No Italy, no late night games: Bars brace for quiet World Cup

Bars and big screen venues are expecting a less busy World Cup this year due to early morning kick-off times and Italy’s failure to qualify.

Canada, Mexico and the United States begin hosting the international football tournament today.

Since the tournament is taking place across the Atlantic, some matches kick off as early as 4am or 6am in Malta.

“I don’t have big expectations in terms of customers because of the times. During the week, everyone has to work in the morning,” George Gatt, who owns the Salisbury Arms pub in Sliema, said.

The World Cup fanzone at Spinola Bay. Photo: Jonathan Borg

As the bar’s name suggests, Gatt’s clientele are mainly UK nationals and Maltese who support England in football. Luckily for him, all of England’s opening games will be at 10pm and 11pm during the opening round.

“I will open for the evening games but England, for example, are still playing late. A game at 10pm means it ends at midnight... I don’t think it’s going to be a good World Cup for business,” he said.

“Opening for the early morning games doesn’t make sense. I have the permits for it but to open the bar, pay staff, with the hope of just serving a few beers... it’s not worth it,” he said.

Overall, Gatt expects to be less busy than four years ago when the World Cup took place in Qatar in December 2022.

Alexander Cutajar, owner of the popular Summer Nights pub, is similarly pessimistic.

“To be honest, I have no intention of staying open past 1am. My clientele are mostly Maltese who will be following England and a few who support Spain or Germany,” he said.

“A lot of my patrons are Italy fans. The fact that their team hasn’t qualified means business will be slower,” he said.

Ongoing works at the Marsascala promenade could also turn off would-be patrons, he said.

“But, even in general, there is a gradual decline in people going to bars to watch football,” he said. Cutajar thinks this is because of how readily available football broadcasting has become.

“It’s now not only available on everyone’s TV set at home but even on your phone,” Cutajar, whose pub first opened in 1992, said.

“Back in the day, we had to invest a lot to broadcast football and, because it wasn’t available, people would start filling the bar at 12pm for a 5pm game, just to get a good seat,” he said.

Rubén Mejía, however, will be welcoming his customers in the early hours.

His bar, Cummbia in Msida, serves Latin American food and most of his clientele are Colombians.

Colombia’s opening three games will be played at 4am and 1.30am Malta time.

“Obviously, we will be opening. However, we will only host a limited number of people to make sure noise levels remain low,” he said, adding that all those who want to attend will probably have to make a reservation.

Despite the early morning kick-offs, Mejía is optimistic that he will be able to fill all 30 available seats.

“The Colombian national team usually plays in American time zones but, still, whenever we screen the games, it’s a great success,” he said.

“We want to support our team in the World Cup in a family-friendly and welcoming way,” he said.

The fanzone at Campus Hub. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Matches at the Qatar tournament, controversial for several reasons including its late-autumn scheduling, were played at times that were convenient for Maltese viewers.

Unlike that tournament, however, when cold weather meant many outdoor big screens could not be set up, they are returning this summer. Among them are fan zones set up in Campus Hub (near the university) and Spinola Bay.

The two football villages, however, will only be showing matches taking place during waking hours. In the opening days of the tournament, Campus Hub will only screen matches kicking off at 7pm, 9pm and 10pm, while the latest kick-off fans can watch at Spinola is 11pm.

The National Aquarium has also set up a fan zone.