Is a Win for England a Win For The Economy?

Following its heartbreaking loss to Italy in the UEFA Euro 2020 soccer finals, devastated England fans went home to dream about a next year, while jubilant Italy fans continued to celebrate. Just a few hours earlier, England fans had swarmed into special fan zones set up across the country and to the areas surrounding London’s Wembley Stadium where the game was being played. Both teams, denied championships since the late 1960s, were ecstatic at having made it to the finals. The men’s Wimbledon championship, coincidentally held on the same day and normally a can’t miss summer event in England, was largely forgotten as football mania swept the nation. Excited fans snapped up team gear and cleared their local stores of beer and game day food. Anticipating all-day celebrations, some companies gave their employees the day following the game off after hundreds of thousands of Britons signed petitions urging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to make the day a bank holiday. Fans lined up early in the day at pubs where millions of pints of beer were expected to be sold, making it one of the most promising revenue days for pub owners since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For England, making it to the semifinals of Euro2020 was already a triumph for a country battered by a difficult experience with COVID-19 and the challenges of Brexit. After England won a close semifinal match with Denmark in overtime, fans poured into the streets to celebrate. Now, even with the loss in the finals, and being left with a feeling that perhaps only Cleveland sports fans can truly appreciate, the country is united in their support of the England team, with everyone from to soccer great David Beckham to Queen Elizabeth II cheering the team on. While this year’s chants of Bring it Home were unrealized, renewed interest in football and hope for next year promise to continue to generate future economic gains. If England goes on to victory next year, pandemonium is likely as fans celebrate in a way that would be reminiscent of Cleveland following the spectacular efforts of LeBron James in 2016 to bring home a championship to a city starved of a professional sports win for decades.  

Discussion Questions

1. Discuss the economic impact of the “feel good experience” currently enveloping Britain. How does a situation in which a nation (or city like Cleveland) is starved for sports success translate into economic gain?

2. Some employers gave their employees the day after game day off. Reflect on the goodwill this type of gesture creates. How could incurring the costs of an extra day off ultimately lead to cost savings for the company in other ways? Would you be more loyal to your company if you got the day off?      

3. Despite losing out on a championship medal, the England team has proven that it is a team to be reckoned with. How could its rise in popularity generate new revenues for the team itself and for UEFA soccer in general?  Can you think of any other spillover effects?  

Sources: BBC News: Euro 2020: All eyes on Wembley as fans watch England in final, BBC News: Football-mad Italians gear up for big night, Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash