By Andrew Warshaw
January 19 – Beer must be freely on sale inside stadiums at the 2014 World Cup, FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke reiterated today.
Football’s world governing body has been locked in a dispute with the Brazilian authorities over the availability of alcohol within the 12 venues.
Budweiser is one of the tournament’s main sponsors but FIFA’s insistence is at odds with Brazilian legislation, which has banned the sale of alcohol at football grounds since 2003.
The Brazilian Congress is doing its utmost to fall into line but faces considerable opposition from the country’s Health Minister Alexandre Padilha.
Voting on the so-called World Cup Law has been held up but Valcke, currently on a tour of Brazil visiting a number of stadiums, told a press conference: “Alcoholic drinks are part of the FIFA World Cup, so we’re going to have them.
“Excuse me if I sound a bit arrogant but that’s something we won’t negotiate.
“The fact that we have the right to sell beer has to be a part of the law.”
“We lost a lot of time and we were not able to discuss with people in charge that are willing to make a decision.”
FIFA also want the Brazil 2014 organisers to re-evaluate their plan for cut-price tickets for students and pensioners.
Valcke said this issue would be resolved by creating a special $25 (£16/€19) category with 300,000 available for the group phase.
He said, however, there needed to be strict controls.
“It’s unfair if a person who can afford a category one ticket buys a category four ticket,” Valcke.
“We must guarantee this won’t happen because apparently it’s very easy to obtain a student card here.”
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