It’s almost that time again! Another international footballing event looms on the horizon, and billions of people are set to spend weeks crowded around television screens, watching millionaires kick a pigskin around. For England fans, the experience tends to end with humiliating defeat. But that needn’t mean that we can’t enjoy it while it lasts!
England’s campaign kicks off against mighty Tunisia, a tiny North-African nation sandwiched between Algeria and Libya. If you’re running a pub, bar or restaurant, then you’ll have the opportunity to turn the game into a real occasion. You might even throw an outdoor event with a big screen! But to do it right, you’ll need to take care of a few crucial things. Let’s consider the most important of them.
Food
If you’re eating in the middle of boisterous crowd of football fans, then you’ll want something compact and convenient. As such, burgers, chips and pies are a good bet. If you’d like to be adventurous, you might also throw in a little bit of Tunisian cuisine. It’s a little bit spicier than most North-African food, and incorporates plenty of ingredients that you might think of as Middle-Eastern, like harissa, rosewater and chickpeas.
Drink
When you’re planning drinks, bear in mind that the match takes place on a Monday night, and so many of your guests will want to limit their alcohol intake. You should therefore provide a few soft options to placate the designated drivers.
Now, you might think it obvious that beer and football go hand-in-hand. But there’ll always be some guests who don’t like beer. Come up with something else for them: there’s a Tunisian spirit called Boukha that makes a great base for cocktails. It’s a little bit like brandy, except it’s made from figs.
Entertainment
Of course, most of the evening’s entertainment will come from watching the actual football. But that’s just ninety minutes out of an entire evening – and not everyone will want to listen to Alan Shearer’s punditry at half-time (particularly not excitable children). You’ll need a few other distractions.
A photobooth makes a fantastic addition to this sort of party. It’ll capture all those intense emotions, and bucketloads of patriotic face-paint. Happily, this is something we’ll be able to help with: our photobooth service will help you immortalise the joy that follows an easy victory. After all, Tunisia can’t be as tough to beat as Iceland, can they?
Kick-off is on Monday 18th, at 19:00. The game will air on BBC1!