Ed Ball is again in Seattle after spending 10 days touring to the World Cup in Qatar. However his legacy lives on on the web.
Ball is the creator of the Qatar Alcohol Map, a challenge he began earlier this 12 months to assist soccer followers – and drinkers – discover locations to imbibe in a rustic the place such exercise isn’t any just isn’t a part of the tradition.
The map identifies practically 200 eating places, bars and golf equipment that serve alcohol within the capital metropolis of Doha. An accompanying spreadsheet gives particulars like the closest stadiums and stations to the bars, their web sites, menu hyperlinks, and extra.
Ball, who does outbound aerospace gross sales for chemical distribution firm Cascade Columbia, lives in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood together with his spouse Sarah and their two canines. He has been a lifelong soccer fan, supporting america males’s and girls’s nationwide groups for so long as he can keep in mind.
When he and his spouse deliberate to attend the World Cup earlier this 12 months, he began engaged on a Google map to fulfill his different love: beer.
“I put over 100 hours into it,” Ball instructed GeekWire this week. “Was all the time updating and taking options, making small modifications and additions.”
The challenge grew to become a viral sensation within the run-up to the event and within the weeks following its launch, garnering media protection world wide. The cardboard has now been seen over one million occasions.
A Twitter web page devoted to the challenge, which has lower than 300 followers, shows Ball in a tweet carrying a ‘Merica t-shirt, American scarf and starry socks as he drinks two pints of beer earlier than heading to Qatar.
He and his spouse spent seven days in Doha and three in Dubai. He estimates that they visited 15 completely different consuming institutions throughout their travels.
“It was wonderful to say the least,” Ball mentioned.
In a recap journal of his journey that he shared with GeekWire, Ball particulars his day-to-day observations as an American fan within the Center East. An instance: “Day 1 — I made a decision to push my luck tonight and actually see what this ‘beer ban’ was all about. I went with the tasteful ‘USA DRINKING TEAM’ t-shirt in huge daring letters…”
Ball, who has already traveled to Brazil to see the 2014 World Cup, will not must go that far subsequent time – or construct a map to search out his favourite bars. The 2026 World Cup might be hosted in North America and Seattle is certainly one of 11 US cities the place the matches might be held.
When requested if consuming made it simpler to endure the USMNT’s loss to the Netherlands within the Spherical of 16 final weekend, Ball laughed.
“It nonetheless does,” he mentioned. “However I’ve excessive hopes for 2026!”
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