The Fifa World Cup sponsor Budweiser has announced that the alcoholic beer it can't sell in stadiums in Qatar will go to the winning country of the tournament.
A decision that alcoholic beer could not be sold in World Cup stadiums was taken two days before the tournament started, despite Budweiser s reported $75 m 63 m deal with Fifa. The brand then deleted the message: Well, this is awkward Budweiser announced that the beer would go to the winning side with a tweet saying: New Day, New Tweet. The winning country gets the Buds. A picture of a large quantity of beer in a storage warehouse.
The move caused a lot of mockery on social media, with some users saying it would hurt the World Cup because the American brand of beer has a low reputation in some European countries despite its being owned by AB InBev in Leuven in Belgium. One person on Twitter said: "Thanks to Budweiser on giving everyone the perfect excuse to not win the tournament."
The non-alcoholic brand, Bud Zero, is still available in the stadiums. Budweiser has been a World Cup sponsor since the 1986 tournament in Mexico. In the wake of the announcement of the beer ban, Fifa president Gianni Infantino said the governing body had failed to persuade the Qatar government to stand by the original decision to allow sales, but that if anything, the situation has brought us closer together with Budweiser.
Now it looks as if the team that wins in Qatar's alcohol-free stadium in the final on November 18 will take home not just the trophy and the $42 m 35 m prize money, but will earn their country a slab of beer as well.