This year’s World Cup, taking place in Qatar, has not come without its fair share of controversies, and this is also reflected in the mixed feelings that bar owners in Bugibba and St Julian’s have had.

WhosWho.mt reached out to different people representing bars and pubs in two of Malta’s main locations which are synonymous with showing football tournaments.

The Assistant Manager at Miracles Pub in Bugibba stated that “this World Cup is “no different from any other world cup – people are dancing, eating watching football. It’s the same.”

On the contrary, Isabelle Debattista from Fat Harry’s, a bar that is situated a few metres away from Miracles Pub, acknowledged that this year things are different. “There’s no real vibe this year,” she stated adding that not being able to put up big screens outdoors due to the weather has had a big impact on the establishment.

Nevertheless, she stressed that while one might think that Italy not taking part in this year’s tournament would negatively impact bars and pubs, Fat Harry’s is normally frequented by English people, “and the fact that England were still in the competition until recently has certainly helped keep the pub busy,” Ms Debattista affirmed.

“People who genuinely love football also have a lot to feast on this year”, she highlighted, referring to all the new teams that are progressing and doing well in the tournament “keeping things very interesting.”

Ms Debattista added that “negative media has also impacted this year’s world cup in general,” however, she feels that “locally, this particular reason, hasn’t really made a big difference.”

In St Julian’s, The Dubliner Owner Karl Vassallo revealed that “this year the bar is not as busy as it normally is during a world cup tournament.” He mainly blamed this on the fact that “Italy, Ireland and Sweden are not competing which is quite significant since we have a lot of these expats living in Malta and who would normally frequent the pub in a usual summer world cup when such teams are in the tournament.”

The anticipation surrounding the 2022 Qatar World Cup started when this was postponed from 2021 as a result of COVID-19. There are currently three matches left to be played for the tournament to come to an end, with the final taking place this Sunday afternoon. So far, the first finalist, Argentina is known after they won against Croatia on Tuesday (yesterday) evening. The second finalist will be determined tonight at the end of the match between France and Morocco.