As for as the QDC analogy goes, I'd say this: yes alcohol is available on a limited basis. But that is not the same as the free flow of alcohol. Just ask the restaurants as the Pearl about the government's attitude to public consumption of alcohol. And drinking at a football match is much more akin to having wine with dinner at the Pearl than buying at QDC.
In terms of money, we need to put this into perspective. Heineken is the brewer name that keeps being touted as the sponsor (thanks Miss Mimi for pointing out it isn't). Heineken's estimated value as a company is about $30 billion and has 65,000 employees. This is only a tiny fraction of what will be spent in Qatar to stage the world cup--upwards of $200 billion and hundreds of thousands of employees globally.
What if any beer that is sold to the relatively few fans in the stadiums (let's face it, they will be filled with workers for whom a beer would cost a month's salary) just isn't going to be a big deal to the decision makers. A couple of suitcases full of cash can change minds pretty quickly anyway.
As for as the QDC analogy goes, I'd say this: yes alcohol is available on a limited basis. But that is not the same as the free flow of alcohol. Just ask the restaurants as the Pearl about the government's attitude to public consumption of alcohol. And drinking at a football match is much more akin to having wine with dinner at the Pearl than buying at QDC.
In terms of money, we need to put this into perspective. Heineken is the brewer name that keeps being touted as the sponsor (thanks Miss Mimi for pointing out it isn't). Heineken's estimated value as a company is about $30 billion and has 65,000 employees. This is only a tiny fraction of what will be spent in Qatar to stage the world cup--upwards of $200 billion and hundreds of thousands of employees globally.
What if any beer that is sold to the relatively few fans in the stadiums (let's face it, they will be filled with workers for whom a beer would cost a month's salary) just isn't going to be a big deal to the decision makers. A couple of suitcases full of cash can change minds pretty quickly anyway.