Letter from Doha: Fifa learning they may not be in control of this World Cup

The decision to ban the selling of beer just 48 hours before the tournament kicks off shows, once again, a significant amount of control looks to be in Qatari hands

'DRINK WISER. CHEER BETTER': The guys from the Budweiser stand pose for a photo at Fan Festival ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Pic: Claudio Villa/Getty Images

Mat Ryan looked down from upon high at the workers toiling away.

It wasn’t yet 8am but the temperatures in Doha were already north of 30C and climbing with not much of a breeze coming in off the blue waters in relief. The work week in Qatar normally runs from Sunday to Thursday, with Friday the Islamic holy day. But norms and rules and the like went out the window and into the Gulf here a long time ago. Promises too. There’d be plenty more gone by day’s end.