Qatar’s stunning backflip on stadium alcohol hasn’t gone down well with travelling Aussies, with one fan leader labelling the decision against the “World Cup spirit”.
Hundreds of Australian fans are beginning to lob in Doha on the eve of Monday morning’s (AEDT) tournament kickoff.
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Many have arrived to a rude shock after Qatar and FIFA’s decision to ban the sale of alcohol in each of the eight match venues – meaning fan zones and city hotels will be the only place spectators can drink.
Warren Livingstone, founder of the Australian Fanatics fan group who is heading a continent of about 250 travellers in Qatar, said while this event was always likely to be more about football than partying, the decision had left a sour taste.
“I think people will be disappointed,” Livingstone, who arrived in Doha on Friday, told foxsports.com.au.
“It’s not just the fact that you can’t drink but I think just the whole process and the way they did it … I think that’s what has disappointed people the most.
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“If they’d said that from day one then it would have been different but to do it at the last minute is pretty disappointing from a fan’s perspective.
“It’s not even the beer issue, it’s just the whole feeling of it.
“(Drinking at stadiums), it’s not just about getting on the piss, it’s about interacting with other fans … I kind of feel like banning that at the last moment wasn’t in the World Cup spirit.”
Numbers are considerably down on previous World Cups for both prominent travelling Australian support groups, the Fanatics and the Green and Gold Army.
Livingstone believes lingering Covid worries, Qatar’s appeal as a tourist destination and the fact that Australia qualified so late are all factors in the decrease.
The early impression of he and other Australians is that the city is still “a bit flat” but he expects the tournament will be a memorable one for fans, in its own way.
“I think people will pretty much just go to the games, you know what I mean, there’s not much happening outside of the games,” Livingstone said.
“I think people are going to have a great time and I think everybody who is here has come for the right reasons. They’ve come here knowing that it’s going to be a different World Cup and knowing that it’s not going to be about just getting on the beers, it’ about going to football
“People will be going to two games a day and that’s a pretty unique thing.”
