It has been a common trend in recent decades that sporting success brings with it a lift for the economy, but figures like this have never been seen before. It is reported that the economy would receive a boost worth billions if England does go all the way to the final on July 15th in Russia.

The exact estimates, done by the Centre for Retail Research (CPR), suggest that spending will rise by approximately £2.7 billion if England plays all seven games in the competition. Professor Joshua Bamfield, the director of the CPR, has already noted that so far, £800 million more had been spent this year than had been spent four years ago at the World Cup, when England failed to reach the knockout stages, according to the BBC.

Football facilitating growth in the economy: How and Why?

The success of the England team has produced a feel-good factor around the country, giving consumers the reason they needed to spend more of their cash. It is thought that people use the World Cup as an excuse to buy the new TV they wanted or upgrade their phone to watch the Football in style.

In addition to this, with the prospect that England really could go all the way this time, people are starting to buy world cup souvenirs to remember the occasion and the general public are buying the England kit, both for themselves and their children in anticipation for the World Cup final.

Economic growth: How much of an impact has it really had?

Although some people may think the idea of football bringing the economy back from the brink may be futile, the figures do show it providing a needed upturn from the doom and gloom the economy has faced in the past two years. Andy Haldane, who is the Bank of England’s chief economist, believed that the World Cup success was adding to the general recovery of the economy, as reported by the BBC.

This increase in consumer spending has, however, been noted with the usual caution from the Bank of England, suggesting that if consumer spending continued to rise at this level, interest rates may be forced up so as to counter the possible threat of inflation.

So just how good is it for the economy if England goes all the way?

In the CPR’s reports on the 2014 world cup in Brazil, it estimated that “every goal scored by an England footballer would be worth £165.3 million to England’s retailers and an extra £33.2 million to pubs, hotels and restaurants” as a result of the fans’ celebrations of the goal.

However, considering England only scored two goals in the group stages and did not reach the last-16, football barely had an impact on the economy in 2014. However, with England already scoring nine goals so far in the tournament, the economy definitely has felt the effects. Thus, if football really is coming home this year, the squad will be bringing back billions of pounds in their pockets for the UK economy.