World Cup fans ready to celebrate despite stadium beer ban
FIFA World Cup fans are ready to celebrate despite a ban on beer sales in the stadiums ahead of the June 16-July 15 tournament.
Some beer companies say the ban is necessary to stop fans drinking alcohol to excess and causing trouble.
The alcohol ban, which could be extended to other countries, was announced in February 2019, after a series of incidents during the World Cup.
Beer sales at the FIFA World Cup venues were banned during last year’s tournament in Russia.
But as the tournament nears, FIFA has extended the ban to other major sporting events, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the U.S.
The World Cup fans are ready to celebrate after their World Cup dream takes hold. (Getty)
The ban applies to the stadiums hosting the final matches, not individual bars or restaurants, and only applies to alcohol that was bought at the venue.
Fans have been able to consume alcohol at the venues since the beer ban began on March 19.
“I did not realise it was such a big event until I got to the World Cup,” one fan wrote in a response letter to FIFA.
“People always say to me, ‘What do you drink?’ and I say, ‘I don’t drink,’ and then they say ‘And I don’t drink’ because they are sure I will say, ‘You are drinking beer in Russia!'”
FIFA has defended the ban.
“When we implemented the alcohol ban, we did it carefully and thought hard about it,” FIFA said at the time.
“It is not always an easy decision, but we are confident we made the right decision.”
We’re working hard to make sure the World Cup is as safe and as enjoyable for all as possible. (Getty)
We will never be able to stop people from indulging in alcohol. Just as we will not be able to stop people from eating ice cream, drinking alcohol is part and parcel of sport. We believe
