LIBERATING FOOTBALL TRAVEL

The World Cup starting this week means a riot of colour in New York City. Fans from the competing nations gather in their respective neighborhoods, huddled around TV screens in bars, restaurants and corner shops, with spontaneous celebrations spilling out onto the streets.

Italians in the Bronx will flock to the cafés on Arthur Avenue and in Morris Park. The streets of Brooklyn’s Sunset Park should be ghostly when Mexico take to the field. In Queens, Greek pride will echo every street in Astoria and Uruguayan flags will flutter above the doorways of Jackson Heights.

Less partisan locals and visitors will still be able to keep up with the action these next four weeks thanks to this handy guide produced by US-based journalist Ian Thomson, who visits some of the options in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

A good tip for places to watch the World Cup is to download the First Touch free mobile app featuring TV listings and a map highlighting the city’s soccer bars.

Midtown Manhattan

The Football Factory at Legends (6 W 33rd St, between 5th and 6th Aves) is the Grand Central Station of soccer bars. Up to 5,000 fans pass through its doors on a busy Saturday to watch live action from Bavaria to Buenos Aires. Over 30 supporters’ groups gather to cheer their teams in the company of Irish barman Jack Keane, a local legend who vows serve pints whenever there is a game on that somebody wants to watch. Sir Alex Ferguson stops by occasionally during his New York jaunts.

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East Village, Manhattan

Irish-owned Slainte (304 Bowery, between E Houston and E 1st Sts) features exposed brick walls and earthy wood flooring and attracts a diverse crowd – literary groups to sports fans gawp at the 12 TVs and huge projector screen covering the far wall. The beer selection changes frequently, with an emphasis on craft breweries. Match-day meal specials include filet mignon sliders for $10.

Parkside Lounge (317 E Houston St, at Attorney St) is a classic dive bar with pool and foosball, skee ball machines, a selection of board games, a back room that stages comedy and live music, and an ATM built into the outside wall. Two big TVs above the bar will be screening the World Cup.

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Sliding doors and windows give Percy’s Tavern (210 Avenue A, at 13th St) a bright, airy feel. Five dartboards with computerised scorekeeping and board games offer an alternative to the 21 TVs that ensure patrons can see the game regardless of where they sit. Heineken and Carlsberg are on tap for the soccer crowd, and a signed Leeds United shirt from the club’s centennial 1972 FA Cup Final victory is proudly displayed on one of the walls.

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The mecca of soccer watching in New York used to be Nevada Smiths (100 3rd Ave, between E 12th and E 13th Sts), before luxury condos were built on the bar’s original site. Nevadas re-opened last year, one block away from its former location, with a bar that spreads over four levels. Sleek, modern fittings in the entranceway showcase signed jerseys and assorted memorabilia from the game’s biggest names. A floor-to-ceiling projector screen and surround sound adds to the viewing experience.

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Rose Hill, Third Avenue, Manhattan

You might catch Liam Gallagher dropping in for a swift ale at the Mad Hatter Saloon (360 3rd Ave, between 26th and 27th Sts), a popular haunt with Manchester City fans. This former dive bar has undergone a recent makeover with white brick interior walls and an old fireplace now lending an English countryside feel. A full English breakfast, shepherd’s pie, and fish and chips with mushy peas, can be found on the menu, complemented by Bass, Boddington’s, Blue Moon and Old Speckled Hen on tap. A dozen TV screens and a beer garden fitting 150 people add to its attraction as a viewing destination.

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Fitzgerald’s Pub (336 3rd Ave, between E 24th and E 25th Sts) is the home of the New York Stoke City Supporters’ Club and it contains nine TV screens, three just added for the World Cup. The darts team proudly displays its trophies in the far corner alongside a signed Stoke shirt and framed picture of the Britannia Stadium.

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Pictures of iconic sports stars including Diego Maradona and Cristiano Ronaldo adorn the walls at Bottomzup Bar & Grill (344 3rd Ave, between E 25th and E26th Sts). You’ll find charging stations for cell phones, a sushi bar, 14 beers on tap and 15 bottled selections, while tables at booths offer the option of renting voiceboxes that broadcast the commentary from your preferred TV screen.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Standing in the shadows of the Williamsburg Bridge, the Crown Victoria Bar (60 S 2nd St, between Kent and Wythe Aves) could almost host a World Cup game in its 1,000 square-foot front patio and 9,000 square-foot back yard. The garden features a taco truck and bocce court, and an inflatable TV screen is being installed for the action from Brazil.

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Cosy, authentic Iona (180 Grand St, between Bedford and Driggs Aves) also features a surprisingly spacious back garden. Beers from the countries competing in the World Cup will be available during the tournament along with the best hot toddy in the neighbourhood. The nearby Rosamunde Sausage Grill provides the fare for summer grills.

Flags of the 32 competing World Cup nations bedeck the Banter Bar (132 Havemeyer St, at S 1st St), where two TVs and a large projector screen show the matches. Note the copy of Samantha Fox’s ‘I Wanna Have Some Fun’ album perched between the whisky bottles.

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Steps away from Bedford Avenue subway station on the L line sits Spike Hill (186 Bedford Ave, between N 6th and N 7th Sts), another bar with an exposed brick interior and dark panelling. Two TVs sit above either end of the bar counter, with another towards the seating area in the back, and two in the adjoining comedy room. Brooklyn Lager from the local Brooklyn Brewery is on tap.

Park Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn

The Black Horse Pub (568 5th Avenue, at 16th St) is a lively neighbourhood bar crammed at weekends with knowledgeable expat and native soccer fans. British pub fare, a rotating selection of beers on tap and pleasant outdoor seating complement 12 large screens adorning the brick interior walls.

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Across the Prospect Expressway you’ll find Bar 718 (718 5th Avenue, between 22nd and 23rd Sts), a cosy, dimly lit den owned by two Polish soccer fans. A Wisla Kraków pennant hangs from behind the bar among bottles of Lech, Tyskie and Eastern-European vodkas. This is strictly a drinking establish although patrons can bring in food from the block’s Asian, European and Mexican takeaways – or just stick to the bar’s popcorn machine. One TV perches above the small bar area, while a projector screen will be pulled down over the back wall, above the foosball table, for big games.

Ian Thomson is the author of Summer Of ’67: Flower Power, Race Riots, Vietnam and the Greatest Soccer Final Played on American Soil’ and covers US soccer on his website The Soccer Observer.