Budweiser’s unsold World Cup beer will go to the champion team in South Africa, not the team that lost
Budweiser, the brand most closely associated with the World Cup, will sell the unsold World Cup beer, even if that’s a bit of a long shot.
Budweiser will sell the beer “in any category,” said company spokesman David Mielke, who noted that Budweiser was in talks with South African teams about potential distribution arrangements around the World Cup.
A win-or-bust scenario is unlikely for the tournament in South Africa, where teams will get to sell their own beer and, if they win, collect their share of the proceeds — or go home empty-handed.
South Africa has won the previous two editions of the tournament, both held in Brazil — only the third such event to be held outside of the country’s own borders — and holds the record for most consecutive championship title wins, having won the past two editions with eight different teams (nine if you count the African champions). Budweiser, which has won the last two editions of the World Cup, has won 26 straight matches.
The tournament is a sellout, with many spectators lined up on both sides of the Brazil-South Africa border to watch matches.
Budweiser is selling the beer at 10 World Cup venues, with a total of 2,500 beer stands located outside of the venues.
While it seemed unlikely that Budweiser would sell more than 2,500 beers at these particular World Cup matches, Mielke said he couldn’t predict the total number of stands across the globe, but said that “people are certainly interested in seeing us take the opportunity that the World Cup provides.”
The beer will be sold in “any combination of flavors and bottles,” although Budweiser does not provide a complete list of beer options for the tournament.
“We’re talking about selling approximately 50,