FIFA Insists on Beer at the World Cup

Beer must be sold at all venues hosting matches in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, says FIFA, soccer’s world governing body.

FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke said the right to sell beer must be enshrined in a World Cup law the Brazilian Congress is considering.

Alcoholic drinks are currently banned at Brazilian stadiums and the country’s health minister has urged Congress to maintain the ban in the new law.

Budweiser is a big FIFA sponsor.

Anchor Marco Werman gets more from the BBC’s South America correspondent, Tim Vickery.

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Marco Werman: I’m Marco Werman, this is The World. We Americans expect a few things when we go to a stadium to see a live sporting event. Beer is one of them. Like it or not, beer and sports just seem to go together…here, but not everywhere. In Brazil, for instance, beer sales inside soccer stadiums were banned a few years ago. Now, Brazil is getting ready to host the biggest soccer tournament on the planet, the 2014 World Cup, and soccer’s global governing body, FIFA, says there must be beer for sale inside Brazilian stadiums hosting World Cup matches. Tim Vickery is the BBC’s South America soccer correspondent based in Rio de Janeiro. What’s been the reaction from the Brazilian government to this pretty heavy handed approach by FIFA to approving the beer concession at the World Cup?

Tim Vickery: Well, this is an issue I think more than beer and more than violence. This is an issue of sovereignty. As you said, Marco, Brazilian law bans the sale of alcohol inside football stadiums. Now, the effectiveness of that ban I think can be questioned because in practice it means that the supporters drink outside the stadium before the game, and outside the stadium they can be harder to segregate. So whether this ban is in fact effective is open to question. And there’s also the whole aspect that the violence is caused by intense club rivalries, which will not be the case in the World Cup. So I think what we’re talking about much more than beer or soccer violence, what we’re talking about is the issue of sovereignty.

Werman: Is there any chance Brazil, the Brazilian government could trump FIFA on this, I mean apparently some lawmakers in Brazil are ready to go head to head with FIFA.

Vickery: Well, FIFA are clearly making concessions in a number of areas in their desperation to see the law governing the whole legislative framework of the World Cup, to see that passed through Brazil’s congress. FIFA were desperate for this to be passed last year. It hasn’t happened yet, it’s still going through congress. FIFA are prepared to make some concessions including I think on the issue of ticket pricing, but the issue of beer is far more important to them because one of their leading global sponsors is a beer manufacturer.

Werman: Which one?

Vickery: This is Budweiser, who also have a Brazilian connection as well. This is one of FIFA’s lines of defense and they’re in part a Brazilian company.

Werman: I mean, Tim, I remember a few years ago when Germany hosted the World Cup and there was a push by Budweiser to be the only beer at the concession stands. They didn’t want any local German beers. And FIFA as I recall sided with Budweiser. Why does FIFA seem to stand by its sponsors more strongly than you know, nations?

Vickery: Because it’s the sponsors that help FIFA provide the structure that gains support in nations all over the world, not merely the host nation in the World Cup. There are over 200 nations voting in FIFA. There’s only one vote from the nation holding the World Cup. I think clearly it is a controversial area, the demands that FIFA make on World Cup host nations, especially in the developing world where there is such a need for a massive investment in infrastructure in health, in education and so on. This is clearly a controversial issue.

Werman: It does seem like the Brazilian government is behind the eight ball on this one, but there must be a lot of soccer fans in Brazil who will be really stoked to be able to drink beer at a soccer game at least for a few weeks.

Vickery: I think that the vast majority of soccer fans will welcome this. I think also the clubs would welcome the opportunity to make money from beer sales inside the stadium. It could be perhaps one thing that might help ticket prices come down a little bit.

Werman: Tim Vickery, the BBC’s South America soccer correspondent speaking with us from Rio de Janeiro. Thanks a lot, Tim.

Vickery: Thank you, my pleasure.

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