Qatar Royal Family Decides To Play World Cup Hide The Beer

Heads up, World Cup attendees: beer could be really hard to find.

Who wants to break this news to the Germans?

With all eyes turning to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, the nation's royal family has made a point of focusing on the real issues. According to The New York Times, one of those issues is beer.

While in most of the rest of the world, the number one beer concern at a big event like the World Cup is having enough suds to satiate hundreds of thousands of fans' thirsts.

In Qatar, they're worried about the exact opposite.

The New York Times spoke to three anonymous sources with knowledge of the Royal Family's demand that Budweiser-sponsored beer tents be removed from fan areas at eight World Cup stadiums.

This is not just an issue for soccer hooligans who want to get their drink on, but also for Budweiser. The brand is one of the World Cup's major sponsors and has been for years.

The World Cup's Beer Conundrum

Oddly enough, alcohol isn't illegal in Qatar. Typically, if you want a drink you can grab it from bars inside designated hotels.

Trying to toe the line between pleasing their sponsors while fielding the host nation's demands, has been a constant problem since Qatar was chosen to host the World Cup back in 2010.

The previous plan had been for beer to be sold in designated areas outside of the stadium. The inside of the stadiums themselves was to be a strict no-beer zone.

If Budweiser is limited in where it can sell and advertise its products, it could sour its relationship with FIFA moving forward.

Budweiser was only informed of these changes on Saturday. That's only a little over a week before the tournament gets underway.

It's believed that this directive came direct from Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

Who is that? Well, he's the brother of the country's ruler and has been heavily involved in planning the World Cup.

This is to say, that there's no use fighting this edict, and that's why Budweiser seems ready to go along with it.

A Budweiser spokeswoman told The New York Times that they are working with FIFA to move the beer stands.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup gets underway on November 20. The US Men's National Team hits the pitch on November 21 for a match against Wales.

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Matt is a University of Central Florida graduate and a long-suffering Philadelphia Flyers fan living in Orlando, Florida. He can usually be heard playing guitar, shoe-horning obscure quotes from The Simpsons into conversations, or giving dissertations to captive audiences on why Iron Maiden is the greatest band of all time.