A leading sports business expert predicted yesterday the English economy could suffer to the tune of £2 billion (€2.8 billion) following England's failure to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals.
Simon Chadwick, a professor of sport business strategy and marketing at Coventry Business School, believes the financial consequences will be wide-ranging and keenly felt.
As well as anticipating lost revenue for the English FA, Prof Chadwick said: "For the country as a whole, the failure to qualify is likely to have even more dire consequences.
"A successful run to the 2008 final would have led to a £2 billion bonanza for the economy. At one level, this would have been the result of sales increases in food and beverages, merchandise, magazines and newspapers and so forth.
"Evidence from previous tournaments also shows that - at another level - worker productivity normally increases as the England national team progresses through major tournaments and the "feel good factor" takes hold."
Prof Chadwick also looked at the more specific problems England's failure would create for the FA. "They could miss out on up to £15 million (€21 million) in additional revenue that would have been earned from sponsorship deals (many of them performance related), media payments, merchandise sales and prize money.
"It also puts the Football Association on the back foot as it enters into a new round of sponsorship negotiations with its leading commercial partners, such as Nationwide, Carlsberg and National Express."
Chadwick insists the "far-reaching" consequences of missing out suggest "attitudes towards sport" as a whole must change. "Sporting success is essential, not only for generating pleasure we get from it, but also for the psychological well-being and economic benefits it generates.
"It is not enough for us to say 'well, there's always next year' or to think 'it's only sport'. Sport now contributes as much as three per cent to GDP every year, and we must therefore build and manage from the grassroots upwards to ensure that we generate sustainable flows of top class sports people and leading teams."
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is counting the cost of England's Euro 2008 exit after his Sports World retail empire warned it faced a major blow to earnings.
The chain, which has more than 450 stores in Britain, is among retailers set to miss out on strong pre-tournament demand for replica England shirts.
Sports Direct, owner of Sports World and brands including Dunlop, said underlying earnings for the year to the end of April were now likely to be below the level seen a year earlier.
Kit maker Umbro also said the impact of England's failure to qualify would have an effect on revenues. The effect on 2008 will be more pronounced due to a big reduction in sales volumes for a new England away jersey.
