the streets with drinks in their hands.
The only distribution point in the country is controlled by the Qatar Distribution Company (QDC), a state-owned company that concentrates all the alcohol imported into the country (which does not produce anything).
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