Qatar beer ban could cost Fifa staggering £40MILLION with Budweiser to play hard-ball over World Cup 2026 deal

QATAR’S beer ban could cost Fifa a staggering £40MILLION with Budweiser prepared to play hard-ball.

The American beer company is one of the World Cup’s official sponsors and were set to provide the booze in grounds and fan zones in Qatar.

However, footy fans attending the tournament will have a dry World Cup after authorities performed a stunning U-turn on alcohol this week.

It had previously been promised that beer and other drinks would be available at all eight World Cup venues.

However, Fifa chiefs bowed to pressure from the Qatari authorities and confirmed they will not be selling alcohol at any stadiums.

It’s bad news for official beer sponsor Budweiser, who are now looking for compensation following the shock U-turn.

They currently have a deal worth around £65m with Fifa for this World Cup.

Budweiser also has a deal for the 2026 World Cup worth up to £95m.

The next tournament is being held across the USA, Canada and Mexico and will have more nations competing in it.

That means there will be 104 games in four years' time compared to the current 64-match format.

That will also obviously mean that Budweiser will have more access to sell their beer with more stadiums and fan zones in use.

However, Sun Sport now understands that they will demand that Fifa knock off a bumper £40m from the fee to be the official beer supplier due to the booze ban in Qatar.

That would take their deal down to £55m.

Meanwhile, fans out in the Middle East over the coming weeks will only be able to get a pint at an official World Cup site in the Doha city centre official Fan Festival.

But it’ll cost them £12 for a Bud - and it's less than a pint with the lager being served in 500ml glasses.

Meanwhile, only Bud Zero will be for sale at stadiums - each measure costing around £7.