* With the greatest sporting event upon us it’s time to buy a new TV, order a pizza and get the beers in *
By Kyriacos Kiliaris
When the World Cup in Russia kicks-off on Thursday, Cypriot football fans will either be glued to their new TV at home and ordering pizza or going to a bar with friends to spend a bundle on food and drink.
The month-long tournament is not only an eagerly awaited sporting event, that excites even the most casual of fans, it also offers a welcome boost to local business mainly in the food and entertainment industry.
Football fans in Cyprus join the 3.2 billion viewers around the globe who will dropping everything to tune in to the World Cup.
The greatest show on earth kicks-offs in Russia from 14 June to 15 July, and all the matches will be screened live by state broadcaster CyBC.
Whether Cypriots choose to stay in or go out to watch the football, it spells good news for the local economy.
Even though Cyprus may never qualify for the World Cup, and Greece is also absent this time around – there are still going to be winners at home.
Looking to strike it rich are fast food chains, pubs, bars and cafes, supermarkets and electrical stores.
Beer sales
Drinks firms are definitely looking forward to the event as beer is the drink of choice for most fans, whether watching the games at home or going to the pub during a hot summer of football.
Carlsberg brewers Photos Photiades are anticipating the event and the benefits it will bring for them.
Carlsberg Brand manager for Cyprus, Louis Kangas told the Financial Mirror that they are particularly excited about the prospects.
Kangas said that football and beer are a great combination.
“Fans gathering at pubs or in homes will be mostly consuming beers rather than any other beverage and because the games take place daily, people will be also consuming beer during the week, and not only on weekends.”
During the hot summer months, beer sales are always on the rise, but as KEO Brand Manager George Georgiou said: “The World Cup is expected to boost sales at least by 15% compared to the same period last year”.
KEO which has seen its sales follow an upward trend, is looking forward to the tournament as the market is expected to heat up with beers sales increasing in pubs, cafes and at supermarkets.
“The increase is expected to make the pie bigger, intensifying competition,” said Georgiou.
KEO has launched a special promotional campaign, "The Game is On". The campaign is designed to attract more consumers during the World Cup and will run in sports bars, pubs and cafes islandwide.
“Any consumer buying two KEO bottles or two draught beers will get a pint glass with the KEO logo and will enter a draw with the prize being a season tickets to watch their favourite Cypriot team in the league for the 2018 -2019 season,” said Georgiou.
The campaign will also run in selected Cypriot supermarkets where consumers can participate through their supermarket loyalty cards.
Fast food
Fast food restaurants also expect their sales to go up. Renos Andreou, General Manager for McDonalds Cyprus said he expects to see an increase of at least 15% in sales at their drive-through windows.
“During these kinds of events, Cypriots like to enjoy the games with their food,” said Andreou.
He said the spike in sales will be felt more acutely in the capital Nicosia, rather than the coastal towns.
Andreou said that the franchise will be giving away a glass in the shape of the World Cup trophy with every big meal. “We expect to see big meal sales double”.
McDonald’s is one the official sponsors of the World Cup.
Supermarkets
Of course, supermarkets will not be sitting idly on the bench during the World Cup in Russia.
They have joined in the spirit by introducing various offers and promotional campaigns.
Natasa Constantinidou, Assistant Marketing Manager for AlphaMega Hypermarkets, said that they couldn’t be absent from the biggest sports event.
AlphaMega brought over Argentine football legend Roberto Ayala who appeared for his country a total of 112 times, wearing the captain’s armband a record 58 times.
“Our collaboration with Roberto Fabian Ayala is one of the most beautiful ones we have ever made. We gave our customers the chance to get to know this great player, but also to play Flipper Ball with him, a game created by our supermarkets exclusively for the World Cup,” said Constantinidou.
She said AlphaMega expects a significant increase in items such as snacks, drinks and food, which are on special offer during the World Cup. There is also collaboration with fast food providers and sports outlets.
“We reward our regular customers by offering coupons for free pizza (1 + 1) and 1 free cheese stick from Papa John’s pizzeria on purchases of EUR 40 or more. For purchases of EUR 50 and above, they also get a 20% discount coupon for Famous Sports stores.”
TV sales
The World Cup has also brought smiles to the faces of businesses selling electrical goods, especially television sets. Stelios Athanasiou, General Manager at Scandia, said that they expect to see an increase of 20% in sales of big-screen TVs.
“During events such as the World Cup we see a lot of people choosing to change their television, opting for a bigger screen and more advanced technologically.”
Athanasiou said that people now prefer home screens from 49’ or bugger with higher definition. He added that prices for such high-tech sets range between EUR 500-1500.
Scandia says it’s keeping prices low in an effort to boost sales further.
Restaurants not so happy
However odd it may seem; restaurant and café owners are not so enthusiastic with the expected turnout of their clientele during the World Cup.
Phanos Leventis, the General Secretary of entertainment and leisure establishments (PASIKA), said that “pubs and some sports bars may see some increase in their clientele during this one month.
However, most cafes and restaurants are not expected to see a tangible increase in revenue.
“Even those set to see their business increase during the World Cup, will do so after having invested seriously in equipment such as the latest television sets with the best definition available and sound systems”, said Leventis.
He said people will prefer to go to a bar on the coast to watch a game due to the warm weather.
“If they do decide to watch a game late in the evening, they will prefer to do so in one of the bars near the sea.”
Echoing the same concerns, Yiannis Tsoutsoukis, owner and director of Di Mario Lounge Café in Nicosia, said he does not expect a significant rise in business during the World Cup as the event will be broadcast on free-to-air state TV.
He said that people would rather gather at a friend’s house and watch the games.
Tsoutsoukis compared the World Cup pull to the Europa League, which is also free-to-watch on CyBC, as opposed to popular Champions League games which are on pay-TV only.
“During a Champions League game, we may have a full house, while for Europa League games we barely have more customers than we would have had if it had been a day without a match,” said Tsoutsoukis.
The cafe owner said screening football only accessible on subscription channels is a costly business.
“In order to be able to screen all the games that would interest Cypriot fans, that is the local championship and the Champions League, we spend EUR 600 monthly on subscriptions,” said Tsoutsoukis, voicing concerns of the whole sector.
‘TV schedules are perfect for Cyprus,’ says CyBC chief
State broadcaster CyBC will be showing all FIFA World Cup 2018 games live, starting from the official opener between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia on Thursday, June 14, with the station’s chief executive saying Cyprus being in the same time zone as Russia will benefit local football fans.
“The schedules are perfect for us,” CyBC Director General Michalis Maratheftis told the Financial Mirror. All 64 matches will be shown live on CyBC1 and CyBC2, and that the best quality will be on CyBC-HD, “with amazing resolution.”
“Our viewership ratings will definitely be much higher, especially on matches of great interest, leading all the way up to the final in Moscow on July 15,” Maratheftis said.
Kick-off times in Cyprus are 15:00, 18:00 and 21:00 and from June 25 at 17:00 and 21:00, games will also be streamed on the website www.cybc.com.cy.
A member of the European state broadcasters’ network EBU, CyBC has already concluded a broadcast agreement for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and usually enjoys higher viewership ratings, as well as increased advertising revenue, during major sports events such as the Olympics.
According to CyBC annual reports, the last World Cup in Brazil contributed to 2014 advertising revenues spiking by EUR 800,000 for the year, a remarkable feat considering it was a year after the banking crisis had hit the Cyprus economy.
