The subject of alcohol during the World Cup hardly affects anyone in Germany. Not even numerous supporters of the DFB-Elf traveling to the tournament. You will spend most of your time in Dubai. However, if they suddenly get drunk in Qatar, they could miss their return flight.
Alcohol! The fuel of so many football fans. Alcohol! An eternal topic before the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. But it is also a rather secondary problem. Too much goes wrong, the picture that the World Cup host gives about a month before the start of the tournament is too disastrous. Just yesterday, the tournament fell into disrepute again after the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Qatar's Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. At a private "bandit summit" at the Conference on Cooperation and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), warmonger Putin offered the emir Russia's support for hosting the World Cup.
Most likely it wasn't about dealing with drunk fans in public. That would really be more than surprising given the drinking resistance of the Russians. But in Qatar it's different, they don't like to see drunk people there. No, much more they are not wanted in public in the Muslim country. In normal times, alcohol serving in the Gulf state is limited to selected hotels. With an alcohol license for privileged persons who exceed certain income limits, it is also possible for foreigners over 21 to get hold of the intoxicant in a few selected shops.
Only after a long wrangling was a regulation for the duration of the World Cup finally created. During the tournament, alcoholic drinks will also be available at a fan festival, but only after 6:30 p.m. local time and for just over 6 euros per half liter, as well as for stadium visitors outside the stadiums. The question of whether the restrictions within the stadium also apply to VIPs has not yet been finally clarified.
Anyone who is not a VIP but likes to be among people can also drink beer outside of Doha at a festival in the shadow of a gigantic spider stage, British media recently reported. But even the "Aracdia Spectacular" will not be able to afford all visitors of the tournament. With an entrance fee of around 60 euros and beer prices of around 10 euros, not everyone will be able to get enough alcohol to get drunk.
However, this does not fundamentally change the fact that drunk people face severe penalties in public. You could even be imprisoned. But now there is finally a plan. The drunk people are simply taken to a sobering-up zone and held there until they finally sober up.
"There are plans for people who can sober up if they've had too much to drink," said World Cup boss Nasser Al Khater in an interview with Sky UK: "It's a place where they make sure they're protecting themselves and nobody otherwise damage." So far, nothing is known about the final design of the sobering-up zones. But of course there is speculation. English media reports say that these are tents in which the fans can sleep off their intoxication or, another reading, are kept away from the public.
Likewise, nothing was known about possible blood alcohol limits, which could be used to determine the degree of drunkenness and thus also protect the fans from the arbitrariness of the hosts.
Meanwhile, the organizers assume that around 200,000 fans from all over the world will be in the capital Doha every day. According to tournament director Al Khater, 95 percent of all tickets for the tournament have already been sold. However, not all visitors to the world tournament will find a place in Doha or Qatar. The German national team fan club will be in Dubai for the duration of the participation of the DFB-Elf and will fly in from there for the games of Hansi Flick's team.
In addition to the flight, the fans can also expect a one-hour drive from Hamad International Airport in Doha to the last two group games against Spain and Costa Rica in the coastal state of al-Khor. They will not serve alcohol on the buses. Entry into the country is strictly prohibited and buses are not designated fan zones. A still visible intoxication after the games could make it difficult for them to return to Dubai.
