Bumper Saturday of sport to pull in the punters
The dramatic lead-up to the all-English UEFA Champions League final included nail-biting semis between Liverpool and Barcelona on 7 May where Jurgen Klopp’s side won 4-3 on aggregate, and Tottenham and Ajax on 8 May when the final result was a 3-3 draw on aggregate but the north London side won on away goals.
The UEFA Champions League final between Spurs and Liverpool will be played on Saturday 1 June at the 68,000-capacity Estadio Metropolitano stadium in Madrid – the home ground of Atletico Madrid – at 8pm UK time.
According to MatchPint, 37% of publicans recorded a profit when English teams were playing in Champions League games and almost three quarters (73%) of fans said they would watch English teams in the champions league v 49% that would watch non-English teams.
Horses for courses
Tottenham beat Ajax this week (8 May) at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam to reach the final and Jurgen Klopp’s side beat Barcelona at Anfield on 7 May, winning 4-3 on aggregate.
The big match also coincides with Derby Day at Epsom Racecourse in Surrey, where pubs can tap into the action by showing the racing on-site.
The Investec Derby Day races start at 2pm, with the Derby race taking place at 4.30pm, before the day's final race at 5.50pm.
Big fight
And on the same day, world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua makes his US debut when he takes on Andy Ruiz Jr at Madison Square Garden, New York.
The action is expected to begin at 11pm UK time with Joshua expected to take to the ring at about 3am on Sunday 3 June.
For operators looking to show the fight, due to the times, they will need to consult their licence to ensure it covers late-night serving of alcohol or apply for a temporary event notice (TEN).
So far in his career, Joshua has had 22 fights, resulting in 22 wins with 21 of those being knockouts. The only match that wasn’t a knockout was against Joseph Parker in March 2018 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. It was the first time in Joshua’s career he had been taken the full 12 rounds but a unanimous decision on points ensured he won the bout.
