NO alcohol will be allowed at the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, says the country’s ambassador to the United Kingdom.
In an interview on LBC, Prince Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud said alcohol would not be sold anywhere during the tournament, including hotels.
FIFA confirmed Saudi Arabia would host the men’s World Cup in 2034.
“At the moment, we don’t allow alcohol,” Prince Khalid told LBC. “Plenty of fun can be had without alcohol – it’s not 100% necessary and if you want to drink after you leave, you’re welcome to, but at the moment we don’t have alcohol.”
Asked whether that meant fans would be able to drink once they returned their hotels, as was the case at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he added: “No, there is no alcohol at all.
“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.”
The issue of whether fans would be able to buy alcohol came up before the most recent World Cup in Qatar, another Muslim country, in which the sale of alcohol is strictly controlled.
While the initial decision to sell alcohol in stadiums was reversed two days before the start of the competition, supporters were able to buy it from designated fan zones and hotel bars.
Same-sex relations are also illegal in Saudi Arabia and being transgender is not recognised but Prince Khalid insisted: “We will welcome everyone in Saudi.
“It is not a Saudi event, it is a world event and, to a large extent, we will welcome everyone who wants to come.”
Saudi Arabia has been accused of ‘sportswashing’ in recent years – using its unprecedented spending on sport to improve the oil-producing kingdom’s reputation over its human rights record and environmental impact.
Campaign group Amnesty International has said hosting the tournament there would likely lead to severe and widespread rights violations.