Pub fantasy football is a great way to encourage customer interest.
While Manchester United was lifting last season's Premiership trophy pub regular Lee Ardin was claiming his own prize - a Fiat Punto.
Lee was the national winner of promotion company TDH's Championship Football, the fantasy football competition designed specifically for pubs and clubs.
But he wasn't the only one to benefit. His local, the French Horn in Gerrard's Cross, Buckinghamshire, has used the promotion to build on the football following in the pub.
"Championship Football brought massive interest and customer loyalty for the entire season," said Steve Rosswell, retail account manager for the outlet's owner, Mitchells & Butlers.
The value in Championship Football for licensees lies in the fact that customers taking part have to go into the pub at least once a week to check their scores, their position in the table and to fine-tune their teams with transfers.
At the Robin Hood in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire, the pub's first season with Championship Football saw between 40 and 50 people gathering in the bar each Friday night to keep up to date with the contest.
To encourage more visits manager Ron Davies introduced presentation nights for a manager of the month contest which attracted competitors and non-competitors alike. The increased sense of community spirit and atmosphere began to rub off on customers who weren't playing Championship Football, he says.
"It brought everyone together interacting with people they might not have spoken to prior to the promotion," said Rod.
"We have been really happy with it," added assistant manager Adam Arstall. "Everyone comes in to see who's won manager of the month - and have a drink.
"What has impressed us most is that people have made friends through it, they have got involved in the pub and that has produced a great atmosphere."
It doesn't happen automatically though. John Molloy, manager of the Thatched Cottage, a Scottish & Newcastle Retail pub at Cannon Lane in Berkshire, has run Championship Football since its first season in 1997/8 and believes that it's the licensee's enthusiasm that drives the benefits from such promotions.
"It's about how you manage it," he said. "We have got a community pub here and as with all community pubs the more you put into something the more you get out of it.
"The licensee is the linch-pin. You have to sell the idea to your customers."
Last season the Thatched Cottage had 71 teams taking part. If anything, John thinks that may be too many. He has suggested to TDH that they are split into three divisions so more people keep an interest right through the season.
Winners' vouchers are redeemable only over the bar and players have to make their team changes by the Sunday of each week, meaning they have to visit the pub at some point over the weekend.
"It's a great business-building tool," said John. "But you have to be hands-on to encourage people to get involved."
John also runs a football-linked lucky dip in which customers are given a Premiership team name in a sealed envelope and they pay £1 a week through the season to enter. The person whose team wins the title claims the prize - £300.
Pictured: Top of the league: Championship Football winner Lee Ardin
Sponsors
Football continues to attract cash from sponsors, including brewers. Major players in the coming season include Carlsberg-Tetley (C-T) and Budweiser, both of which are looking to closely associate themselves with the national game.
Carlsberg continues its sponsorship of Liverpool for the 11th season, while Bud is backing both of Manchester's Premiership clubs.
For both international beer brands the local support has a global dimension as Liverpool and Man Utd take their campaigns abroad. Bud in particular has become conscious of the global power of football following last summer's World Cup.
But both brands are also keen to develop their presence at the grassroots and that means reaching the football fans in the pubs.
C-T also has links with the Premiership's Middlesbrough, Southampton, Portsmouth and Birmingham plus what is now the biggest First Division club, West Ham. It is one of five sponsors of the FA Cup and is associated with the FA Sunday Cup with 1,000 amateur teams taking part.
For sponsorship manager Gareth Roberts it all feeds into the impact Carlsberg can have on the marketplace leading up to next summer's footie climax Euro 2004.
"Football can deliver audiences far greater than any other sport or television programme," he said. "What we want to do is buy into the enthusiasm and passion, and help create an atmosphere in the pub."
Sky playing for extra time
Football themed quizzes can be a great way of encouraging people to stick around after the match, and Sky will once again be broadcasting its own quiz in the wake of selected games.
Sky's research from last season revealed that 80 per cent of licensees screening the quiz said it extended customers' stay.
"Keeping customers entertained after the match and encouraging them to stay longer is a key way for our subscribers to boost their trade," said Sky's Louise Newman.
"Our new quiz offers a mixture of themed and general football rounds to suit all levels of footballing knowledge and aims to help keep customers entertained and maintain the atmosphere of a big match after the final whistle has blown."
Free to Sky Digital pub and club subscribers and shown on SkyVenue channel 847, the series of 20 quizzes will start following the Blackburn Rovers v Manchester City match on Monday August 25.
Each quiz will begin at 10pm after an 8pm kick-off or 6pm after a 4.05pm kick-off. It will last for 30 minutes and follow the same format as last year with four themed rounds and a picture gallery. All questions and answers are given on screen.
Licensees can use the quiz in any way that suits their venue. They can just turn to channel 847 and show the quiz in a very informal manner for customers to play along with individually or they can organise people into teams.
Scoresheets can be downloaded from www.pubchannel.com.
Win a pair of Premiership tickets
As part of its launch of the 2003/4 Ford Football Quiz, Sky is offering users of thePublican.com the chance to win two tickets to a match featuring the Premiership club of their choice. Simply answer the following question and send your answer on a postcard to: Premiership Tickets, c/o Phil Mellows, The Publican, 19 Scarbrook Road, Croydon CR9 1LX in time for the big kick-off.
Which team won the 2002/3 FA Premiership title?
England - better than sex
Men prefer watching England play football on television at the pub to spending time with their partner or even having sex, a survey has revealed.
The study, of 100 men across England aged from 21 to 60, showed that football was top of the table for many males - with some stating it "influenced all areas of their life".
More than 87 per cent said they would give the red card to the love of their life if the alternative was going to the pub to watch England in action. Around two thirds added they craved the atmosphere and camaraderie of watching the big game at the pub.
And, according to the research commissioned by Punch Pub Company, many men lose their zest for life and feel sad and lethargic if there is no footie to watch on the b