World Cup could see £91m spent on pints

According to the marketing service, if England were to make it to the finals of the tournament, which began in Qatar yesterday (Sunday 20 November), £91m could be spent on pints, an increase of about 80% compared with last year’s Euro’s final.

Furthermore, according to CGA OPUS data, 20% of 5,000 consumers said they intended to visit their usual venues specifically to watch the World Cup, while 19% would visit regardless and 12% were actively seeking out different venues to watch the matches.

Massive opportunity 

CGA client director GB drinks Paul Bolton said: “The FIFA World Cup is a massive opportunity for the on premise and drinks suppliers to claw back any recent deficits caused by market turbulence, and to finish the year on a high.

“While we are hopeful it will be a successful tournament on the pitch for England and Wales, it will be interesting to see who the big winners are in the on premise, due to the overlap with Christmas, so strategy and execution are crucial for venues hoping to have the best of both worlds.

“But there’s every reason for optimism, with over-performing brands and venues putting themselves in pole position as first choices during the FIFA World Cup and also for future sporting events once it’s over.”

The data also showed throughout 2022, a third (33%) of consumers had watched sporting events at on-trade venues, 32% of which had done so at least once a week while one in seven (14%) visited to watch major matches with 69% having watched football in pubs and bars this year.

Hand in hand 

Additionally, during last year’s Euros average daily sales at venues showing the tournament soared by 64%, compared to a 5% drop at venues that didn’t, with an estimated 1,340 pint sold across all matchdays, according to CGA.

Furthermore, data from the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) revealed two in three of some 30,000 pubs surveyed were set to host screenings of some kind in the hope the tournament would deliver an extra 10% in bookings, which during summer would add a £155m boost to the industry.

However, a recent poll conducted by The Morning Advertiser ​revealed almost half (48%) of pubs would boycott ​the event due to it taking place in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal, flogging is an acceptable form of punishment, and 6,500 workers are said to have died while building stadiums in the Gulf state. 

BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin said: “Football and pubs go hand in hand and even though times are incredibly tough and the cost of doing business is still rocketing our publicans are still ready to provide a warm welcome to fans.

“We’re hoping this World Cup to provide a significant boost to the industry and are urging people to get out and support their local if they can by cheering on their favourite team with a pint in hand.”