It’s the biggest sporting extravaganza in the world, and city sports buffs are gearing up for some fancy footie nights to make the most of the FIFA 2018 kick-offs...
It’s fiesta time for footie buffs with the FIFA World Cup having kicked off on June 14 in Russia. The first match where Russia pummelled Saudi Arabia in an exciting 5-0 finish had footie fans licking their lips in anticipation. With millions of animated football fans across the globe gearing up to get a taste of this month-long tournament, which features 32 teams, Bengalureans too are finding exciting ways to catch the games. Numerous footie aficionados in the city are having private screenings at their homes with a big screen, beer and lots of banter to keep them going.
Suhrid Thacker, managing partner, Katalysst CPG consultants LLP, is someone who’s been having screenings of football matches at his house since he was a 12-year-old.”
For this World Cup, I plan on having my friends over for all the games after the Round of 16 as that’s when it starts getting exciting. I have a big screen at home and I tend to restrict the crowd to football enthusiasts only. The maximum number of people is around 20 at these game nights,” he reveals. While he doesn’t have a favourite team, he will be rooting for Argentina, thanks to Lionel Messi. “He’s probably the greatest of all time so I would love for him to win the World Cup,” says Suhrid. What is the atmosphere like at these high-octane game nights? “Other than a lot of expert side commentary, there’s a tense and boisterous atmosphere during the business end of the competition. A lot of people sharing statistics amongst one another as their club players are playing for their countries and all the fans sharing their knowledge of their favourite players is fun!”
Content writer and social media consultant Achal Khanolkar is a fan who calls over his friends for regular footie nights. “My friends and I are ardent football fans and have been talking about the World Cup for the past five months in anticipation. I host mini FIFA 18 gaming sessions at my house and have been playing it in the World Cup mode for the past few weeks, adding to the hype. Of course, during the course of the tournament, my friends will come over and try and watch as many games as possible,” says the avid football enthusiast, who along with his buddies is taking part in a fantasy football world cup competition where each person has to pick 15 players from a pool of all participating nations. “My favourite teams are Argentina and Spain,” adds Achal.
For some Bengalureans, football nights have been a family tradition filled with celebration, exhilaration and chitchat. “My father started this trend with his friends during the 1998 World Cup and after his passing, I’ve continued it till date. A bunch of friends who share passion for the sport come home to watch the games together. I have a medium-sized screen and this time, for certain games, I will have friends over — around 10 to 15 people,” says stock broker Siddharth Mathew, who’s rooting for Spain this season.
