Football craze makes outlets show and sell

Dubai: Some of the cafés in Dubai that decided not to telecast the World Cup have been eerily quiet over the past week and are now switching on big screens in a bid to attract soccer-mad customers.

Management at a string of outlets have admitted that fans kept them out in the first week of the championships and flocked to those bars, restaurants and cafés that showed the action in Germany.

Technicians moved in fast this week to Gelato, an Italian restaurant in Shaikh Zayed Road, and put up a screen that will show all the stars in their bid for glory on pitch.

Cosme Fernandes, the manager, said: "When the World Cup started, our restaurant went down, so we decided to put up the screen. It will be better for encouraging customers. We might have it outside also. We're trying hard now."

Another staff member there, who asked not to be named, said: "A lot of the places were showing the World Cup and they were busy but we've been badly affected by not having it."

The chain's other branch in Dubai is also starting to show the games, and café Shakespeare and Co in Shaikh Zayed Road is hoping to do the same.

Staff member Hakima Hammouchi said a screen had been in place but up until now had not been used.

"We have a screen ... but nobody could work it. I hope we will call someone soon to fix it. It's very quiet now ... because we don't have it and the customers are asking about the World Cup. We should arrange it soon," she said.

Proof of World Cup's crowd-pulling power can be seen at the countless hang-outs that have been showing the games.

Among these is Japengo in Jumeirah. Rowena Sulib from the outlet said: "It's much, much better than before the World Cup. For the first game we don't tend to have that many people but from eight o'clock onwards until the last game is finished we have too many people."

Likewise, Scarlett's in the Emirates Towers is packed to the rafters during the matches.

However, not all the cafés and bars are jumping on the footballing wagon. A staff member at Starbucks in Deira City Centre said there were no plans there to show the championships.