OVERALL, the World Cup should provide a short-term £1.2 billion boost to the British economy, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

According to Simon Wallace, an economist at the CEBR, the main boost to the economy will be from increased consumer spending.

An estimated £720m will be spent on new television sets, replica shirts, novelty football-related items and bunting regardless of how long England stay in the competition.

And the CEBR estimates that a further £285m could be generated by additional sales in pubs, clubs and off-licences if England make it to the semi-final.

“This spending will be slightly less if England go out of the tournament at an earlier stage,” said Wallace.

But the CEBR warns that the surge will be only temporary, as consumers simply bring forward their consumption from later in the year, distorting short-term retail figures.

Employers should have little reason to fear that their workers will skive off to watch games. Because of the timing of matches, the tournament is unlikely to lead to a rise in absenteeism and a drop in productivity.

“The positive economic impact of the tournament will be in contrast to the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, whose impact on the UK economy was negative because the time difference meant most matches were played during the working day, adversely affecting productivity. With a European venue this is far less likely,” said Wallace.

However, with England’s first game falling on a Saturday at 2pm, shopping could be disrupted, he added.

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