As one of the UK’s major cities, and a hotspot in the south of England, Brighton is often the city those who want to enjoy the spectacle of major tournaments turn to. This winter, we’ve seen the Premier League hang up its boots for a month to make way for the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East, and Brighton has been entrenched in fanfare since the opening kick-off on 20 November.
Brighton has a long tradition of venues and specialist parks opening up to football fans around the biggest single-sports competition on the planet. In 2014, many venues put on special events for the World Cup in Brazil, including the Brighton Big Screen, Brighton Music Hall, Riki Tik, and Concorde 2, among several others. For the business end of the 2022 World Cup, the knockout stages, this year’s venues will only be more important.
Brighton has, once again, played host to a huge array of football fan events, from designated parks to pubs and bars going the extra mile to get into the spirit of the beautiful game. So, here’s a look at what could be expected come the end of the tournament, as well as where to watch the World Cup out in Brighton or unique ways to do so at home. Get ready for a distinctly unique winter of football!
Who is expected to go all the way?
While one of the top things to do in Brighton is to cheer on the Seagulls at home, we won’t be able to cheer on any in an England shirt during the FIFA World Cup. Unfortunately, none of Brighton & Hove Albion’s English players were called up. However, for the opening game, Brighton fans got to see Pervis Estupiñán, Moisés Caicedo, and Jeremy Sarmiento take on the hosts, Qatar, for Ecuador.
Elsewhere, Tariq Lamptey joined the Ghana squad, goalie Robert Sánchez accompanied Spain, Leandro Trossard went with the Belgians, Japan called up Kaoru Mitoma, and midfield maestro Alexis Mac Allister will be amongst the heavyweights Argentina. Of the Brighton contingent, Mac Allister is clearly favoured to get his hands on the trophy.
Argentina came into the 2022 World Cup with one of the easiest groups, on paper, for a top-seed side to deal with. Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and even the Robert Lewandowski-powered Poland weren’t expected to pose much of a threat to the South American side. The only team as favoured to go all the way as Argentina were Brazil. With a star-studded squad announced and a moderate group, Brazil are, again, supposed to go far.
As the tournament got underway, France, England, Spain, and Germany were also clearly in the mix as the dark horse contenders. While the glut of the top players for Brazil and Argentina play in Europe, they are more accustomed to partaking in international duty in hot and particularly trying climates, while the European sides are less seasoned in this regard. Particularly for France, the tournament has come at a poor time for injuries.
Still, England’s rivalry-entrenched Group B wasn’t expected to pose too much of a problem, even with the team’s form entering the showpiece event. Southgate’s trademark hyper-conservative style and experience at the Euros should see England at least get to the knockout stages, and from there, with Group A providing the other side of the bracket, another step forward should be a given.
Watching the 2022 World Cup out in Brighton
Following the rampant success of fan parks dotted around the UK for England’s run to the Euro 2021 Final, as well as for the Six Nations, the organisers are back and putting on the 2022 World Cup. 4TheFans has established immersive football events in Newcastle, London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, and, of course, Brighton. They do much more than just put on the England games, though.
The 4The Fans events bring with them a famous special host for each occasion, DJ sets, giveaways, and host competitions over the course of the day. There won’t be any restrictions in place this year, which will hopefully make for an even more raucous atmosphere when one gets put into the back of the net. For anyone who this appeals to in Brighton, 4TheFans has established The Arch on Kings Street, the same street as one of the best chip shops, as its home for the games in Qatar.
General admission was knocking around £11 prior to the start of the tournament, with VIP tickets around £21 to £32. As for the special hosts, the first three group games had Bobby Zamora, Mark Lawrenson, and Tony Cottee listed as the star attractions at The Arch. Regardless of the teams in attendance, this Brighton FanPark has also been earmarked for the World Cup Final on 18 December. If a FanPark isn’t your cup of tea, though, you’ll likely be able to find the footy on at Fiddler’s Elbow, Walkabout, Coalition, and Pier Nine.
Staying in for the winter World Cup
It’s the middle of winter in the UK, and Brighton certainly isn’t the warmest part of the country this time of year, so you can’t be blamed for not wanting to go out for every game of the World Cup. However, the games are on at rather favourable times for fans of England and Wales, so all will be watchable. One offbeat way to experience the World Cup is via the Oculus Lusail Stadium VR Experience, which gives “a front-row seat for a match at the Qatar 2022 final stadium.” You could virtually travel to Qatar while keeping just as warm indoors.
As some of the matches don’t look to be absolute barnburners given the teams involved, or might just not interest you enough to command two hours of your time, you could stay in touch with the action while doing something else. This is where the live casino hopes to appeal to football fans this winter, with Live Football Roulette, Live Football French Roulette, and Football Studio specifically designed to deliver table game action and real-time match updates. You could test your lucky numbers while keeping in the know for the World Cup.
Of course, the main way that people in Brighton will follow the World Cup is on TV. For the 2022 tournament in Qatar, every single game will be on the BBC or ITV, with the two splitting England and Wales matches. For the last-16 and quarter-finals games, ITV will get the first choice – so England will almost certainly be on ITV. The first pick of the semi-finals goes to the BBC, with the host of the final yet to be decided at the time of writing.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be unlike any other that we’ve experienced, and England entered the tournament as a dark horse contender. So, whether you can brave the cold or not, you’ll want to join the rest of Brighton in tuning in to the action in Qatar through to the grand finale.
