Beer gives headache to Qatar, host of World Cup 2022 – Quartz

On January 1, Qatar raised the price of alcohol by 100%. This week, the Arab Gulf nation has cut its prices by about 30%. Despite falling prices, a crate of beer in Qatar's only liquor store will still weigh around $ 64 in thirsty consumers' pockets, according to Bloomberg – about $ 2.66 a drink.

The January price increase was part of a 50-100% tax applied to a range of products considered by the government to be "detrimental to health," including tobacco, energy drinks, and sugary drinks. This has sparked opposition from hotels that serve alcohol in the country and social media critics from football fans worried about how the small country will handle alcohol. when he will organize the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

Although it is unclear that this indignation drove down prices this month, the price movements reflect the difficulty with which Qatar's relatively dry host of a tournament closely linked to alcohol. The fans of the World Cup have drunk so much in the host country, Russia, that bars have run out of beer. Budweiser has also been an official sponsor of FIFA for decades, and the world's governing body of football insists that tournaments not be heard – forcing Brazil, in 2012, to cancel the ban, for a decade , serve alcohol in the stadiums.

Meanwhile, the purchase of drinks from Qatar Distribution Company, the country's only supplier and retailer, is only possible with a permit. To obtain one, you must be a non-Muslim resident and obtain prior approval from your employer.

Last year, in an interview with Russia Today, the chairman of the Qatar World Cup 2022 World Cup Committee confirmed that alcohol would be served during the tournament, but not " in public places, in the streets, etc. ", but that there will be designated, open areas. areas where people can drink alcohol. They will have to meet the demand of 1.5 million people expected in Qatar for this global sports event that will last four weeks.

Tourists will also be able to buy drinks from about 40 licensed hotels, and they charge about 50 riyals ($ 13.44) for beer. "Alcohol is legal in Qatar", Nbader Al-Khater, CEO of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, reminded the fans concerned in March. "It could be a little smaller compared to many other countries. However, it is available.

Alcohol consumption remains a taboo in Qatar, despite the rapid socio-economic changes that the country has experienced in recent decades, from a small pearl trading center to a diverse country. with one of the highest GDP per capita in the world. As a result, about 90% of its population is now foreign, which may explain why alcohol is available.

While many of Qatar's neighbors in the Arabian Gulf also limit its sale and consumption, alcohol has a rich history in the Middle East. Cultivation and wine consumption goes back thousands of years and alcohol remains widely available and relatively cheap in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and elsewhere, as in many countries around the world. Asia and Africa with a Muslim majority.

Managing the distribution of alcohol is just one of the problems that Qatar faces since it was chosen in 2010 to become the first Arab country to host the World Cup. The tournament was scheduled to be scheduled during the winter due to the overwhelming heat, hundreds of migrant workers would have died while building an infrastructure for the games and FIFA officials were accused of being guilty of bribes during the application procedure.