Football fans will be allowed to drink alcohol if Saudi Arabia is successful in its unpopular bid to host the 2034 World Cup, sources claim.
The Muslim-majority country bans the sale and consumption of alcohol but could allow booze sales in hotels and limited ‘fan zones’ if the tournament is awarded.
“It hasn’t been discussed publicly, but it is an accepted fact,” a source said The sun.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced earlier this week that it plans to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
Critics have warned FIFA that it would be “sports washing” if it allowed the oil-rich state to host the tournament, covering up its “appalling human rights record”.
A fan is pictured enjoying a beer as England played Slovenia in the 2010 World Cup
Employee drinks a beer in a fan zone prior to the World Cup in Doha, Qatar, last year
The source told The Sun: ‘We recognize that very serious mistakes have been made in the past and want the world to understand that we are changing.’
The sale and consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited in Saudi Arabia.
Foreigners caught drinking alcohol can face flogging, fines, imprisonment and deportation.
But the country appears to have softened its stance on the prospect of hosting the 2034 World Cup, announcing it will make a bid on Wednesday.
President of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), Yasser Al Misehal, said in a statement on the SAFF website: “We believe the time is right for Saudi Arabia to host the Football World Cup.
“Our bid is driven by a love for the game and a desire to see it grow in every corner of the world. We want to celebrate our football culture and share our country with the world.”
Saudi Arabia will try to avoid the mistakes Qatar made last year after an 11th-hour decision to ban alcohol in stadiums after previously saying fans could drink.
Qatar initially signed Budweiser to sell alcoholic beer exclusively in closed fan zones at its eight World Cup venues in Doha, as part of a deal worth $75 million.
But just two days before the start of the tournament, organizers made an about-face and completely banned alcohol at stadium venues.
Many demanded refunds from FIFA for ‘caving in’ to the Qatari royal family for ‘ruining the tournament’ with the ban.
Qatar was also hounded for its poor human rights record, and FIFA for its decision to award the country the tournament.
In response, FIFA dismissed the accusations and called on the association leaders of the 32 competing countries to ‘not allow football to be drawn into every ideological or political struggle that exists’.
Others found creative ways to defend their decision to participate in the World Cup in Qatar. David Beckham has insisted that ‘engagement is the only way to deliver change’ after being criticized for agreeing to a £10 million deal to support the event.
After the event, Amnesty noted FIFA still failed to fulfill its obligations responsibilities in the field of human rights by refusing to commit to compensating migrant workers and their families for abuses during the preparation and implementation of the 2022 World Cup tournament in Qatar.”
Critics have similarly dismissed the prospect of Saudi Arabia hosting major tournaments given its rights records. Amnesty finds that human rights defenders are being harassed and subject to arbitrary travel bans in prison.
Courts have also resorted to the death penalty after “extremely unfair trials”, and thousands of residents have faced forced evictions in the coastal city of Jeddah.
Migrant workers continue to be “abused and exploited under the sponsorship system and thousands have been arbitrarily detained in inhuman conditions, tortured and otherwise ill-treated.”
Saudi Arabia won the right to host the December 2023 Club World Cup, a tournament organized by FIFA in which football teams from around the world compete against each other annually.
Steve Cockburn, Head of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International, said: “FIFA has once again ignored Saudi Arabia’s atrocious human rights record.
‘In addition to awarding the tourist site Visit Saudi as sponsor of the Women’s World Cup, the country has announced it will host the Club World Cup without any consideration of freedom of expression, discrimination or workers’ rights.
“FIFA is once again throwing its own human rights policy overboard and is complicit in blatant sportswashing.”
Qatar was previously selected to host the tournament in 2019.
Fans drink beer during day 2 of the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar Fan Festival at Al Bidda Park on November 20, 2022 in Doha, Qatar