Phew - at least you can still buy Bud Zero!...

Those in corporate areas of stadiums at the tournament will still be able to purchase alcohol.

Wouldn't want the sponsors to miss out.

Wouldn’t want the sponsors to miss out.

So InBev can actually drink the beer they make in their corporate area!

They tweeted this earlier (now deleted)...

Wouldn’t want the sponsors to miss out

I reckon most of the VIP areas will be stuffed with FIFA delicates and their usual accompaniment of coke and hookers

Has anyone yet fathomed why, barring being a FIFA delegate, you’d actually want to go to the World Cup?

As a player maybe?

Otherwise, no.  But then I reckon professional sport is what kills sport (‘cos they need a few very skilled folk play and everyone else sat on their bums paying to watch).

I find the whole thing jolly amusing; from what I can tell, it's exactly the same demographic who complain about muslims coming over here and not abiding by our cultures, tradition and laws are precisely the same folk complaining that they are not allowed to go to the Middle East and drink Stella whilst watching a soccer match. Who said irony was dead!

My brother works for inbev, will find out what the crack is!

(Hes a massive footy fan and has turned down the opportunity to go, which was quite a big thing for him)

I do love the hypocrisy of these Middle Eastern states - "Alcohol is banned unless you're rich and/or important, then its OK as long as the peasants can't see you drinking it"

Why would anyone go?

It costs a fortune. Isn't about £200 a night to stay in those temporary dormitory type things?

The beer was going to be about £12 a pint as well.

The tournament is way too big and watered down, far too many 2nd rate teams.

FIFA delicates

I'm sure a quick application of the magic sponge will make them feel better.

Has anyone yet fathomed why, barring being a FIFA delegate, you’d actually want to go to the World Cup?

Is anyone going? Not that I really follow these things, but I've heard plenty about celebs and pundit being paid to go, celebs and pundits who say they wouldnt go, discussion on the merits of going,  advice to people who might go.... but I've not really seen anything about actual punters who have bought tickets and are going.

Is anyone going? Not that I really follow these things, but I’ve heard plenty about celebs and pundit being paid to go, celebs and pundits who say they wouldnt go, discussion on the merits of going, advice to people who might go…. but I’ve not really seen anything about actual punters who have bought tickets and are going.

I agree - I am worried that the whole circus will be a complete anti-climax with stadiums filled with corporate guests, locals with an interest/being given free tickets and people being paid to attend (as the more recent rumours are suggesting is happening). I wonder if they will end up piping through fan noise like they did during Covid when games were played behind closed doors...

5Live played a clip more than once yesterday from a reporter who says there is NONE of the normal world cup buzz - no fanfare, no huge marketing in evidence, and not really any noteworthy quantity of football fans.

My BIL is going with a mate of his, but only really becasue they have another mate who lives out there. So they've got the cheapest flight out there that I think probably goes via Los Angeles or something and then they're staying at their mates place.

Suppose it could be interesting, but I wouldn;t fancy it.

I hope there is not some way that BrewDog cannot benefit from this

They've been banging on about providing beer to Qatar and espousing all sorts of corporate wishy-washy good vibes including their "anti-sponsorship" of Qatar but have been called out for their hypocrisy on Twitter, LinkedIn etc. Their head guy has responded in a really aggressive way and was challenged why he was behaving that way given the records of bullying at BD. His response was as expected

FIFA delicates

I’m sure a quick application of the magic sponge will make them feel better.

I lolled

So prety much the same as Scottish football grounds then.

That's why we didn't qualify. Why bother going all the way to the gulf to not get served when you can not get served at home

@scruff9252 Nails it.

No point holding the world cup somewhere that homosexuality and alcohol are illegal then moaning it isn't all rainbow flags and alcohol fueled fans street parties.

Them's the rules. If you don't like it don't hold the biggest sporting event outside the Olympics there.

i'm liking that Bud will probably go after FIFA for the 74M in sponsorship due to broken contract.  That's probably what the FIFA bods got given in bribes to put in in Qatar in the first place :).  It's a high-quality mess really

I hope they do – FIFA deserves all that is coming to them after this debacle.

Schadenfreude - best served chilled with some bar nuts

Them’s the rules. If you don’t like it don’t hold the biggest sporting event outside the Olympics there.

To be fair, absolutely nobody other than certain FIFA executives who’d just literally been handed envelopes full of cash by a Qatari gentleman, thought it would be a good idea to hold it there

Pretty much everyone else thought it was some kind of elaborate joke then became incredulous when they realised they were actually serious

best served chilled

And alcohol-free of course.

Do we think Quatar is regretting hosting this now? All it's done is exposed how intolerant the place is.

I don't think they give a fig

When poorly paid immigrant workers were dying building stadia, that the desert will eventually reclaim, they didn't bat an eyelid. They really don't care, for them this is a willy waving competition with UAE, Bahrain, Saudi etc. They think they've won and are very smug about it

FIFA deserves all that is coming to them after this debacle.

They certainly do. You really couldn't make it up, they must be one of the most corrupt organisations in the history of corrupt organisations.

Watch the Netflix documentary FIFA Uncovered if you want to marvel at the sheer scale of the corruption. Absolutely everything about the entire organisation is rotten to the core

Soooo - anyone got any World Cup parties planned then?

Not a muttering among our usual crowd! And it's usually any excuse for a get together.

*Taps the John Oliver Sign*

Probably the best summary of how we got here, there are parts 2 and 3 to this and quite a few funny extra bits as well if you search for them.

Was chatting about this with a pal this morning. Until he mentioned it I'd completely forgotten it was on, and despite not being a compulsive facebooker or whatever, I was aware of the 2018 one. I live in a fairly tolerant country, and as such I don't even know if they've sent a team over...

Soooo – anyone got any World Cup parties planned then?

The final is 18th December, isn't it? I'd imagine that would interfere with the normal way that people watch a big sporting event, what with Xmas parties, and all that.

I've not been to many Xmas parties on a Sunday at 3pm

🙃

At least the England team take the knee. So you can't say they don't care about it.

FIFA delicates

I’m sure a quick application of the magic sponge will make them feel better.

Didn't Blatter say he needed a bung?

i’m liking that Bud will probably go after FIFA for the 74M in sponsorship due to broken contract. That’s probably what the FIFA bods got given in bribes to put in in Qatar in the first place :). It’s a high-quality mess really

My brother who works at inbev- in finance, reckons that they are not bothered at all, they weren't expecting to sell much beer there anyways and now they plan to get as much money out of fifa as possible

Seb Blatter has Bud on his hands...

5Live played a clip more than once yesterday from a reporter who says there is NONE of the normal world cup buzz – no fanfare, no huge marketing in evidence, and not really any noteworthy quantity of football fans.

But this is the absolute case in the UK too. I've heard almost nothing about the team, the other teams, build up, chances or anything. Only about the Quatari political situation. Hell, I've not even heard 3 lions on the radio! Seems like nobody is really that arsed, wonder how attitudes to it are in other countries.

5Live played a clip more than once yesterday from a reporter who says there is NONE of the normal world cup buzz – no fanfare, no huge marketing in evidence, and not really any noteworthy quantity of football fans

No paid fans either now by the sound of things https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/18/fans-paid-to-attend-world-cup-by-qatar-have-daily-allowance-cancelled?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

do we need a world cup thread?

i'm in a lecture Monday, but it's hard to get interested in a game v Iran, at 1pm on a Monday, so not really interested,

next two are 7pm, the USA one will be decent maybe, Friday 7pm

zero buzz though, even Japan with the funky kick off times had buzz, in the pub before work, bacon butties and pints, this one, meh

scruff9252
Full Member
I find the whole thing jolly amusing; from what I can tell, it’s exactly the same demographic who complain about muslims coming over here and not abiding by our cultures, tradition and laws are precisely the same folk complaining that they are not allowed to go to the Middle East and drink Stella whilst watching a soccer match. Who said irony was dead!

Yes, as we know, all football fans are racists.

If only it was possible to have less than zero interest...

yet here you are in a thread about it

But what do you think of The Beatles? 🙂

Soooo – anyone got any World Cup parties planned then?

Our kids footy club has sold tickets for food and beer at the Eng/USA game, gives the kids something to get excited about and a nice fundraiser.

And a mix of Welsh amd English mates are meeting up to watch the Eng/Wales game, should be a laugh.

The fans should do what I did in the Middle East. Get a dustbin, tip in a shedload of zero alcohol "beer" some yeast and sugar then stick it out on the balcony in the nice warm air.

Seb Blatter has Bud on his hands…

Deserved a better response 🤣🤣🤣

Do we think Quatar is regretting hosting this now? All it’s done is exposed how intolerant the place is.

I think they wanted to show they are a big deal, rather than demonstrate ho cuddly they are.

The World Cup - and FIFA - is now rubbish. As said earlier there are too many low-quality teams involved, too many matches that are of no interest to anyone other than the countries involved. The opening match is a fine example: can anyone truly say they are excited by Qatar vs Equador? The main purpose of the WC is no longer about great football, it seems to be about justifying Infantino's travel and bonus.

It will never happens as EUFA is almost as bad, but I'd like to see Europe withdraw from FIFA. Let them have the WC without Europe and we'll get by with the European Cup. We could invite a few other countries: Japan, US, South Korea, etc - call it European Cup invitational or something. Play it in Germany every time as
a) they organise things well, and
b) they always win everything anyway

it would cut down on the costs

anyone with me? No?

Wouldn’t want the sponsors to miss out.

Locals more like. My observation is that all the international hotels are stuffed with locals drinking alcohol and ogling the foreign women in swimsuits.

Locals more like. My observation is that all the international hotels are stuffed with locals drinking alcohol and ogling the foreign women in swimsuits

Very much this.....when I was in Bahrain for a short work contract the place was full of Saudis who drove over the causeway to get pissed up and indulge in ladies of the night.  Many cars never made it back over causeway intact.

I remember going to a resort on the Black Sea coast in Romania which was packed with rich Saudi’s all getting pissed and boffing Russian hookers, delivered to their hotels in blacked out beemers driven by terrifying Moscow gangsters.

It was quite an eye-opener. I don’t know what Allah would have had to say about it all

Seb Blatter has Bud on his hands…

Bravo sir! 😂