SINGAPORE - Liverpool fans will have an extra reason to celebrate if the Reds win the Champions League final on Sunday morning (June 2, Singapore time), with at least two food and beverage outlets offering free food to ardent supporters.
Should Jurgen Klopp's men beat Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham Hotspur at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Gayatri Restaurant will give a free curry fish head to every fan who wears a Liverpool jersey and visits any of its three branches on Sunday, while Ah Lim Jalan Tua Kong Mee Pok is offering a free bowl of bak chor mee from 7am to 9pm on June 3.
Gayatri Restaurant owner Shanmugam Ganesan, who has been a Liverpool fan for the past 47 years, said the main reason for the promotion is to celebrate his team's victory if they emerge victorious.
"I love the team and, every time they win, I feel very happy. About a month ago, I went to Anfield to watch them play as I thought I should visit at least once in my lifetime," said the 57-year-old, who believe Liverpool have experience on their side in Sunday's final.
"I think Liverpool have the edge and they are more stable with their players being injury-free. Of course, some might also say Spurs are in the final for the first time and will be going all out, so it'll be a very hard-fought final."
The free curry fish head offer is only for dine-in orders at their outlets at Race Course Road, Telok Ayer Street and East Coast Road. There is no limit to the number of customers who can redeem it.
After the Reds' spectacular comeback against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final on May 7, Springleaf Prata Place and Casuarina Curry both offered free pratas at their outlets to customers who showed up the next day in a Liverpool jersey.
R. Sasikumar, who runs sports marketing firm Red Card Global, believes this recent trend is a smart move on the part of these outlets, but warned of the possibility of trademark infringement.
Noting that he had seen one restaurant use the Liverpool logo on their Facebook page, the 44-year-old said: "If you become an official sponsor or partner of the club, you pay millions of dollars. Riding the wave and leveraging on the buzz and using people's interests to sell their products, it's a bit of fun and quite savvy.
"But you've got to be careful - there's a fine line between (reaching out to Liverpool fans) and actually using their trademark."
The recent emergence of F&B outlets offering football-related giveaways could partly also be due to Liverpool's popularity here, he added.
"Given that we are a small country and the Premier League being popular and, on the back of what Liverpool have been doing last season, it works," said Sasikumar.
"It's the right time, right place and right team - all of that comes together. If one of the top two or three clubs keep doing that, I think more people will jump on the gravy train."
