S AFRICA: SABMiller gatecrashes Budweiser, FIFA World Cup party

By Arnold Kirkby | 26 March 2010

While Budweiser lager will be available in stadiums at this summer's FIFA World Cup, SABMiller has secured a deal with the football body to exclusively supply hundreds of thousands of fans at screenings.

South African Breweries (SAB) has confirmed to just-drinks that it has agreed a deal with FIFA to exclusively supply the ten Fan Fest sites around South Africa during the tournament.

It is expected fans at the parks will drink up to 50,000 hectolitres as they watch the games on giant screens.

However, FIFA has prohibited SAB from branding the beer cans. Instead they are set to be gold in colour, reminiscent of SAB’s flagship Castle range.

SAB’s seven breweries around the country are working full-time to ensure adequate beer reserves are available.

Budweiser, the official FIFA World Cup beer, has not been available in South Africa since last year when the agent used by owner A-B InBev went insolvent.

A spokesperson for A-B InBev told just-drinks today (26 March): "We have decided not to participate in the Fan Fest programme, making a strategic decision to focus our beer presence in-stadium during FIFA World Cup matches."