Off the Wagon

If you’re heading to next months’ World Cup in South Africa, it seems you have one less thing to worry about.

South Africa’s biggest beer brewer says fans won’t be faced with empty cups and this year’s tournament because there will be more than enough to go around. South African Breweries is the local provider of global giant SABmiller. The company provides the country with about nine of every ten bottles of beer drunk.

And during the soccer tournament which kicks off June 11th, they are predicting a 5% increase in sales, equal to about thirty million extra bottles of beer. Managing Director Norman Adami says they will be able to quench the added demand with no problem. Adami says June is the start of their winter months which is typically their slowest sales period. Plus the country is expecting seventy seven thousand fewer fans then originally predicted. Add to that the expectation that the South African team won’t advance to the second round and there will be plenty of beer for the drinking. Good thing too. If predictions are right South Africa will be the first host team out after the first game. That’s a lot easier to swallow with a cold one.