Female fans feel safe at the Qatar World Cup thanks to reduced alcohol consumption.
“I was expecting a very dangerous place for women. I didn’t think I was going to be safe here … from coming here that’s not been the case, as a traveling female fan I can say that I have felt very safe,” England fan Ellie Molloson told Reuters.
The 19-year-old said that the lack of alcohol had contributed to a less bawdy atmosphere around the games at the World Cup, but in her opinion, it was mostly cultural.
“I do like a lot of banter, I love a good atmosphere, you don’t really get so much of that here, It’s very very different, but with that, it’s much more pleasant, much more family-friendly … but you do not have quite the same atmosphere as you would in England.”
Alcohol is available in some bars and hotels in Qatar, but there is a conspicuous lack of the kind of consumption usually seen at the world’s biggest football tournament.
