World Cup to be Filled with Beer

Via the BBC:  Brazil Senate approves controversial World Cup law

The Brazilian Senate has passed a controversial and much-delayed bill paving the way for alcohol to be sold in stadiums at the 2014 World Cup.

When Brazil was chosen to host the event it promised to sell alcohol at matches despite a 2003 drinks ban introduced to stop violence.

Football’s world governing body, Fifa, demanded the change because brewer Budweiser is a World Cup sponsor.

There had been an existing ban on alcohol sales in stadia as a means of reducing violence at said venues.

All I know is I hope they sell better beer than Budweiser…

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Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a retired Professor of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. PJ says:

    All I know is I hope they sell better beer than Budweiser…

    From a story about the 2012 Olympics ‘branding’ police that will protect sponsors:

    At the 2010 World Cup, 36 female Dutch fans were thrown out of a match for wearing orange dresses without logos, in what organisers deemed an ambush campaign by the beer company Bavaria. (Fifa also requires bespoke branding legislation).

    There’s no chance that anything other than Budweiser will be sold.
    I predict severe rioting.

  2. Tillman says:

    Y’know, after the U.S.-Ghana match last World Cup where one of their forwards did the predictable primadonna “I’m wounded!” schtick and prevented our offense from using a corridor of attack, I consider this just rewards.

    It’s the one international sport which refuses to use video technology to check referee calls.

  3. Soccer fans and alcohol.

    What could possibly go wrong?

  4. Richard Gardner says:

    Everything is all about the USA. Cough.

    Budweiser is now owned by ImBev/inBev, that is usually described as a Belgian company . but most of the executives are from Brazil, so imagine the interest in the World
    Cup in Brazil.

    It is not brewer Budweiser, it is brewer ImBev.

    Yes, Bud is owned by a company HQed in Belgium with Brazilian execs.

  5. @Richard Gardner: None of which makes the beer in question any better. 😉 (and no one mentioned the US, did they?)