Tom Dulat/FIFA, via Getty Images
DOHA, Qatar — Finding a way to accommodate soccer’s free-flowing, alcohol-infused fan culture with the traditions and religious beliefs of an overwhelmingly Muslim country like Qatar remains one of the significant challenges facing the emirate as it prepares to host soccer’s World Cup in 2022.
Just ask Walid Shafiey.
A Muslim who is strict about the religion’s tenets, Shafiey arrived at a pop-up fan zone on the edge of a golf course on Wednesday night to watch the broadcast of a big, televised match only to discover alcohol being served.
“This is a very big problem,” he said.