The UK Soccer Drinking Game That Changed Everything

With the success of the women's US national team and the improved efforts of the men's squad, the American public is warming to soccer. Having Lionel Messi playing in Major League Soccer will only help the cause.

The sport is most popular across Europe and South America, where thousands of supporters attend games at iconic stadiums, with millions more watching the play live on television. The English Premier League is, by far, the most popular club soccer competition, attracting record viewing figures, revenue, and attendance. The EPL also boasts the most famous teams, including household names like Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea. You can watch the top games on major TV broadcasters or, at the best free live-streaming apps.

The Premier League is most popular across England and the rest of the United Kingdom, but also enjoys a healthy following worldwide. You can track the action, predict the result at the best online sportsbook, and target a profit. The leading gambling apps offer over 100 pre-game and in-play markets, including the winner, both teams to score, handicap, total goals, first scorer, half-time/full-time, and more. There's something for everyone, and you can get involved before the next fixture.

Weird and wonderful

Gambling on the result of a soccer game is a fantastic way to add an extra layer of drama and excitement to the occasion. Study the form of both teams involved, get an update on the league table, and trawl the head-to-head results. The more research you do into a game, the greater your chances of calling a result and landing a profit. You can wager on a single fixture or spread your interest across several games, creating a parlay bet off small stakes, targeting big returns.

Betting on soccer is one of many ways to spice things up. You always have alcohol to lend a helping hand, and a six-pack of beer can make even the dullest fixture seem like a World Cup final. But British football has a strange relationship with alcohol. You'll often see famous lager brands advertised on TV and around stadiums, but there are restrictions on drinking alcohol at games. In England, you can consume pints inside the stadium at a designated alcohol zone but can't take your plastic cup back to your seat and enjoy the show.

That seems harsh until you realize there's a blanket ban on consuming alcohol inside soccer stadiums in neighboring Scotland. Work this one out if you can. You can't drink inside a Scottish soccer stadium, but you can leave the venue and drink in a pub just a stone's throw away. Alcohol is banned at soccer stadiums, but visit a rugby union venue and enjoy your fill of beer, wine, and spirits. Different rules for different sports. If that's not weird enough, you can hire a box at a soccer stadium and sink pre-match and post-match pints. It's laughable.

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An amazing alternative

Soccer teams and fans are missing out, leading many to stay away from stadiums and find an alternative. What are the options for UK football fans wanting to combine their passion for soccer and a liking for alcohol? They must get creative to enjoy an afternoon of drinking beer and watching soccer. Fans like to play Premier League bingo, taking a shot each time a goal is scored by a team on their sheet. Others watch the match live and drink when there's a yellow card, or the commentator uses one of their famous phrases.

Many soccer-related drinking games are great fun and can enhance your enjoyment of the action on TV. But now and again, a piece of brilliance comes along that brings joy to the reader and restores faith in the Great British public. The drinking game we'll cover next is so brilliant it's verging on evil mastermind stuff. The kind of brilliant mind you know could solve all the world's problems in a day if they weren't too busy having fun and being drunken legends.

We'll keep names and the personal details out of this one, but the group of lads behind the scenes deserve a round of applause and a round of beer for being bold and thinking outside the box, changing the soccer with beers scene forever. The story takes place on a normal Saturday afternoon with a busy fixture list featuring dozens of games across the United Kingdom, from the highlands of Scotland to the sunny south coast of England.

Fate takes them to Swindo

On this faithful day, a group of friends arrived at their favorite bar. Some were bleary-eyed from a heavy session the night before, surviving only on their witts, a love of soccer, and excitement for where the day might take them. They ordered their drinks as the list of British soccer games began at 3:00 pm. Their ingenious plan was to watch the scores and visit the town where the first goal goes in. It could be London, Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast, or anywhere in between.

The first goal was scored, and off they went on their adventure, journeying to Swindon, which was almost two hours away from their drinking den, although it could've been much worse. They could've ended up anywhere, and that's the beauty of the game the lads invented that day. Every week throws up a different venue. On the afternoon in question, Swindon scored first, and off they went.

Now, even if you've never been to England, Swindon isn't known for its banging nightlife. But the boys didn't let that spoil their party. Posting details of their plan and the resulting visit to Swindon, the group instantly went viral, becoming an online sensation. Since then, soccer fans across the UK have followed the blueprint, turning up at pubs across the land, much to the confusion of the bartender.

Give it a try next weekend when you're free. It works with any sport.