The World Cup is, or was, a big deal for Budweiser parent company AB InBev. Go to the first page of the brewing giant’s third-quarter presentation to investors and you will see an image of a Budweiser bottle emblazoned with the Jules Rimet trophy next to a representation of the trophy itself.
The company is, or was, “uniquely positioned to activate demand”, with official Fifa World Cup beer Budweiser marketed under the campaign line “the world is yours to take”.
Alas, the World Cup 2022 was Qatar’s to take, and now an eleventh-hour reversal means Budweiser will no longer be allowed to sell alcoholic beer within the ticketed perimeter of its eight stadiums three hours before and one hour after each game, as had previously been agreed between Qatari authorities and Fifa.
Football supporters can still queue to buy up to four pricey beers in the baking heat of the Fifa “Fan Festival” zone and licensed venues at some hotels, but outside the elite echelons of corporate hospitality, the stadium taps have been turned off. Only Bud Zero – a name that reflects what’s left of Fifa’s reputation – will be on sale. “Uniquely positioned”, indeed.
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“Well, this is awkward,” the official Budweiser account tweeted, before deleting the tweet.
Awkward is one word for it. It seems reasonable to speculate that the relationship between AB InBev and Fifa is now about as healthy and harmonious as that between Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo. The U-turn – which Fifa was evidently powerless to stop – pours a great big bucket of sick all over a four-year sponsorship arrangement with the world football governing body for which Budweiser reportedly shelled out $75 million (€72 million).
AB InBev had plenty of time to see this coming: it renewed its top-level partner deal with Fifa in 2011, one year after Qatar was declared host. No doubt it will still get some advertising bang for its buck out of the whole torrid fiasco, as it did out of the World Cup in Russia in 2018. It is tough to have much sympathy for any backer of this scandalous tournament.
But if Qatar can shaft Fifa over alcohol sales, what else can it move the goalposts on? The answer is likely to be “everything”, as fans, participants and journalists who fall foul of this regime may soon find out, and migrant workers already have.
