Beer will be served now during 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil

Brasilia (Brazil): Brazilian lawmakers have approved a bill that suspends a ban on beer sales in stadiums for the FIFA football World Cup in 2014.

Brazil’s twelve cities would host football matches during the quadrennial extravaganza, and seven of these cities had banned booze sales in the stadiums. The bill regarding the suspension of the beer ban in stadiums was passed with a unanimous support in the House of Deputies late on Wednesday, paving the way for beer to be sold in plastic cups inside the venues. Sales of alcoholic beverages in sports arenas have been banned in Brazil since 2003, but the World Cup related bill would be an exception as demanded by FIFA. The lifting of the ban came through in an agreement between the government, the opposition and the country`s powerful pro-agribusiness bloc. However, some lawmakers insisted FIFA would still have to negotiate permission for beer sales separately with individual Brazilian states concerned. The bill, which still has to be authorized by the Senate before being approved by President Dilma Vana Rousseff, will also allow beer to be sold in stadiums during the 2013 Confederations Cup. Sports24 quoted Renan Filho, a member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, as saying: “It`s a temporary change to ensure the best World Cup for Brazil.” ANI