According to a source with knowledge of the preparations for the event, Qatar will allow ticketed supporters to purchase alcoholic drinks at World Cup soccer matches beginning three hours before kickoff and continuing for one hour after the final whistle, but not during the action itself. This should be the best news for all fans going to the tournament.
According to the source, Budweiser, a significant World Cup sponsor with exclusive rights to sell alcohol at the competition, will only offer beer inside the ticketed area surrounding each stadium and disapprove of the stadium stands and concourse.
Just a few months prior to the first game, the beer ban that would influence the majority of viewers was taken down, and it eventually fulfilled a demand that has been there since Qatar established its 12-year-old request to host the first World Cup in the Middle East.
Budweiser is the first World Cup beer brand
Since 1986, Budweiser has been the only World Cup beer brand. In 2011, after Qatar was selected as the host nation, parent company AB InBev extended the agreement with FIFA through 2022.
Budweiser with alcohol will be served “inside the stadium boundary prior to kickoff and after the final whistle,” FIFA announced on Saturday.
As the first Muslim country to host the FIFA World Cup, Qatar is expected to provide significant difficulties for the organizers when it comes to providing alcohol to international fans who will be traveling to the country to watch the event.
Also, Qatar is not the first FIFA World Cup host country to relax its alcohol policy; in 2014, Brazil’s legislature established a particular measure to permit beer sales at stadiums. However, it is unclear how Qatar, a nation with severe laws against drinking, would handle the problem when tens of thousands of football fans visit the country for the World Cup.
FIFA to introduce NFT-based plans
FIFA has picked the 2022 Qatar World Cup as the occasion to introduce an NFT-based (non-fungible token) collection of iconic highlights from the competition’s history.
Soccer fans will be able to own and trade “moments in time” containing the best goals, saves, celebrations, and more from World Cup and Women’s World Cup history when FIFA+ Collect launches later this month, according to FIFA.
As part of an arrangement to be a blockchain member and wallet provider for FIFA World Cup 2022, which was decided back in May, the FIFA World Cup NFT clips will be attached to the Algorand blockchain.
NFTs became popular thanks to famous sporting occasions maintained as digital acquisitions; one of the most popular being NBA Top Shot, the basketball collectibles medium created by Dapper Labs. The same company produced CryptoKitties, the first NFT collection to gain traction on the Ethereum blockchain.
Use of ATA Carnet in 2022 FIFA
For professional items like broadcasting equipment on an extraordinary basis during the impending 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar’s customs authorities have allowed the use of ATA Carnet, an international customs document that facilitates duty- and tax-free temporary import of goods.
Although Qatar implemented the ATA regime in 2018 with an initial application that was only applicable to goods displayed or used at exhibitions and trade shows, professional equipment like broadcasting equipment was initially unable to be sent into Qatar under cover of ATA Carnets for provisional admission.
The Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) played a crucial role in negotiations with the Qatari customs authorities that led to an agreement/measures to extend the ATA spectrum to comprise professional equipment on a unique basis during the tournament—from October until the end of December 2022—while taking into consideration the needs of the media industry. This effort was driven by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).