The waiting is over and finally the 2010 World Cup has begun in South Africa. There will be people complaining about how their soap scheduling is being ruined by the dominance of football coverage on the TV and how much the economy is losing through hangovers and policing the streets on nights England play. But overall I think everyone has to acknowledge the benefit the world cup brings to our country.

To the people who don’t understand what all the fuss is about, football is the English national game and although we like to talk the players down we do have a good chance to progress to the final stages and it is a chance to be proud of our country.

Unlike America we seldom get to show our support for our own country. We don’t have a national holiday; we would rather celebrate St Patrick’s Day rather than St George’s. We rarely get to fly the cross of St George, as councils and other official organisations think that flying our national flags will upset other nationalities living in England.

I love walking around my local housing estates and seeing houses draped in England flags and bunting spanning the road to neighbours houses, it shows a community spirit that we hardly ever get to experience. I thought there was a great atmosphere around on Saturday from early in the morning; shop workers wore England T-shirts instead of their regular uniforms and kids were waving flags and blowing hooters or practising their own football skills in the street.


Whether it’s Wimbledon, the Olympics or the World Cup, sporting events traditionally encourage people to get out and participate themselves and Saturday was no exception as it was also England Football Day. Young players from all over the country experienced the ultimate football adventure by playing on the pitch at Wembley Stadium, whilst nationwide, over 300 England Football Day events were organised by teams of all ages and abilities.

With the depressing state of our country’s economy at the moment I think it’s great that something has captured the country’s imagination and is raising at least some of the English population’s spirits.

If you doubt the value the World Cup can bring to a participating country then just ask the Irish. Following the incident in November involving Thierry Henry’s hand that knocked Ireland out of the Finals one expert estimated the cost to the Irish economy would be £100 million.

And according to a British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) poll it was suggested that nearly 23 million in total would watch some part of the opening game. 55% of English adults will be watching the first England game, compared with 43% of Welsh and the 23% of Scots that plan to tune in. Actually at its peak 20.1million people were watching the match – the highest TV viewing figures for four years.  The BBPA also estimates that over 21 million extra pints of beer will be enjoyed in pubs during the first three England qualifying matches of the tournament, with around 35,000 pubs showing the matches. With many pubs fighting back through hard times, the World Cup provides a vital boost to the trade, and is the perfect opportunity for fans to support their local pub while supporting the national team.

So if you feel you are a suffering football widow console yourself with the fact that it will be another 4 years till it comes round again, and maybe you could embrace the first World Cup final to be held in Africa and all the benefits it brings to their country and ours.

And finally I know you must be asking yourself where can I buy my own Vuvuzela in the UK? The answer being that you too can imitate a swarm of bees by buying your own South African horn from here. However if the trend for playing Vuvuzelas makes it way over to the UK then surely the most unexpected boost to our economy from this World Cup will be through the increased sales of muffling earplugs.



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