Big switch off feared as pubs say fans don’t seem interested

Pubs and restaurants across Scotland are braced for a low-key World Cup as football fans turn their back on the Qatar tournament, according to a licensed trade chief.

Paul Waterson of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association said few if any venues were planning to hold World Cup parties and special events.

The combination of Scotland’s failure to qualify, deep concerns over Qatar’s human rights record, and the tournament kicking off so late in the year led to the event being regarded as a washout north of the border, according to Waterson.

He added: “Things will definitely be more muted. The run up to the tournament has been very quiet and once it kicks off it will be very low key here.

“There are concerns over the political and human rights problems in Qatar, the fact that Scotland won’t be there, and also it is being held really late in the year.

“People are now starting to think about Christmas nights out rather than the World Cup. All of that will contribute to it being very quiet.”

Up to 4,000 England fans are expected to travel to Qatar for the group stages with numbers set to increase if Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate’s side reach the knockout stages. Up to 3,000 Wales fans are also expected to fly out to the tournament ahead of their opening game tomorrow.

Some English pubs are refusing to show any matches in protest against Qatar’s human rights record. John Sizzle, 54, co-owner of London bar The Glory, said: “It’s disappointing that human rights haven’t been considered when putting on an event as big as this one.

“Of course we will listen to our customers and if there is demand for it and it’s a celebration then we will put it on but based on what I’ve seen so far, there won’t be interest.”

Nicola Moxham of the Mustard Pot in Leeds, said: “We always show the big football matches. We always show the World Cup. I started to look into it a bit more and realised it is distressing for a lot of people. So we’ve had a U-turn and we’re no longer showing it.”

Hundreds of Wales fans are travelling to Tenerife to enjoy the tournament after being priced out of a World Cup trip to Qatar. Bethany Evans suggested the idea on Twitter after realising the cost of going to Doha. The 25-year-old’s tweet has gained 2,500 comments and the Facebook page she set up has more than 2,000 members.

Evans flies out to Tenerife today while hundreds of other fans are expected to arrive on Wednesday.