Hospitality venues are set to benefit from a £898m spending boost during the 2026 World Cup as an estimated 12.4m Brits are expected to support from beer gardens to restaurant terraces.
According to data from Voucher Codes 2026 FIFA World Cup Spending Report, that’s a 46% increase from the 2024 Men’s Euro’s and is over double the amount spent in the 2022 World Cup (up 103%).
With the later kick-off times and warmer weather coinciding with this year’s World Cup, spending on drinks is set to outperform food spend by 48%. Football fans are expected to spend £536.1m on drinks alone in hospitality venues along with a further £361.9m on food throughout the tournament.
Spending will be pretty evenly split between men and women with men parting with only 22% more than women. Those aged 35-44 will be the generation splashing the most in hospitality venues, prioritising drink purchases over food and sending £219.4m.
As those aged 65+ are more likely to watch the competition from their home, they’re set to spend the least in hospitality venues (£61.7m). They are also the only age group expected to spend more on food (£32m) than on drink (£29.8m).
Whilst beer is the preferred drink of those watching the game, there’s a less obvious fan favourite when it comes to food, with a tenth selecting crisps (9.8%) or burgers (9.7%) as their go to matchday treat. Other popular orders include chips (9.2%) and pizza (9.1%).
With three choices of host cuisines to choose from, just over a third will be opting for a traditional Canadian, Mexican or American inspired dish (34.5%). The older generation are less adventurous when it comes to food with 94% sticking to what they know. The younger generations are more likely to expand their pallets with almost two-thirds of 25-34 year olds indulging in at least one of the three host nations throughout the tournament (64%). American style food is set to be the most popular (45%), followed by Mexican (33%) and lastly Canadian (22%).
With the extension of pub licensing laws and the late kick-off times encouraging a late drinking culture, the hangover breakfast and morning after coffee will be an essential for many Brits throughout the competition. Football fans are expected to buy an additional 5.2 million coffees and hangover breakfast following heavy nights of supporting their country.
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