During their 2-0 win over hosts Qatar, on Sunday, the Ecuador supporters made their disdain evident regarding the stadium beer ban clear with chants of “Queremos cerveza, queremos cerveza (we want beer, we want beer)”.
The first chant came while the first half was winding down from a large section of yellow-clad and vocal Ecuador fans: “We want beer.”
This intervention comes across as humorous two days after it was decided by Qatar to ban beer sales in the stadiums during the FIFA World Cup. Access to alcohol is strictly limited in the Islamic nation and thus, it was a late change by the conservative administration. At the game, only alcohol-free Bud Zero was available.
Budweiser Brazil came up with a cheeky tweet: “a voz do povo é a voz de Deus! pra quem não está no estádio vem de cuponzinho! (The voice of the people is the voice of God! For those who aren’t at the stadium)”.
Despite Budweiser being the main sponsor, FIFA issued a statement that said, “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, removing sales points of beer from Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022- stadium perimeters”.
Since Qatar is a Muslim nation, the sale of alcohol is strictly controlled over there. However, the organizers had assured that it will be available in the match venues and in fan zones.