LEBANON - Every four years, the FIFA World Cup offers Lebanon a unique chance to celebrate the love of football among a nation that has long been ecstatic about the game.
From public spaces to restaurants and cafes, Lebanese of all ages, social backgrounds, and sects come together in displays of support for their favorite teams.
According to a 2022 Statista survey covering the MENA region, cafés and public venues remain one of the most popular locations for watching World Cup matches, alongside home viewing with family or friends.
Another study indicates that in many Middle Eastern countries, over 70-80% of adults expressed intent to follow World Cup matches across devices and public spaces, reinforcing the tournament’s strong regional consumption culture.
Yet, Lebanon welcomed the 2026 FIFA World Cup under significantly more difficult conditions than in previous editions.
While excitement remains strong among both citizens and businesses, the country’s ongoing economic collapse, persistent security instability, and evolving consumer behavior have significantly reduced the hospitality sector’s capacity to capitalize on the tournament.
A Tradition Under Strain
Traditionally, the World Cup has provided a seasonal boost to Lebanon’s hospitality sector. Restaurants extend opening hours, cafés install large screens, and entertainment venues repackage themselves as communal viewing spaces.
Yet according to Khaled Nazha, Vice President of the Syndicate of Lebanese Restaurants, that “revival effect” is no longer guaranteed.
“The World Cup used to guarantee movement in the sector. Today, it no longer does,” he said.
For many venues, simply participating in the World Cup season has become expensive. Screening matches require commercial broadcasting licenses that exceed around $4,000 per venue for the duration of the World Cup, depending on size and location.
Years of financial collapse, inflation, declining purchasing power, and continued war and Israeli attacks have significantly reshaped consumer behavior.
Nazha tells Enmaeya that more viewers now choose to watch matches at home via subscription services or informal streaming setups, avoiding transport costs, parking fees, and minimum restaurant spending.
The result is a weakened equation: higher costs for businesses, but less guaranteed returns.
Still Visible, But More Selective
Despite these pressures, World Cup culture has not disappeared. It remains visible, particularly in larger venues that can absorb licensing costs or rely on high footfall.
Casino du Liban has historically hosted large-scale screenings in its halls during major tournaments, offering a structured entertainment setting.
Meanwhile, initiatives such as Batroun Foot City 2026 reflect a growing trend toward outdoor, festival-style viewing spaces, combining food stalls, big screens, and communal seating to recreate a stadium-like atmosphere.
But these examples are increasingly the exception rather than the norm.
A Push to Rethink Broadcasting Rights
Within the hospitality sector, one recurring proposal is for the Lebanese state, through Télé Liban, to acquire World Cup broadcasting rights and air matches free-to-air.
Supporters argue this would serve two purposes: restoring public access to major sporting events and easing financial pressure on cafés and restaurants forced to purchase costly commercial licenses.
Nazha supports the idea, saying free national broadcasting could revive collective viewing culture and indirectly boost turnout in public venues. He adds that this could also make the World Cup accessible and free to watch in every Lebanese home.
A Tradition That Lives On
Despite the strain, World Cup viewing culture in Lebanon has not disappeared; it has simply contracted. Cafés and restaurants still become gathering points during major matches, but more selectively and under tighter financial constraints.
What was once a predictable seasonal boom has become an uneven opportunity shaped by rising costs, changing habits, and broader economic instability. Still, one pattern remains: when the World Cup begins, Lebanon continues to gather, just in fewer places, with smaller crowds, and under far greater pressure than before.
Yet alongside this persistence is a clear limitation. The enthusiasm around global sporting events remains visible, but the hospitality sector no longer benefits from it in the same way it once did. The contrast highlights a gap between cultural momentum and economic capacity.
For some industry voices, the way forward lies in finding more structured support around major tournaments, whether through partnerships that ease broadcasting costs, or designated public screening spaces that can bring crowds together at lower expense.
In the absence of any measure, a more informal reality takes shape: businesses adapt individually, scaling back rather than expanding.
What remains consistent is that the World Cup still draws people together in Lebanon. What has changed is the scale and the sector’s ability to turn that moment of collective attention into sustained economic gain.
