Just a few days from now, Liverpool will meet Real Madrid for the Champions League Final. The game will be on the 27th of May, 4:45 am on a cold Sunday morning.
Arguably the biggest game in the football season every year, people are buzzing around the world to watch it but it is a little bit different in Melbourne, where watching it in the first place is proving to be a challenge for football fans down under.
Kevin, a Liverpool fan states that he is struggling to decide where to watch the game, as there are only limited places that screen it.
His only options are Imperial, Bunjil, Crafty Squire and Crown.
“There are limited amount of places as to where you can watch
If you do find a place, it could be rather challenging because the place could be quite rowdy” states Kevin.
Indeed, the Imperial has set out rules stating that they will be closing their doors at 2 am, almost 3 hours before the game for safety. The Bartender also recalled a frightening moment, as one of the TV’s were broken during a game because a guest threw a pint of beer to the TV.
When asked, iconic places such as Federation Square will not be screening due to maintenance to their big screen.
Once picking the spot, expenditures in these places could be a hefty fee just to watch a football game.
Kevin’s disapproval of things as simple as parking fees are one of the things that frustrates him from going to these venues.
“Parking could relatively be quite expensive
If you go to Crown, it could be quite challenging”
Prices of Crown’s parking could reach $50 flat rate in the weekends.
Watching the games at home also gives a problem, in which most of the games on free TV are only the first games of the weekend and does not show all of it, where Fetch TV, Foxtel and BeIN are pricy options.
“That would require me to pay a monthly subscription” states Kevin, who’s displeasure could be seen in full here.
Soccer (or properly called football) in undoubtedly the biggest sport in the world. With the A-league growing in a rapid state and the Socceroos going to Russia for the World Cup, surely the problem of coverage of soccer should be solved in order for fans to be able to enjoy international competitions and matches.