It’s going to be difficult to drink alcohol if you’re visiting Qatar for the World Cup, but not impossible. And thanks to one enterprising aerospace salesman, soccer fans now have an unofficial map that lays out exactly how and where they can imbibe in a country with strict drinking laws.
Per Yahoo Sports, Seattle resident Ed Ball created the Qatar Alcohol Map originally for himself and a few drinking buddies. However, the map — which features the restaurants, bars and hotels that allow alcohol — caught on outside of Ball’s group and has now been viewed over 320,000 times.
Drinking in Qatar was difficult even before the World Cup. You can’t buy it in grocery stores and there’s only one distribution hub, which is heavily regulated. The one outlier? Hotels.
Ball’s initial Google Map only had a few venues, but members of U.S. soccer’s largest supporters group, the American Outlaws, chipped in with suggestions. And now it’s at a robust 195 venues, with happy hour notes, contact info, reviews, metro stops and nearby stadiums included.
So the good news is that there are plenty of places to drink in Qatar. The bad news? Prices are exorbitant, thanks to a 100% tax on alcohol imports. The average price of beer is $11.26, which is the highest in the world. And you still can’t drink inside the stadiums; imbibers have to go to designated areas or outside of stadiums in designated “Fan Fests.” As well, those designed areas have recently been ordered to move to less visible areas of the stadium grounds.
If you do happen to be in Qatar, you can find the drinking map here and you can also follow the map’s Twitter account for news and updates.
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