How Beer and World Football Go Hand in Hand

When you think of sport going together with food and drink, there are a few things that come to mind. One of those is beer and world football (aka soccer), something that many people enjoy together on a weekly basis throughout the season, and perhaps even more so when the major tournaments come around.

Football is seen by many as one of the most important elements of life, and something that people spend a lot of money on, if they go and watch on a regular basis. Their spend on beer is part of this, just like for many, spending money on placing a bet is part of the experience. When doing this, an approach involving comparing a list of new betting sites to compare odds is something that many people do.

During the last World Cup in 2018, it is reported that 545,770,475 pints of beer were sold over the eight week period. Beer is the drink most associated with football, and that is backed up with stats. According to MatchPint, 61.9% of drinks bought by fans watching Premier League football are beer, higher than the 59.2% at the Six Nations rugby.

When it comes to breaking down beer sales further, lager is top with 44% of all sales, while craft beer is on the rise and stands at 13%, which puts that above Guinness, which is down to 9% of sales. One of the reasons for this may be the fact that many big lager names have sponsorship deals with sporting leagues, such as the Budweiser deal with the Premier League, making it the official beer of the league.

Helping with the Occasion

Many people who go to watch their football team will say that the build up to the game, and the pre-kick off habits they have are often almost as good as the game itself. People enjoy going to the pub to get excited, get talking to others and meet their friends, before the big game.

In these establishments, they will drink their favourite beers, maybe something they have drank for a long time, or alternatively trying something new based on the latest beer trends. By heading out and having a beer before the game, people are extending a 90 minute football match into something that takes up part a few hours of the day.

Even those who are sitting at home and watching on TV will get the beers in to enjoy pre-match and during the game. The occasion feels bigger for many when this happens, and for some, this tradition has been engrained into their footballing life for many years, both on the sofa and in the stands.

Whether it’s in or out, with a lager or craft beer, with friends or alone, it seems there are multiple ways to enjoy both beer and football together. Given the variety on offer, and the different ways in which people do this, it seems inevitable that people will continue this tradition for many years to come.

Photo Courtesy Flickr/Marco Verch Professional Photographer