Soccer and alcohol don't mix this year at the world cup in Qatar

Baseball fans consider beer as part of the expectable of watching the game at a stadium. Actually in almost any professional game, bowling included, alcohol is always served. This year, over a million fans landed in Qatar hoping to enjoy some fun juice while at the stadium. Qatar is a conservative muslim country, which strictly controls the sale of alcohol.?

The FIFA organization had promised that alcohol would be served at the stadium, but they decided at the last minute to ban it. They assumed there would be a lot of fans from the Gulf and Asian countries where alcohol is not part of their culture. While Qatar's last minute u-turn policy can be frustrating to alcohol aficionados, lets not forget that these fans are in a muslim state and must abide by their rules.

There is a silver lining to this turn of events. Qatar penal code provides for up to 6 months in prison, and a monetary fine if you are found drunk in public. I'm sure more than one fan would have ended up in jail with free room and board courtesy of Qatar, had alcohol been served.

It just goes to show, it always pays to consider the cultural context of your words and actions.

Michael Cardenas, President Local Concept