THE love of football was alive and kicking at NZ Curry House in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur, where 300 fans gathered to watch the Euro 2024 final between England and Spain.

The “mStar Belanje” event in Kuala Lumpur was organised by Malaysia’s No.1 Malay entertainment and lifestyle portal to celebrate the spirit of sportsmanship, and thank readers for supporting the portal towards its hitting 15 million page views a month.

Fans who had gathered as early as 10pm on Sunday night enjoyed local favourites such as roti canai, mee goreng mamak and teh tarik throughout the game which was shown on a giant screen.

The food was sponsored by mStar in collaboration with beauty product company Afina Ai Rich Sdn Bhd.

In his speech, mStar chief news editor Niezam Abdullah said the inaugural football viewing party was to appreciate mStar readers.

He said the party was special as sports was capable of uniting the people regardless of background.

“To mark the final of Euro 2024, we decided to treat everyone present here tonight.

“We also prepared prizes for those who participated in the various programmes.

“These include flight tickets, watches and vouchers at five-star hotels,” said Niezam.

Singer Ara Johari took the lively atmosphere up a notch with a rendition of her famous song Bunga, alongside a performance of her latest song, the yet unreleased Menjaga Jodoh Orang Lain, as a special treat for her fans.

Indonesian singer Firman Siagian then entertained the crowd with his hit song Kehilangan.

Among the guests was Malaysian football legend Azman Adnan, who was accompanied by his wife Asfarina Muhamad, ex-singer of the group Feminin.

Other than tucking into tasty fare, guests were kept entertained by various fun-filled games such as “keepie uppy” and musical balls, the latter a themed take on the familiar musical chairs.

Winners took home prizes such as AirAsia tickets to Labuan Bajo in Indonesia and Krabi, Thailand.

Other prizes included Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur vouchers, Adidas watches and Puteh Jeliyta beauty products.

Guests also received free subscriptions to streaming platform Viu by scanning a QR code at the venue.

The event was hosted by Fait Izzat from mStar and SuriaFM’s Naim Tee.

Also present at the viewing party were Star Media Group chief content officer Datin Paduka Esther Ng and managing editor Brian Martin.

Spain won 2-1 against England to emerge as Euro 2024 champions.