Will FIFA arm-twist Brazil for beer sale at World Cup?

A controversy that is currently raging in Brazil and grabbing headlines is about beer in football stadiums.

Football is to Brazil, what cricket is to India: more than a sport, almost a religion, that ignites emotion, obsessions and an all consuming media attention.

But behind what at first glance may seem to be matters of recreation and refreshments are more substantive concerns, of national legislation, and super-national imposition. It is also a case study of how politics and money permeates and vitiates big sports. We in India of course know a thing or two about this aspect, thanks to our experience with the infamous Commonwealth games, but it is some consolation to see it elsewhere too. 

As all football lovers know, the next FIFA World Cup is in Brazil in 2014, a fact that has brought much joy to fans all over the world, irrespective of their national or club affiliation. This is so because Brazil is in a sense everybody’s favourite team with its unique style of football: part magic, part dance, part sport. Going back to the legendary stars like Pele, Socrates, and Zico of yesteryears  to current heroes like Ronaldinho, Kaka, and Neymar da Silva , Brazilian players have fascinated the world with their exotic names, fancy footwork and unbelievable goals.

Its national team has won five World Cups, is widely admired and wildly cheered. There is a belief among experts that current European teams like Germany, Spain, and France are faster and more aggressive and that the Brazilian team with its emphasis on craft and style has lost the competitive edge to these nations. This is perhaps true, but nevertheless Brazil has a very special place in the hearts of football lovers. The World Cup is returning to this nation after 50 years and hence all the excitement about 2014.

Fierce loyalties and passions

The facts about the current controversy starts with the Brazilian law dating back to 2003 which bans sale of alcohol, including beer, in any of the numerous football stadiums that dot the landscape. The rationale of the law is simple. Matches occur all over Brazil twice a week between local football clubs. Many of these evoke fierce loyalties and passions.

The club rivalries are a part of Brazilian folklore like the century old contests between Flamengo and Fluminense, two of the famous clubs from Rio. The best comparison I can give is that of India-Pakistan one day cricket match which is war by another name. Since allowing alcohol in the stadiums is literally like adding fuel to the fire, a law had been passed in the Brazilian congress banning beer sales to avoid violent clashes. It is another matter that the fans congregate near the bars outside the stadiums, before and after the match, but the combustion in the stadium itself is less likely. This is the current Brazilian national norm.

The organisers of the World Cup football, FIFA have their own norms. These powerful international sports bodies are not only a law unto themselves, but are also arrogant masters who have little respect for the laws or customs of nations wishing to host the games. Much of their behaviour is dictated by commerce.

One of the biggest sponsors of FIFA World Cup is the beermaker Budweiser. Not only are astounding quantities of beer consumed during a football match, but the banners and the publicity generated are of immense benefit. Influenced by this lucre, one of the essential conditions of FIFA is that “beer must be sold during World Cup matches.” (The World Cup in 2022 will be in Qatar and it will be interesting to see, how this issue will get resolved in that Islamic nation ).

Beer is not the only issue complicating the ‘host country agreement’ that has to be negotiated and signed between the mighty FIFA and proud Brazil. There are other issues about the delays in construction of stadiums, questions about whether the infrastructure will be ready etc, all familiar to us from the CWG fiasco in Delhi. Like us, the average Brazilian too suspects that behind such delays and inefficiencies lurk issues of power, influence, nepotism and corruption, both national and international.  

But the immediate problem is fundamental. Should Brazil compromise on its national law and amend it because of FIFA and its benefactor Budweiser. Legislators and the ordinary Brazilian do not like this imposition but are helpless, such is the power of FIFA. Accept some compromise for the sake of the greater glory of bringing back the World Cup to the country is another view. At the moment the law is likely to be amended but with acrimony all around. The Central government caught between opposing pressures has now said that it is for each state government to decide!

The other day back in Delhi for the BRICS summit, I was sitting at a banquet next to a South African minister, from the country that had hosted the world cup in 2008. I was telling him about this tale of Brazil and FIFA and the conflicting perspectives. He listened to me with interest, sighed and said: “Tell your Brazilian friends that till the games are held, there will be no peace or joy for the host. And that they can never win against FIFA. This is what we learnt.  May we never aspire to host such events again!”  A lesson for us too?

(The writer is India’s ambassador in Brazil)