Ecuador's followers chanted "We would like beer!" throughout their FIFA World Cup's opening match in opposition to host Qatar on Sunday.
Sports activities journalist Javier Lanza caught the second at Al Bayt Stadium, the place Ecuadorean followers in one of many sections started to chant in Spanish. The rallying cry was in response to Qatar's abrupt determination to ban beer gross sales in any respect venues used for the World Cup event.
Nonetheless, followers had a lot to have fun as Ecuador defeated Qatar 2-0 after two objectives from striker Enner Valencia.
On Friday, two days earlier than the sport, FIFA introduced the last-minute change that will ban alcoholic drinks from the FIFA Fan Pageant, different fan locations and licensed venues. Non-alcoholic beer would nonetheless be accessible for followers on the 64 matches.
Budweiser's father or mother firm, AB InBev, pays tens of thousands and thousands of dollars at every World Cup for unique rights to promote beer. The corporate's partnership with FIFA began on the 1986 event.
Along with its reversal on its alcohol coverage, Qatar has confronted a litany of criticism since being named host of the World Cup, primarily for not addressing its alleged abuse of migrant employees and LGBTQ neighborhood. FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended Qatar's human rights file on Saturday, saying Europeans must be "apologizing for the following 3,000 years earlier than beginning to give ethical classes to individuals."