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London, Sep 11 (IANS)
England’s failure to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup could cost the British economy up to two billion pounds.
The FA has been warned of a commercial “disaster” if the country’s campaign fails, with losses of up to £50 million in potential prize cash, merchandising sales, and sponsorship deals, reports Xinhua.
But this would be dwarfed by the knock-on effect for the broader economy — pubs, supermarkets, airlines, bookmakers and TV retailers could expect a huge boost in revenues from England’s participation in the World Cup.
The British Retail Consortium Tuesday estimated that qualification to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was worth a billion pounds. However, some economists say the “feel good” factor generated if England have a good run could boost the value of qualification to two billion pounds.
England were held to a goalless draw in Tuesday night’s away game to Ukraine but still lead Group H with two games remaining.
