More than 14 million football fans are expected to tune in tonight to watch the Three Lions launch their bid to end 60 years of hurt at the grudge match in Arlington, Texas, US.
Massive Spending on Food and Drink
Supporters are due to pack into pubs, bars, restaurants and fan parks across the nation, where they're predicted to fork out a whopping £104.1m on food and booze. More than two million are set to pour into England’s 35,000 boozers, where it's estimated that they will end up necking 12 million pints - five million more than normal.
Some pubs - including chains Shepherd’s Neame and Greene King - are preparing to dish out free pints to revellers. But superstores could be the big winners with followers of Thomas Tuchel’s team set to cough up £357.9m on ale, wine and spirits plus a host of soccer snacks including burgers, bangers and pizzas to eat and drink at house parties.
Analysts Weigh In
Spending analysts VoucherCodes.co.uk said supporters are utterly gripped by the Three Lions’ thirst for revenge after Croatia knocked them out of the semis at the 2018 tournament in Russia. Fans are preparing to tune in from ‘across the nation with wallets open’, they said, as England get set to launch their bid to win a major football tournament for the first time since its sole 1966 triumph at Wembley. A staggering £250m was expected to have been spent on half-time drinks and snacks alone.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said England’s World Cup glory bid was a ‘massive boost’ to business. Supporters dug deep to fork out £107.9m on match preparations - buying England kits, flags and new TVs.
The company’s savings expert Clair Hughes said the World Cup was ‘kicking off in style with fans going all out to cheer on the Three Lions’. Opening game excitement had been ‘especially high giving retailers a generous bump in sales even with the midweek game’. She said the World Cup campaign was a great time to splash out on a new telly as retailers offered ‘deep discounts on tech’ to boost summer sales.
Hangover Thursday
But the monster blow-out will spark a ‘Hangover Thursday’ with a million staff expected to skip work. Sickness rates are set to double, according to BrightHR which monitors absence among a million staff at 50,000 UK companies.
Chief executive officer Alan Price said: “Given sickness rates increasing by over 100% the day after England games during Euro 2024, and with later kick-off times in this World Cup, employers are bracing for ‘Hangover Thursday.’ We predict a sharp rise in absenteeism on Thursday due to many fans’ sore heads this morning.”
Another seven million will work from home out of sight of the boss, analysts added. Schools are also braced for bleary-eyed kids in lessons this morning after many stayed up late for the big match.
