Top 5: Places to watch the World Cup ft. ITV Fever Pitch, Pie & Ale + more

With the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil ™ kicking off on Thursday 12 June, and lasting for a good chunk of the summer, it won’t be long before your favourite local is awash with fair-weather fans clambering over each other for the best viewpoint. So with this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of our recommended places to watch France collectively implode, Portugal thrown a hissy fit and England get knocked out on penalties…

ITV Fever Pitch
Recently reinventing itself as a place for artisan weekend markets and Corrie nostalgia trips, Old Granada Studios wasn’t going to miss a trick when it came to the World Cup behemoth. Featuring a whopping 450 tonnes of sand, international beach soccer matches, a ‘High Tempo’ zone (whatever that means) and a Little Copacabana beach bar, the temporary site – artist’s impression pictured – will be screening every match that kicks at 5pm, 8pm or 9pm. Advanced booking is advised – with the initial release of 60,000 places being snapped up in days. A further ticket release is scheduled for 1pm on Thursday 29 May, with ‘a small number of tickets’ held back for the door of each screening.
Old Granada Studios, Quay Street, M60 9EA, FREE but advanced booking recommended – www.itv.com

Pie & Ale
The Northern Quarter’s favourite purveyor of savoury pastry and beer is expanding its no-nonsense menu for the World Cup’s month-long duration, with the addition of buffalo wings, ‘pork football bites’, cajun wedges, plus six-packs and four-pint pitchers – to save you that annoying return trip to the bar. What’s more, if you’re organised enough, you can book the bar’s variously sized spaces out exclusively for your group – with that all-important table service included.
Unit 2 The Hive, Lever Street, M1 1FN, Tel: 0161 228 1610, £20 per person min spend, booking required – call 0161 228 1610 or email info@pieandalebar.co.uk with your match preference and group size, bakerie.co.uk

Joshua Brooks
This Princess Street mainstay has always been a classic place to watch the football – helped along by an energetic student patronage, cheap prices and a surprisingly decent range of drinks. Plus countless flat screen televisions in every direction. Joshua Brooks recently tweeted that it has ‘big plans’ for screening the World Cup – so watch this space for updates.
106 Princess Street, M1 6NG, Tel: 0161 273 7336, www.joshuabrooks.co.uk

The Green
The very definition of a sports bar, The Green on Ducie Street is a popular stop-off point for City fans on their way to matches at the Etihad Stadium. It’s the only place that can boast a dozen floor-to-ceiling screens – which also double as virtual golf courses – plus out back there’s a canal-side outdoor area that no one seems to know about. Perhaps not the most glamorous place to watch the World Cup, but certainly one of the most functional. Call ahead to book a booth.
Bridge House, 26 Ducie Street, M1 2DQ, Tel: 0161 228 0681, www.thegreenmanchester.com

The New Oxford
One of Greater Manchester’s finest ale bars, Salford’s New Oxford is also a good spot to catch the football. A small, unassuming pub just off Chapel Street, it stocks 16 ever-changing cask ales, a dozen continental draft beers and a world beer menu of over 100 bottles. Around the back, its cosy 50-capacity function room offers a great atmosphere to match the beers. What’s more, the World Cup’s final weekend (10 – 12 July) coincides with the New Oxford’s summer beer festival – featuring an outside bar and food.
11 Bexley Square, Salford, M3 6DB, Tel: 0161 832 7082, thenewoxford.com

Honourable mentions: Several of Manchester’s music venues are getting in on the act too, with Oldham Street’s Night & Day Cafe showing games when not hosting bands (with cheaper beer when/if England are winning), plus Gorilla is taking advantage of its big screen, and the Deaf Institute is organising a screening of the final on Sunday 13 July in the Music Hall – details to follow. Both Black Dog Ballrooms, meanwhile, will be screening all the games – with the option to book out the private room at either – and so too will Twenty Twenty Two.