Saudi Arabia To Permit Beer For World Cup 2034 If Hosts
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Currently, in Saudi Arabia, the sale and consumption of alcohol are strictly prohibited, with severe penalties, including public flogging, fines, imprisonment, and deportation, enforced for foreigners caught drinking.
However, there is a potential change on the horizon. Saudi Arabian authorities are considering the possibility of permitting alcohol consumption for football fans if the country’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup is successful.
Readership NG reports that despite being a Muslim-majority nation with a longstanding ban on alcohol, the government may allow alcohol to be sold in hotels and designated ‘fan zones’ should it be chosen as the tournament’s host.
“It has not been publicly discussed, but it is an accepted fact,” a source told The Sun, according to Daily Mail.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced its intention to bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup earlier this week.
This declaration has generated a lot of controversies, and critics had warned FIFA that to allow the oil-rich state to host the tournament would be ‘sports washing’, covering up for its “atrocious human rights record.”
The source told The Sun: “We acknowledge very serious mistakes have been made in the past and want the world to understand that we are changing.”
Saudi Arabia appears to have relaxed its stance with the prospect of hosting the 2034 World Cup, announcing it would bid on Wednesday.
President of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), Yasser Al Misehal, said in a statement released on the SAFF website: ‘We believe the time is right for Saudi Arabia to host the FIFA World Cup.
