FEATURE: World Cup bounce gives pubs confidence for football season

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Guinness turns matchdays into footfall occasions

The Premier League is the world’s most-watched football league, reaching 900m homes in more than 189 countries[1]. For pubs and bars, this global pull presents an opportunity to create an atmosphere that locals and visiting fans want to be part of.

But with people going out less, venues need to give people a reason to choose the pub over the sofa. Live sport can make pubs 11% busier[2] and encourage 87% of visitors to stay longer[3], unlocking significant potential for incremental spend throughout the sporting season.

Operators can reap the benefits of a great sports atmosphere by offering a broad range of drinks and eye-catching matchday theatre. High-impact PoS, football-led touches around the bar, speedy service and well-briefed teams all help create the packed-house feeling fans look for.

This is where Guinness can make a difference. Beyond the pint, Guinness supports operators with dedicated football PoS packs designed to bring football occasions to life. Combined with being the #1 beer brand for consumers across eight sports, including football[4], Guinness helps operators turn matchdays into occasions.

The drinks offer plays an important role in converting that atmosphere into sales. With stout volume up 10.7% year-on-year[5] in the on-trade, stocking Guinness helps operators meet strong consumer demand during key matchday moments. Alongside Guinness 0.0, which is driving exceptional growth (up 61.1% in volume year-on-year[6]), the range gives venues options for every fan.

When the atmosphere feels unmissable, matchday becomes more than a screen, it becomes a reason to visit, stay and return.

To learn more, simply click here.

[1] ‘Adobe and Premier League kick off creative revolution for global fanbase’, 2025

[2] Source Oxford Market Watch, July 2025

[3] Sky Business & CGA Report 2023: ‘The value of live sport in Britain’s pubs and bars’

[4] BrandTrack, August 2025

[5] Source: CGA OPM to 21.02.2026, L12W

[6] CGA OPM to 21.02.2026, MAT

Top-flight clubs in Scotland have already begun their Premier League season – and for some their European campaigns – with hopes for another highly competitive season after the dramatic final day shoot-out between Celtic and Hearts in May.

In England, the EFL comes into view this week, with live coverage on Sky Sports of games involving all 72 clubs on the opening weekend through the miracle of the red button.

The English Premier League follows the week after and is being billed as one of the most open in recent memory with managerial regime change at Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle United bringing a healthily elevated level of uncertainty.

Stats that show a World Cup bounce

The World Cup demonstrated the power of football to provide a business boost for hospitality, with the Oxford Partnership’s Market Watch for June showing a 4.5% increase in footfall during the early stages of the tournament and the average dwell time rising by 7.7% to 154 minutes. Total consumer spend grew by 2.9%.

Trading performance was also stronger said the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII), citing the Oxford Partnership data, with total draught volumes increasing by 0.9% and rate of sale by 3%, indicating that venues generated more volume from each football occasion.

The NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker for the same month showed the combination of football and hot weather gave pubs their busiest month of the year to date, with like-for-like sales up by just short of 2% on the same period in 2025.

RSM UK head of leisure and hospitality Saxon Moseley said: “Wet-led pubs were the real winners of the World Cup with strong like-for-like growth bolstered by the hot weather, underscoring the importance of experience-led spending in the current climate.”

Shots get Sky Blue pub off to a flyer

Paul Curtis became a first-time pub owner when he took over the long-closed Stag & Hen in Coventry just under two years ago.

He made football a focal point for getting the local community involved in the pub, with immaculate timing as Coventry City swept all-comers in the Championship to win promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 25 years.

“We had stupid idea last season to give a Sky Blue shot away for every goal Coventry scored,” Curtis says. “They scored 95 of them! It cost us a few quid but it was worth it to build the client base up. We went very quickly from having 20 people watching a match to 80-120. As the season wore on, business just got better and better, and the last few games were such a great atmosphere.

“We’re going to run the promotion again but we expect to give fewer away!”

The pub’s connection with the Coventry City fanbase has been further enhanced by hosting a local fan’s forum every Thursday night.

“We give everyone who comes along a free chip batch [local slang for a roll],” says Curtis. “It’s a Q&A event that goes live online across YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, and there are raffles and auctions. We get 100 fans together in the pub and talk about the season and what’s coming up and then fans join online from all over the world.

“We’ve got Coventry flags all over the place and various pictures, signed balls and other memorabilia.

“We do everything we can to get fans in and involve them, including a guess the score competition before the game, for example.”

Football means footfall for GBPA winner

Football is a prime business driver for Concept Taverns venue Pinnacle Sports & Games in Leeds city centre, winner of Best Pub to Watch Sport in the Great British Pub Awards in 2025.

Concept senior marketing and sales manager Olivia Kendall says: “Football is hugely important and one of the biggest drivers of footfall throughout the year. While we show a wide range of live sport, football is what consistently brings people together, whether it’s for Premier League fixtures, European nights or major international tournaments.”

Leeds is a one-club city, and the promotion of Leeds United to the Premier League last season brought a new buzz that Kendall expects to continue into 2026-27.

“Leeds United games naturally generate our biggest crowds but we also attract supporters of clubs from across the country thanks to our location,” she adds. “The biggest occasions are always the high-profile Premier League clashes, European knockout games and international tournaments, where the atmosphere is fantastic.

“We regularly run food and drink offers around key fixtures and encourage guests to arrive early and stay after the final whistle by making use of our pool tables, interactive darts and other games.

“Our loyalty scheme rewards guests every time they spend in the venue, allowing them to build points throughout the football season that can then be redeemed against future visits.

“It’s a great way of rewarding our regular supporters and encouraging repeat visits, particularly across busy fixture periods.”

Burnley-mad pub’s silver lining

Justine Bedford, owner of the Burnley FC-mad Royal Dyche in the Lancashire town, expects televised football to be even more of a commercial draw than last season, despite the club’s relegation from the Premier League.

“Our trade is much better in the Championship,” she says. “We tend to win more games, we’re on TV more and we have three local derbies to look forward to [against Blackburn, Bolton and Preston], and we didn’t have any in the Premier League.

“There’s nowhere near as much demand for Premier League football if Burnley are in the Championship but we still have plenty of customers who support other teams – Liverpool, Manchester United, Brighton, Fulham, Arsenal and Chelsea, to name just a few.”

The Royal Dyche has promotions and entertainment to help with the big-match atmosphere.

“We tend to pair a home game with a live band or DJ, and for away games or England games we do free half-time hot dogs,” Lorriman says.

“For our local derbies we will be open at 8am, giving us an extra four hours of trading time.

“We try to make the most out of every opportunity. Having run the pub for 13 years, these things soon become the norm and the organisation side of the business gets easier each year.”

Football isn’t enough to support the Royal Dyche on its own, so participatory games and sport play an important part in sustaining business on down days, including the pub’s own darts, pool and football teams.

Bedford says showing live football is a vital cog in the wheel of building repeat business and developing a sense of community.

“We have become part of so many people’s matchday routines and see so many of the same faces each game,” she adds.

“Last season in the Premier League, we counted 17 nationalities on just one match day from all over the globe, wanting to visit the pub before they headed to [Burnley FC stadium] Turf Moor.

“It’s just great we can be a tourist destination for the town as well as an important part of our own community.”

Who’s showing what in 2026-27?

Live Premier League coverage is split between Sky Sports and TNT. Sky has a minimum of 215 Premier League games this season, the second year of an expanded deal that brought more live matches to TV screens than ever before last season. Sky says viewing figures for the 2025-26 season were up by 25% as a result.

Its coverage includes six Premier League games on the opening weekend and at least four on any given weekend. The season begins on Friday evening, 21 August, with Coventry’s baptism of fire at champions Arsenal.

Other big games already on the Sky schedule include a Super Sunday double bill of Everton v Manchester United and Arsenal v Chelsea on Sunday, 6 September.

TNT has 52 Premier League games across the season, starting with another promoted team, Hull City, at home to Manchester United on Saturday lunchtime, 22 August.

TNT holds all the cards on European football, providing potential boosts to midweek business though Champions League games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and Europa League and Europa Conference League matches on Thursdays. It also has the UEFA Super Cup final between Paris St Germain and Aston Villa this Wednesday (12 August).

Arsenal are joined in the Champions League this season by the two Manchester clubs, Aston Villa and Liverpool. Bournemouth are in Europe for the first time after qualifying for the Europa League, where they’re joined by Sunderland and Crystal Palace. Brighton are the sole English representative in the Conference League.

Sky Sports is showing more than 1,000 English Football League (EFL) games in the coming season, including every match from the opening weekend, all midweek games and those on bank holidays, during international breaks and on the last day of the season. Coverage kicks off with Wolves v Blackburn on Friday (14 August) but the biggest game of the opening weekend is arguably the clash between relegated sides Burnley and West Ham on Sunday (16 August).

The broadcaster also has 60 live games from the Scottish Premiership, whose season has already begun.

The National League in England also provides pubs with a live football opportunity in parts of the country that the Premier League and EFL can’t reach, with DAZN providing access to more than 400 games a season.

The WSL opportunity

Increasing numbers of pubs are showing top-level women’s games as a way to diversify their audience and extend the commercial benefits of televised football.

Almost all Women’s Super League games are now screened live under a deal split between Sky Sports, which has up to 118 matches per season, and the BBC, which shows 21 games, providing access for those pubs that don’t have accounts with subscription channels.

In addition, games that aren’t selected by either of the main broadcasters will be screened live on YouTube.

Champions Manchester City start their defence of the title at home to Birmingham on Sky on Sunday, 5 September. The Beeb’s first game is the day before, featuring Chelsea v Aston Villa.

Pinnacle in Leeds is one venue that shows WSL football. “Women’s football continues to grow in popularity,” says Kendall, “and we believe it’s important our customers know they can come to Pinnacle to watch the biggest matches in a welcoming environment.

“It helps broaden our audience and reflects our aim to be an inclusive sports venue for everyone.”

Fun and theatre to drive engagement

Pubs can also exploit big games to maximum commercial effect by adding extra fun elements, such as quizzes, that increase customer engagement. One relatively easy way is to set up a league within the official Fantasy Premier League, allowing regulars to pit their managerial skills against each other throughout the season.

East London pubs the Dolphin, in Hackney, and Old George, in Bethnal Green, partnered with the live news platform Cauldron to run live prediction games during matches during the World Cup.

Customers who wanted to take part scanned a QR code to answer a series of questions about the upcoming match on the phones and, as the game progressed, a live on-screen leaderboard showed how they were faring against friends and family.

Cauldron says it is now talking to a number of other independent pubs in the area with a view to extending it next season but pubs further afield could take inspiration to run their own simplified, less tech-driven in-venue games.

Pubs should also take advantage of support from drinks brands with football links. Guinness is the official beer of the Premier League and Jameson Irish whiskey is an official partner of the English Championship.

Carling is the official beer partner of both the men’s and women’s FA Cups in England.

Molson Coors Beverage Co sales director Kevin Fawell says: “Core lager will be the bedrock of sales throughout the football season, giving operators the opportunity to drive a high rate of sale by stocking trusted favourites that consumers know and enjoy.”

But he adds that “a successful matchday offer is about more than the drinks range alone”, adding that “creating theatre and excitement around fixtures can encourage customers to arrive earlier, stay longer and return throughout the season”.

Kendall at Concept Taverns reinforces the view pubs can and should bring that little more to the football party.

“Watching at home can never quite replicate the atmosphere of a packed sports bar where every goal, tackle and big moment is shared”, she says.

“We’ve invested heavily in creating that experience with wall-to-wall screens, quality AV and plenty of games to keep people socialising before and after matches.

“The Pinnacle has become a real community hub where fans know they’ll get a great atmosphere regardless of which team they support.”

For Curtis at Coventry’s Stag & Hen, football is even more elemental to the business.

“Football has been a lifesaver,” he says. “Without it, this pub wouldn’t exist. The football’s the thing that’s brought us all together.”