No Heifeweizen or Brats at German Venues?
German soccer fans attending 2006 World Cup soccer matches held in that country may not be able to enjoy local fare inside its venues, thanks to verbiage in contracts signed by sponsors, according to published reports.
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), soccer’s governing body, sold the exclusive beer and sausage sales rights respectively to Anheuser-Busch and McDonald’s. Under sponsoring contracts, other firms are only allowed to do business if they are not “competition” for the sponsor, which means that many German brands of beer and sausage could not be sold in the stadium.
A spokesperson for the Bavaria culture ministry said in the report that the regional World Cup steering committee had discussed the matter with FIFA and will check it to see if there is room to maneuver.
Officials in Munich and Nuremberg reportedly have planned to set up “fan villages” outside the stadium, where domestic products would be sold.
FIFA sold the exclusive beer rights to Anheuser-Busch for $47.6 million U.S. Terms of the McDonald’s contract were not disclosed.
