--- title: World Cup Sponsor Budweiser Gives Beer To Winning Country When Qatar Bans Alcohol description: In a fascinating example of newsjacking, AB InBev announced that it would be donating surplus Budweiser to the winning country after Qatar bans alcohol. image: https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/Budweiser.jpeg --- [Skip to main content](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/world-cup-sponsor-budweiser-gives-beer-to-winning-country-when-qatar-bans-alcohol#maincontent) [ «  View All Posts ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog) # World Cup Sponsor Budweiser Gives Beer To Winning Country When Qatar Bans Alcohol December 8th, 2022 1 min read By [David Meerman Scott](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott) ![Huge number of cases of Budweiser](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Budweiser.jpeg?width=680&height=450&name=Budweiser.jpeg) Budweiser was caught without the ball when host nation Qatar suddenly banned alcohol sales within World Cup stadiums. With millions of dollars’ worth of beer already onsite in the host nation, Anheuser-Busch InBev [announced in a tweet](https://twitter.com/Budweiser/status/1593893410062143488) that it would be donated to the winning country. This is a fascinating example of newsjacking. Qatar, a conservative Muslim country, highly regulates alcohol sales and usage. “Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing sales points of beer from Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium perimeter,” said the [FIFA statement](https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022/media-releases/fifa-statement-sale-of-alcoholic-beverages). > New Day, New Tweet. Winning Country gets the Buds. Who will get them? [pic.twitter.com/Vv2YFxIZa1](https://t.co/Vv2YFxIZa1) > > — Budweiser (@Budweiser) [November 19, 2022](https://twitter.com/Budweiser/status/1593893410062143488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [According to the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/sports/soccer/world-cup-beer-fifa.html), Budweiser pays around $75 million for its sponsorship agreement with FIFA. While there are many ways the brand gets exposure, beer sales in the eight venues are one way to directly recoup the marketing spend. I love that A-B InBev chose to donate the beer. This simple gesture generated media coverage form media outlets including CNN, Reuters, Sports Illustrated, Entrepreneur, FOX, CBS, and many others. It will be interesting to see if A-B InBev promotes some kind of celebration party in the winning country and uses that as yet more newsjacking. [![New Call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/413105/8c37eb58-c3db-4d51-9d93-66bb1907f3b0.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/413105/8c37eb58-c3db-4d51-9d93-66bb1907f3b0) [ David Meerman Scott ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott) David Meerman Scott is a business growth strategist, advisor to clever entrepreneurs who are building emerging companies, and the international bestselling author of a dozen books published in 30 languages. David’s high-energy keynote presentations, masterclasses, and virtual events educate, energize, and inspire. Connect: [mailto:david@freshspot.com](mailto:david@freshspot.com) Topics: [ Twitter ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/twitter) [ Case Studies ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/case-studies) [ Real-Time Marketing & PR ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/real-time-marketing-pr) [ Newsjacking ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/newsjacking) Don't forget to share this post: ## Related Articles [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Stefano%20Paciotti.jpg?width=1500&height=1084&name=Stefano%20Paciotti.jpg) ### The Ham Whisperer of Rome: How Stefano’s Honest Videos Won the World’s Heart June 24th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-ham-whisperer-of-rome-how-stefanos-honest-videos-won-the-worlds-heart) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Facebook%20Live%20no%20more.jpg?width=1352&height=893&name=Facebook%20Live%20no%20more.jpg) ### Meta Focused On Profit Over Users: Now Deletes Facebook Live 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