When FIFA decided to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup, the decision was met with some confusion.
On the one hand, Qatar hosting the biggest sports tournament in the world is historic. The tournament will be held in the Middle East for the first time in its 92-year history.
Not only will this year's World Cup be historic for its location, but it is also the first time the tournament will be held outside of the summer months (it gets pretty hot in the desert during that time of year).
Oh, and by the way, it is also, by far, the most expensive World Cup in history.
There are estimates that the tiny, oil-rich, conservative Muslim (more on this later) country is spending between $229 billion and $300 billion to put on the show, which is expected to have a television audience of five billion of the world's eight billion people.
For comparison, Russia spent a then-record $11.6 billion to host the World Cup four years ago.
With hundreds of thousands of fans expected to descend on the country of 2.9 million, it may be tough to keep up with the rules of the country.
Beer maker and World Cup sponsor Budweiser (BUD) is flabbergasted by a World Cup rule that apparently took the company by surprise.
Money Well Spent for Budweiser
On Friday, less than two days before the tournament, FIFA announced that beer will not be sold to fans around any of Qatar's eight World Cup stadiums following "discussions" with the host country.
The country, whose political system is democratic but calls Shari'a law "the main source of its legislations," reportedly had been putting pressure on FIFA officials to halt the sale of Budweiser beer outside the stadiums.
Budweiser did not immediately return a request for comment, but the company's social media team let its thoughts be known on Twitter Friday.
Well what's awkward is that Budweiser reportedly pays about $75 million every four years to be the World Cup official alcohol sponsor.
Non-alcoholic options will be sold at matches, so Bud Zero will still be on the menu.
Also it appears that the Budweiser Twitter account has deleted that tweet.
While alcohol sales are not technically illegal in Qatar, they are heavily regulated. Visitors can usually only purchase and imbibe at licensed hotel restaurants and bars, and usually they are paying a premium price.
It is an offense to be drunk or drink alcohol in public. If you are found drinking in a public space there is the threat of a prison sentence of up to six months and a fine of about $800.
For A Price
Like most things in life, alcohol at the World Cup will be available for those that can afford it.
The only place alcohol will be sold in stadiums is in hospitality boxes, according to Chronicle Live. Those boxes cost more than $22,000 each. So for the privilege of purchasing beer at the tournament, fans will have to plop down enough money to buy a used car.
And if you're able to spend that much money, the reported $14 per beer price tag doesn't seem that restrictive.
