FIFA and Budweiser pressure Brazil into lifting football alcohol ban (what could go wrong?)

One day, if your craft brewery gets big and powerful enough, perhaps you too could boss around a BRIC country. You might need the help of a famous international sports governing body like FIFA, but hey, the sky’s the limit, kid. Just take a cue from major 2014 FIFA World Cup sponsor Budweiser, and its ability to get Brazil to lift an 11-year ban on alcohol at stadiums for this week’s World Cup. Apparently, Brazil only banned alcohol in stadiums because of the “enormously high death rate among fans,” says the video above (minute 4:36).

Jeesh. Come on, Brazil. We’re not going to give them that much beer, says FIFA. Apparently there’s an odd, gender-biased limit system too. According to the website Lawyer Herald, vendors in all 12 World Cup stadiums have limited the sale of beer to just three per male customer and two per female customer.

FIFA partner Ambev representative Ricardo Rolim, who has been organizing the vendor training, said about the sale limits, “We’re not interested in making a profit from the illicit consumption of alcoholic beverages. Salespeople have been told and trained to offer alternatives to those who appear drunk already, such as non-alcoholic beer, water or food.”

We suggest you watch the video from HBO’s John Oliver above. His rant is spot on.