More than 14,000km from the action, there’s been no shortage of World Cup fever at hospitality venues around New Zealand.
From All Whites supporters to expats, football fans have flocked to venues across the country to get a view of one of the world’s biggest sporting tournaments.
Jay Zeylemaker, operations manager for Star Group – which runs more than 50 bars, pubs and restaurants across the North Island – said the Fifa World Cup had been fantastic for the industry.
“Anything like this is really positive for the hospitality industry … this couldn’t come at a better time for us really,” he said.
“What I’ve noticed the most is we’ve got venues that aren’t normally considered sports venues, for example the Goode Brothers or Sweat Shop, and we’re full for a football game.”
Zeylemaker said Star Group was trying to screen as many games as possible at its venues.
“Some venues are opening early at times when they wouldn’t normally. We’ve tried to encourage almost all our venues that have TVs or the capability to show the games to do so.
“I would say most venues are getting behind it.”
He said New Zealand and England games especially had been a major drawcard.
“The other day at Sweat Shop we had the [England] game going and it was chock-full with English [fans]. That was really cool to see.”
The hospitality industry has been doing it especially tough since the turn of the 2020s as businesses battled through the Covid pandemic and recession.
Recent data from Centrix shows hospitality liquidations rose 51% in the 12 months to May, with 421 liquidations recorded over that period.
Zeylemaker said the start of 2026 had looked “really positive” before the Middle East conflict “impacted momentum a little bit”.
“[The Fifa World Cup is] really welcomed by our industry,” he said.
“The positive thing is we’re able to open outside our normal trading hours, bring in some income that we otherwise wouldn’t normally have and at a time we don’t normally open.
“Yes, we’ll have to bring in a couple of extra staff, but it’s well worth it because of everyone just getting stuck into the food and drinks.
“It’s really good to see a lot of Kiwis are getting out instead of watching the game at home and supporting the industry by buying a meal or buying a drink, and we really thank people that do that.”
Cameron Smith is an Auckland-based business reporter. He joined the Herald in 2015 and has covered business and sports. He reports on topics such as retail, small business, the workplace and macroeconomics.
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Source: New Zealand Herald
