FIFA Says Beer Must Be Sold at the Brazil World Cup
By: Marissa Brassfield
Published: January 22, 2012

FIFA has put its foot down on one essential issue: beer must be sold at the upcoming Brazil World Cup in 2014. Brazilian stadiums currently ban the sale of all alcoholic drinks, and FIFA officials are pushing hard for a special exception.
"Alcoholic drinks are part of the FIFA World Cup, so we're going to have them," said Jerome Valcke, the General Secretary of FIFA. "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."
Brazilians haven't been able to sell beer at football matches since 2003, when the government banned alcohol during games in a bid to stop fan-on-fan violence.