Watching the World Cup 2026 in Malta: Up on the Alavits Roof Terrace, Sliema
Here is how the FIFA World Cup 2026 is going to sound in Sliema. A roof terrace at the Alavits Hotel, sea on one side, the city lit up on the other, a screen big enough to make sense of from anywhere up there, a full bar that knows what you drink, and forty strangers about to become forty friends for ninety minutes. From the 11 June kickoff at Estadio Azteca to the Final on 19 July, the Alavits rooftop is where Sliema watches the World Cup. Pull up a chair, you will know the rest by the second whistle.
The roof, the crowd, the World Cup
Up on the rooftop you get the things a closed-window pub never gives you. Sea breeze in your shirt. A view of the Sliema-Gzira strip that does what good views do. A crowd that lives here and travels here, which means by the third match you will have heard French, Arabic, Maltese, English, Spanish, German, and at least one Italian guy explaining the offside rule to anyone who will listen. The full bar handles the rest, beer to whisky to whatever you call a respectable cocktail.
The matches that fit our window are the ones that kick off by 9pm Malta time. We close at 11pm, like every venue in Malta does, so anything later does not run on the roof. Roughly half the World Cup fixtures from across the US, Canada, and Mexico land squarely in that window. Schedule below.
The Predictions League is where the night becomes a sport
Here is the part. Before each match, your table picks the exact final score. Closest to right wins on the night. Across the tournament, every prediction counts toward a leaderboard, and on Final night the leaderboard winner walks off with a prize that is actually worth playing for. We are not telling you what it is yet. Telling you would dilute it.
Bring a competitive table. Bring people who shout numbers with confidence and have never actually predicted a score correctly. Bring the friend who has watched every Morocco match since 1998. Honestly, the table that wins on the night usually has no idea what is going on, which is its own kind of football.
The matches you are going to want to be on the roof for
Times in Malta CEST. FIFA confirms exact kickoff slots closer to the tournament. Everything kicking off by 9pm Malta time lands on the rooftop. Full live schedule on our Instagram from 1 June.
| Match | Date | Why this one |
|---|---|---|
| Opening: Mexico v South Africa | Thu 11 Jun | Where the next forty days actually start |
| Brazil v Morocco | Sat 13 Jun | The roof is going to be loud either way |
| France v Senegal | Tue 16 Jun | French Sliema and Senegalese Sliema in the same room, double anthem energy |
| Spain v Saudi Arabia | Sun 21 Jun | Father’s Day Malta, bring whoever you want to make proud |
| Germany v Ecuador | Thu 25 Jun | Quiet country, loud crowd |
| England v Panama | Sat 27 Jun | The English will be the English |
| Round of 32 begins | Sun 28 Jun | Public holiday weekend, the city is already in the mood |
| Quarterfinals | 9 to 11 Jul | One a day, all heat |
| Semifinals | Tue 14 & Wed 15 Jul | Reserve, it fills |
| Third place | Sat 18 Jul | The 5pm beer match |
| FINAL | Sun 19 Jul | Predictions League winner crowned on the roof before close |
Hungry first?
Snacks at the bar, so you will not starve up there, but it is bar snacks not dinner. If you want a proper meal first, Aqualuna is a short walk, three restaurants on the water, pick your mood. The Strand has ten more options if you want something faster. Then up to the roof, drink in hand, in time for kickoff.
How to get on the roof
Walk-ins are welcome, but for England, France, Germany, Brazil, Spain matches and every knockout, reserve. The roof has limits, the World Cup does not.
To book: WhatsApp ST reservations on +356 7963 1322, DM the Alavits Hotel on Instagram, call the reception, or hit the contact form.
Staying for more than one match?
If you flew in for the tournament, you can stay where you watch. Alavits has rooms right under the rooftop, from standard to a suite with its own private terrace. If those fill up, Bayview Hotel & Spa is the seafront flagship in Gzira, and Valletta View gives you harbour views straight across to the capital. While you are in town, four days in Malta is a real itinerary, and the blog has more on what to do between matches.
A few practical things
Walk-in or reservation? Both work. Reservation is safer for the big ones.
Where exactly? Alavits Hotel rooftop, central Sliema, walking distance from the Sliema seafront and most St Julian’s hotels. Address and map on the Alavits page.
Why close at 11pm? Maltese law. Matches kicking off by 9pm Malta time fit, later ones do not. We mention it because the alternative is you arriving at 10pm for a late kickoff and finding the lights coming on, which would ruin both our nights.
Kids? Yes, family-friendly throughout, because every match we run is in family-friendly hours.
See you on the roof.
