The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has predicted that England fans will drink 14 million extra pints at the pub during the World Cup group stages, as they cheer on the England squad in their games against Tunisia, Panama and Belgium.
The extra number of pints drunk during the World Cup group stages could provide as much as a £42 million boost to the economy, with the Great British pub being one of the main benefactors of a surge in demand for beer as fans cheer on the England team at their local.
The taxman will be cheering the loudest as England progress through the group stages of the competition. With beer duty, the extra tax put on beer in addition to VAT, meaning that HMRC could get an additional windfall as high as £6.3 million from beer drinkers and pub-goers watching England at the World Cup.
With the friendly timings of England’s group stage fixtures meaning that the Three Lions will play Tunisia and Belgium in the evenings after work and Panama at the weekend, as well as fewer fans travelling to the tournament itself to catch the games, the Great British pub is set to be the place to watch England’s World Cup matches this summer.
BBPA Chief Executive Brigid Simmonds comments:
“When it comes to watching England at the World Cup, only being at the game itself can compare with being in the pub. Millions of England fans will be going to the pub to cheer on the team with their friends, which is both great for the local pub and great for the England team. Let’s hope the England team do us proud!”
ENDS
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Notes to editors:
Extra pints sold, additional duty revenue and boost to the economy from England’s World Cup group stage games:
| Opponent | Extra pints | Extra duty revenue | Boost to economy | |
| Group games | Tunisia | 6,000,000.00 | £2,731,200 | £18,000,000 |
| Panama | 4,000,000.00 | £1,820,800 | £12,000,000 | |
| Belgium | 6,000,000.00 | £2,731,200 | £18,000,000 | |
| 16,000,000.00 | 7,283,200.00 | 48,000,000.00 |
The British Beer & Pub Association is the leading body representing Britain’s brewers and pub companies. The Association is more than a century old and was originally founded as the Brewers’ Society in 1904. Our members account for some 90 per cent of beer brewed in Britain today, and own around 20,000 of the nation’s pubs.