Max’s Lifestyle and Hollywoodbets hosted a glitzy Watch Party for the Premier League clash between Brentford and Arsenal on Saturday 25 November.
Max’s Lifestyle was a hive of activity on Saturday evening as the uMlazi community came out in droves to watch Brentford face off against Arsenal. Hollywoodbets – who are Brentford’s Principal Partner – sponsored the event which featured performances from some of South Africa’s most well-known artists; giveaways aplenty and, of course, a live screening of the big match.
You can draw plenty of parallels between Brentford FC and Max’s Lifestyle. Both have enjoyed meteoric rises over the last few years and are now cornerstones of their respective communities. The West London club were plying their trade in the fourth tier of English football as recently as 2008, fighting their way up the pyramid to claim Premier League status when they beat Swansea in the play-off final in 2021. Max’s Lifestyle, meanwhile, started life back in 2000 as a one-room butchery. Today it is one of South Africa’s premier lifestyle venues and the jewel in the crown of uMlazi’s bustling entertainment scene.
The match itself was incident-packed. Brentford certainly were the better of the two sides in the early exchanges. Aaron Ramsdale was forced to endure a nervy return between the sticks in place of David Raya who was unavailable to face his parent club. The Arsenal goalkeeper was lucky to be let off the hook in the 13th minute as Yoanne Wissa nicked the ball off his toe. It would drop into the path of Bryan Mbeumo whose shot was cleared off the line by Declan Rice. Wissa’s attempt to poke in the rebound went just wide.
The Gunners would have the ball in the back of the net just before halftime, however, Leandro Trossard’s header would be rightly ruled out by VAR, with the Belgian marginally offside. With 15 minutes left to play, Neal Maupay got on the end of Mbeumo’s stood-up ball to the far post. The Frenchman climbed above Takehiro Tomiyasu to power a header toward goal which was brilliantly blocked by the outstretched boot of Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The North Londoners would have the last laugh, though. Second-half substitute Kai Havertz was expertly picked out by Bukayo Sako, with the German heading in the only goal of the game with 89 minutes played. While the result didn’t go their way, it was a fine performance from an injury-ravaged Brentford outfit against table-topping opposition.
Back at Max’s Lifestyle, the Watch Party featured several entertaining activations. The 360-degree camera was a hit as was the mini-football court which gave patrons the chance to show off their skills. The curtain was brought down on the Watch Party with performances from DJ Tira and Que-DJ, two of South Africa’s hottest artists.
Hollywoodbets is a proud supporter of football at all levels throughout South Africa. The brand’s commitment to the sport is evident all the way across Mzansi’s football spectrum. Community clubs proudly don their Hollywoodbets-sponsored kit; the country’s fourth tier is now known as the Hollywoodbets Regional League, while the brand is also the headline sponsor of the Hollywoodbets Super League, South Africa’s top women’s division.
