Just two days before the start of the World Cup, Qatari organizers have banned the sale of alcoholic beverages at all of the tournament’s eight stadiums.
The stunning reversal, first reported by British newspaper The Times, comes after FIFA and Qatari officials were reportedly engaged in late negotiations over whether beer would be sold.
“Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues,” FIFA announced. The decision, the governing body said, would mean “removing sales points of beer from Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium perimeters.”
