Live screening, quizzes, predictions, discounts: Restaurants and bars in Pune go extra mile for football fans during World Cup
As the 2022 Fifa World Cup fever grips Pune city, several restaurants and bars have upped the ante to make the match-viewing experience for football fans exciting. From country flags and buntings welcoming football fans to attractive discounts on food and drinks, the atmosphere is all set for a celebration of football with friends.
Sakshi Gautum, social media manager of Swig Bar and Eatery, said that till the end of the tournament on December 18, they will hold a score prediction contest “In the World Cup spirit, we have a daily ‘predict the score’ contest. All that the customers have to do is predict the number of goals in a match and the one with the correct prediction gets a beer. We are also working towards having a fantasy football competition soon and some football gaming events, aside from the regular happy hours (a period when drinks are sold more cheaply than usual ) we have between 7 pm to 11 pm,” she said.
Gautam also said the customers will be more than encouraged to wear their team jerseys and cheer while watching the live telecast at Swig Bar and Eatery outlets.
Sandy Singh, partner at Iceberg Hospitality, said “All games until the 12:30 am kick-off will be screened with live commentary. Offers will run all night with an arrangement of a large projector and a television for people to savour the games. We do not charge an entry fee but recommend that patrons make prior reservations. Competitions for people predicting the correct scores, goal scorers and flash offers will be organised. We do have a foosball table too, on which we will host a foosball tournament. This is a month-long campaign till the World Cup ends.”
Meanwhile, Karan Kriplani, partner at Hippie@Heart, said matches till midnight will be screened at their outlets in Kothrud and Balewadi and a quizzing event will be held for customers, with exciting FnB coupons for grabs. “Every third match or so, we will have a quiz event where the questions will be based on the match and the countries playing and we have kept redeemable vouchers and coupons on food and beverage items as prizes. We are also chalking out the events for the big matches — the quarters, semis and the final,” he said.
Sports shops at MG road in the camp area decorating In the backdrop of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. (Express Photo By Pavan Khengre)
Food Music Love, Kalyaninagar, and Effingut, Koregaon Park, have also made arrangements for live screenings along with offers on food and beverages. “We have unlimited craft beer at a charge of Rs 1,100 per person between 12 pm to 5 pm apart from our regular schemes,” said an employee at Effingut.
Nilesh Patel, business head West at Impresario, which manages FC Social on Fergusson College road, said that football is a sport which attracts more footfall than cricket and hence they crafted a football-themed menu at their outlets for the fans.
“Contests and giveaways are being planned. Quirky football theme decor like buntings and flags is put at all the outposts. We want as many people to join us hence there will be no cover charges on admission. Special pricing on beers at all outlets while the food menu will also comprise exciting offers for football enthusiasts,” said Patel.
Bellona Hospitality, the hospitality arm of Phoenix Mills, has tied up with Club Sunset Cinema for the screening of the final on December 18 at Liberty Square, Phoenix Market City. “This will be a ticketed event and the food and beverages will be at actuals. There are some exciting offers for the crowd. We also have some freestylers coming in, some fun quizzes planned, and more fun games to entertain football enthusiasts.” said Prashant Issar, COO of Bellona.
