Alcohol will not be allowed at the 2034 Fifa World Cup in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s ambassador said on Wednesday.
Prince Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud said that “there’s no alcohol at all” in the country, adding that there would not be an exemption for the World Cup, which Saudi Arabia won last year.
The ambassador added, jokingly: “I mean, really? You can’t live without a drink?”
It comes after sponsor Budweiser was banned from selling beer at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, except in hospitality, just 48 hours before the first game.
Saudi Arabia a dry country
“At the moment, we don’t allow alcohol,” Al Saud told LBC on Wednesday.
“Plenty of fun can be had without alcohol – it’s not 100 per cent necessary and if you want to drink after you leave, you’re welcome to, but at the moment we don’t have alcohol.”
He added: “Rather like our weather, it’s a dry country.
“Everyone has their own culture. We’re happy to accommodate people within the boundaries of our culture but we don’t want to change our culture for someone else.”
Olympics the goal?
It will therefore be assumed that alcohol will be banned at this event too, as it will at the 2027 Asian Cup, the 2029 Asian Winter Games and the 2034 Asian Games.
“We have come a long way and there’s still a long way to go,” Al Saud added when defending the kingdom’s gradual liberalisation.
“Our principle is to develop something that is right for us. Our journey started in 2016, not because of the World Cup bid.
“We’ve launched initiatives granting employees the freedom to move between employers.
“Documents of these employees are now uploaded into government systems, ensuring they have rights within their contracts.”