England’s World Cup draw sent UK pub beer and cider sales up 77%

A World Cup match and a heat wave gave Britain’s pubs and bars a sharp midweek lift, with draught beer and cider sales rising 77% from a typical Tuesday, according to new analysis from The Oxford Partnership based on Beverage Metrics volume data from Vianet.

The figures cover June 23, when England played Ghana in its second group-stage match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Even though the game ended in a scoreless draw, pubs across the UK sold 5.4 million pints of draught beer and cider over the day, the analysis found. That worked out to an average of 170 pints per outlet and about £935 in draught revenue per pub.

The gain was notable because the match fell on a Tuesday evening, usually one of the harder trading days for hospitality operators. Compared with the average June Tuesday in 2025, venues sold an extra 74 pints each.

England’s pubs averaged 173.8 pints per outlet, while Scotland and Wales also posted gains as interest in the tournament spread across the UK. London recorded the highest sales rate at 232 pints per venue, while the East of England posted the strongest growth, with sales up nearly 99% from normal Tuesday levels.

Every English region saw an increase of at least 67%, the report said. Among venues showing live sports, average foot traffic during the match more than doubled from a typical June Tuesday evening.

Lager was the strongest category. Sales rose 98.3% year over year, with world lager up 136.1%. Cider climbed 121.2% as drinkers looked for colder, lighter options during hot weather. Premium and international lager brands led much of that growth, with Asahi Super Dry, Cruzcampo, Estrella Damm and Stella Artois all posting triple-digit increases.

The weather also mattered beyond soccer. The Oxford Partnership said venues that were not actively promoting World Cup matches still saw sales rise 46.1% from a typical June Tuesday, suggesting that unusually warm conditions were driving extra visits on their own.

That effect was uneven across locations. Urban and suburban venues posted the biggest gains, with sales up 53.3% and 50.0%, respectively. City-center sites grew by 18.6%. The analysts said the pattern suggests consumers were more likely to stay close to home during extreme heat rather than travel into town centers.

Alison Jordan, chief executive of The Oxford Partnership, said England’s World Cup run was continuing to provide a meaningful boost to the on-trade sector, with football and exceptional weather drawing consumers into pubs and bars across the country. She added that the strongest growth coming from suburban and urban locations showed how local trading can benefit when major sporting events coincide with hot weather.

For brewers, pub operators and drinks distributors, the figures offer a clear signal about how quickly demand can spike when sports viewing and summer temperatures align. Such swings can shape staffing, stock planning and draught supply across the on-trade channel, especially for lager and cider.