Written by There appears to a battle brewing (if you’ll pardon the pun) between FIFA, the scandal-hit world football governing body and the Brazilian authorities over whether beer should be sold within the stadiums which are hosting the 2014 finals.
Currently Brazil has legislation which prevents the sale of alcohol within stadiums. It was 
passed in 2003 and is even harsher than than the British regulations which state that you can drink alcohol and watch the match, but not at the same time. However, when Brazil won the rights to host the final they agreed to amend their legislation. Why would they do that? Because one of FIFA’s main sponsors is Budweiser. Would FIFA be pressing for beer sales in stadia if they weren’t propped up by a brewery? Probably not, but ethics don’t really play a role here – this is all about money.
But Brazil did agree to amend their rules, if only temporarily, so what’s the problem here? Well there are some members of the Brazilian congress who don’t want their (possibly sensible) legislation changed and their could be something of a battle to get the amendment passed. Supporting the change is Brazilian Minister for Sports, Aldo Rebelo, who said the bill is “….a compromise the country committed to when it was bidding for hosting the event“, but others are clearly not so convinced this is the right move.
Interestingly, FIFA only wants beer sold – no other alcohol will be available. We also wonder whether any alternatives to Budweiser will be available; after all it’s hardly the tastiest brew in the world.
Putin and Blatter
In a similar vein, FIFA is lobbying Russia to allow the same thing in all their sports stadia in time for the 2018 World Cup. Beer and beer advertising was banned in 2005 for what Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called “the best of intentions” but has since said he will rethink the legislation.
Sepp Blatter was in St. Petersburg to take part in preparations for the 100th birthday of the Russian Football Federation.