For years, sports fans relied on Google, social media or word of mouth to decide where to watch the football. But during the World Cup, more fans than ever will use AI tools to make those decisions for them.
Questions like:
…are increasingly being answered directly by AI assistants, search tools and recommendation engines.
The important thing for pubs is this:
You don't need to understand AI to benefit from it.
You simply need to make it easy for AI systems to understand what your venue offers.
Traditional search relies heavily on websites and keywords.
AI search behaves more like a recommendation engine.
Instead of simply matching keywords, AI tools try to understand:
That means visibility across multiple channels matters more than ever.
During a normal weekend of football, many fans already know where they’re going.
But the World Cup creates a very different type of audience.
You suddenly get:
Many of these people won’t have a “regular pub”.
They’ll search online every single matchday.
And increasingly, they’ll ask AI tools where to go.
If you want your pub to appear in AI-driven recommendations, the key is simple:
Make it obvious online that you show live sport.
That means:
The more consistently your venue appears online connected to football and live sport, the easier it is for AI systems to understand what your venue offers.
Search for:
Using ChatGPT, Gemini or Google Search.
If your venue doesn't appear, there's a good chance potential customers aren't finding you either.
That's exactly the problem many pubs face.
They're showing the games, but they're invisible online.
One of the biggest misconceptions about online marketing is that pubs need complicated strategies or expensive agencies.
In reality, consistency is far more important.
Simple actions like:
…can dramatically improve discoverability.
The venues that win during major tournaments are usually the ones that simply make themselves easy to find.
Many pubs assume customers already know they show sport.
But during the World Cup, fans compare options constantly.
If another venue is actively promoting fixtures online while yours is silent, they often win the customer before someone even walks down the street.
With FANZO Venues, you can automatically promote your fixture schedules across multiple channels without needing marketing expertise or spending hours managing posts manually.
That helps your venue stay visible wherever fans are searching.
The World Cup doesn’t just increase footfall.
It increases discovery.
Every customer who finds your venue for a World Cup game becomes a potential repeat customer for:
But first, they need to find you.
And increasingly, AI will decide which venues get recommended first.
