Calling all Premier League & World Cup Followers in Canberra region!

[Mathix]

Hi all

 

I am very happy to have found these forums, I recently came to Australia from the UK on a working holiday Visa, and have done a bit of travelling around Aus for the past year but I am now intending to stay in Canberra as my brother has been living here for the past 7 years and I would like to stay close to him now if possible.

 

My main problem is I don't really know anyone in Canberra and any friends from home that are in Aus remain up in the Manly/Sydney region. So the thing I miss the most is being able to watch the game over a beer with good people. Unfortunately I don't have Foxtel or anything so currently my only known way to watch the game is by keeping up to date with recordings from back home of programs such as 'Match Of the Day'. I am a Palace fan but I am definitely happy watching any games, I find it is just nice to keep up to date by watching a game or 2 each week, so now i was wondering if anyone knew of any bars in Canberra that show EPL or anything, and if so where could I find them please?

 

I was also wondering if there were any meetup groups or anything similar that you could point me towards? maybe more specifically for football fans (Soccer, Otherwise watching England play in the world cup this year is going to be unusually quiet lol, which is fine but if there are others around I would like to hopefully get involved.....Admittedly we may not last very long but it would still be nice to feel united with some other fans during the event without having to travel up to Sydney!

 

Thanks in advance for any information, much appreciated! :-)

 

Matt

[MARYROSE02]

I can't help you with a sports bar in Canberra, though I'm sure there must be some there. Maybe try the Leagues Club for Canberra Raiders. I think there is one in Canberra and at Queanbeyan too. They will have Fox and if they are open late at night, maybe EPL fans will gather there? Irish bars, perhaps too.

 

However, if you are a Palace fan, maybe come up to the Royal Exhibition Hotel in Surry Hills, (Sydney) outside the Devonshire St entrance to Central Station, because they meet there for some of their games. It is actually the West Ham pub, but they seem to get on well with the Palace fans!

[ABL275]

Hi all

 

I am very happy to have found these forums, I recently came to Australia from the UK on a working holiday Visa, and have done a bit of travelling around Aus for the past year but I am now intending to stay in Canberra as my brother has been living here for the past 7 years and I would like to stay close to him now if possible.

 

My main problem is I don't really know anyone in Canberra and any friends from home that are in Aus remain up in the Manly/Sydney region. So the thing I miss the most is being able to watch the game over a beer with good people. Unfortunately I don't have Foxtel or anything so currently my only known way to watch the game is by keeping up to date with recordings from back home of programs such as 'Match Of the Day'. I am a Palace fan but I am definitely happy watching any games, I find it is just nice to keep up to date by watching a game or 2 each week, so now i was wondering if anyone knew of any bars in Canberra that show EPL or anything, and if so where could I find them please?

 

I was also wondering if there were any meetup groups or anything similar that you could point me towards? maybe more specifically for football fans (Soccer, Otherwise watching England play in the world cup this year is going to be unusually quiet lol, which is fine but if there are others around I would like to hopefully get involved.....Admittedly we may not last very long but it would still be nice to feel united with some other fans during the event without having to travel up to Sydney!

 

Thanks in advance for any information, much appreciated! :-)

 

Matt

 

Hi Mathix, have a look at Breezer's thread on the Liverpool FCC supporters' club as he's already done a lot of legwork on this. I'm a big Liverpool fan; I'd have limited ability to get out to see games (work, family etc.) but would certainly be keen to see some of the World Cup games - see what you can arrange.

[Nealmason1986]

I am a bolton fan but i love watching the EPL (seeing as we are struggling in the championship).

 

I am well up for watching football in a pub over a beer.

 

I heard some scousers own a pub in kingston.

[ABL275]

I am a bolton fan but i love watching the EPL (seeing as we are struggling in the championship).

 

I am well up for watching football in a pub over a beer.

 

I heard some scousers own a pub in kingston.

 

Fellow Scousers........

 

With a pub............

 

In Canberra.........

 

Do you know which one?

[sunniecat]

whereabouts are you? We're members at the Calwell Club, we've asked them to put the EPL matches on for us before, they're usually happy enough to do that. That said, we've got Fox now (as of about 2 weeks ago)!

[Nealmason1986]

I have foxtel go on my computer so I just stream most of it through my TV. I am in waramanga. I would love to meet up for some football. Defo CL final.

[pntaylor]

You can get Foxtel Play which will let you watch Foxtel on XBox 360, iOS, Android and your PC. It's worth looking at as it doesn't lock you in to a contract as it runs month-to-month.

[Nealmason1986]

Sorry that's what I have. 50 a month for basic package and sport. I just wanted sport but apparently that's not possible

[CommanderMaxil]

I'm a Blackpool fan but well up for watching EPL matches, and definitely the CL final and World Cup. Gonna be the first major football tournament i'm out of the UK for. How does the time difference work though, are EPL matches even on at a time when places are open in Canberra?

[Mathix]

Wow thanks for all the replies :-)

It seems there is a lot of interest in watching the games in a pub after all , as I have not been here long I'm not sure at this time if there is a bar that is actually open in Canberra at the times we will need, to be honest have never even been to any bars here lol, but maybe if anyone can find the name of this scouser owned bar in Kingston it could be a good place to start?

 

I am currently based in Chifley (Woden) but I am willing to travel anywhere in Canberra to watch some games if at all possible, if anyone has any ideas? we should really get this organised. I am going to do a little research of my own and I will post here with any findings, any one else with any ideas or input is very welcome to also make suggestions here

 

Thanks all, I'm glad I'm not alone :-)

[Mathix]

CommanderMaxil this is also the first major tournament I will be missing, that's what triggered me to initially start this thread, I can imagine (I hope anyway) that the World Cup will be more widely aired in the bars than EPL at least so when the world cup is on we hopefully shouldn't have to much trouble organising someone if we gather a good number of us :-)

 

Sunniecat do you still watch the games at Calwell club, or are you saying you don't really anymore now that you have fox set up?

 

ABL yes I think i have found that thread so watching a few games with the scouser games could be a good way to start this and meet other EPL fans, and get familiar with the sports bars in Canberra

[Steve Maunsell]

Kiwi/honourary Scouser/ex-London resident here.......have been chatting with Mathix on the LFC thread but it appears there's a bunch of general football fans here keen on catching up for some drinks while watching any game.

 

The Lakes in Gungahlin is a good place, happy to show games live and they're open until 4am. I haven't had any response from clubs in the central city but it sounds like Calwell is another option. Instead of getting somewhere in the wee hours I'd suggest watching a replay (there's one at 1pm this Sunday but Foxtel don't say who it is). Anyone keen?

 

Sky Sports have a World Cup calendar to put in Outlook/phone calendar http://www1.skysports.com/FIFA-World-Cup-2014/news/15241/9066717/world-cup-calendar and they're at better times They've also got similar calendars for all teams and competitions http://www1.skysports.com/calendars

[sunniecat]

Well, I don't watch the 2am kickoffs... Our foxtel is streaming though so we can't record, so if we wanted to watch a live game we'd have to go out for it in which case we'd probably end up at the club easier now that the UK timezone means the early kickoffs are 9pm or thereabouts! If you want someone to watch a footy match with do send us a pm (me or my OH pntaylor) - we're pretty friendly but not very good at checking in on here

[kgoatley]

Hiya - with regards to the World Cup, I've been chatting to the owner of King O'Malleys (who I've done some charity stuff with before). He's a fantastic guy and ALWAYS willing to do different sorts of things. Certainly for the first Aus & England games, that both KO at 8am AEST (Sat 14 June & Sun 15 June respectively), he's going to do a World Cup thing - open early/bacon sarnies etc. Given it's central, it might be a good place to meet up. I'll be there for both and I'm dragging some work mates along as well. For the England game, I just need to check whether or not my 15 yr old son can come too - he has his England shirt (signed by Stevie G.) ready to go and we are both used to getting very excited before the WC starts.......and then gradually becoming despondent.....particularly when penalties come up! Anyone who wants to join in, I'll send updated info closer to the time. Dare I say, "It's coming home....."

[ABL275]

Sounds good - I'd be interested, keep us posted.

[Steve Maunsell]

Hiya - with regards to the World Cup, I've been chatting to the owner of King O'Malleys......"

Did you have any luck with this? Are they showing the games this weekend? I'm keen to watch them.

[Mathix]

Hi guys

 

Sorry I have been offline for a while, I ended up getting sucked in with busy schedule at work, and busy saving for a flight home in July.

 

But now with the excitement of the world cup around the corner i remembered this post i started and wanted to see if there were many ideas floating around, and it looks like there has been!

 

Hellenic Club in Woden i personally spoke to and he said he's more than happy to screen any games we wish ( I initially asked for Premier league but he also said world cup matches are fine also and even offered to give me a tour of the venue to see if i thought it suitable, so sounds pretty promising! :-)

 

however looking here it seems that king o malleys may have a bit of a thing going down for the Italy game? ...if there'll be some red n white going I might just have to pop in for a few!! :-)

 

would be great if someone could confirm that this is happening please?

[Slean Wolfhead]

Civic pub in Braddon is showing every game, whatever time it's on. Pretty big inside.

[Steve Maunsell]

Well, that was a disappointing morning. Other than the score the turnout at the pubs was non-existent. I went to King O'Malley's and was the only one there. I watched the first half, no one else turned up, and then headed to Hellenic Woden only to find that they weren't showing it at all. Hellenic Woden said that Hellenic City were showing it.

 

I'll come in to the city tomorrow for the England/Italy game and see what's happening. I'll start at O'Malley's and see if anyone else turns up. If not I'll head to Hellenic and possibly Civic Pub. So if anyone is keen to watch the game and have a drink I'll see you there.

 

Cheers

Steve

[Peach]

Well, that was a disappointing morning. Other than the score the turnout at the pubs was non-existent. I went to King O'Malley's and was the only one there. I watched the first half, no one else turned up, and then headed to Hellenic Woden only to find that they weren't showing it at all. Hellenic Woden said that Hellenic City were showing it.

 

I'll come in to the city tomorrow for the England/Italy game and see what's happening. I'll start at O'Malley's and see if anyone else turns up. If not I'll head to Hellenic and possibly Civic Pub. So if anyone is keen to watch the game and have a drink I'll see you there.

 

Cheers

Steve

 

From the Canberra Times, there is plenty of coverage - just not necessarily the England games:

 

The Australia Institute of Sport will be screening the match at the AIS Theatrette on Saturday along with the Spain V Netherlands game at 4am. The theatrette holds 314 people so could get a little rowdy and most of the group stage games will be screened.

 

 

The Brazilian Embassy will be taking over the AIS theatrette for all Brazilian games and diplomatic staff will be handing out Brazilian food and potentially dancing. We were tipped off by Chilean Embassy staff who were very diplomatic in wishing the Socceroos well.

 

 

The Harmonie German Club in Narrabundah will be opening for every Socceroo game and, of course, every German game. Football fans can head along to Jerrabomberra Avenue club from 7am on Saturday for breakfast and some banter with the German community.

 

 

The Canberra Dutch Club is aligning with the Harmonie Germany Club to turn the place into a sea of green, gold and orange on Wednesday night. The club president said everyone is welcome to come and sink Heinekens and sample the Dutch food.

 

 

The Gryphons Café Bar in Griffith will be televising the Chile game from 7.30am on three big screen televisions and serving breakfast, should you feel like bacon and eggs while you watch the match. The café will screen all 8am games and is holding private events for earlier matches.

 

 

The Belconnen Soccer Club on William Slim Drive in McKellar is preparing the big screen projector for the big game and will be serving bacon and egg rolls and beverages from 7am for those so excited they can’t sleep in.

 

 

The Italo Australian Club on Franklin Street in Forrest will also be serving bacon and egg rolls (standard issue, it seems) from 7.30 am and will be making use of their big screen projector for the match.

 

 

The Burns Football Club in Kambah will be serving beer from 7am unlike many other venues, as well as a barbeque breakfast and coffee for those who need some nutrition. The football club is affiliated with the Canberra Highland Society, which may explain the access to alcohol.

 

 

The Hellenic Club in Civic will be screening the game and, in a classic show of one-upmanship, they’ll also be offering a big brekky as well as bacon and egg rolls for football fanatics. Look out for a good representation from the ANU Football Club which is partnered with the Hellenic Club.

 

 

The Lighthouse Pub in Belconnen will screen every Socceroos game and will shout the entire pub a free drink every time the Australians score a goal. Management wish the Aussies all the best but odds are they won’t be dishing out too many free pints.

 

 

Tosolini’s Italian restaurant in Civic will be handing out free Italian doughnuts and serving breakfast for the Socceroos match with televisions glued to SBS for the next month. Owner Carlo recommends Canberrans swing by for the Italy v England game on Sunday.

 

 

The Turner Bowls Club in Barton will be open from 7am for the game against Chile and will be offering pisco sours, coffee and breakfast. If you’re feeling energised by the Socceroo’s performance you could always follow this with a roll on the green.

 

 

The Civic Pub in Braddon will be open for every single world cup game and football fans will have access to a breakfast menu, coffee and drinks, no matter what time kick-off is.

 

 

The Southern Cross Club in Woden will be holding a breakfast in one of their functions rooms for the Socceroos V Chile game. They've already had 50 tickets booked and will considering running functions for all Socceroo games if it proves a succes

 

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/where-can-you-watch-world-cup-matches-in-canberra-20140613-zs6xo.html

[kgoatley]

Hey Steve - we were going to go to King O'Malleys, but my 15yr old son couldn't go in (and he'd never forgive me if I went without him). I suspect it will be the same tomorrow, so we'll watch the England game tomorrow morning at the Dickson Tradies - we'll be in our England shirts. Let me know if you're up for coming along. Our first time out of the UK for a World Cup too....need some fellow football fans....who know it's called football and not soccer!!!!

[Peach]

Hey Steve - we were going to go to King O'Malleys, but my 15yr old son couldn't go in

 

that's odd, Kings has a kids menu... guess they see the soccer fans as not a child friendly environment.

[Mathix]

I just spoke to king o malleys on phone and they said that they not even open that early tomorrow...

 

So now I think by the sounds of it it's between civic pub and Dickson tradies, is civic pub kid friendly? As is a little more central if not I guess Dickson is also ok!

 

P.s this my first world cup a way from home so also keen to get all fans under 1 roof for that homely feel!

[kgoatley]

I just called Civic Pub and they said "yes" to being kid friendly. So...England fans....Civic Pub it is!!!! We'll be there at 7.30am. Look for a blonde chick (Kate) and a tall 15 yr old male (Jake) - both in England shirts and come and say, "Hi!" and join us. Roooooooooney!!!!