English football fans will be jumping for joy if their team does well at the men's World Cup over the next month – but if they do, it won't just be supporters celebrating. 

Bars, pubs and venues across the UK will all be hoping to score big with a much-needed boost to their profits.

Boxpark Croydon, just outside London, has become one of the most popular places to watch England games on the big screen with a big crowd.

The owners say they expect tickets for England games at this year's World Cup to sell out despite the fact that they are kicking off relatively late because of the time difference with the joint hosts US, Canada and Japan.

David Byrne, Boxpark's head of events and marketing, says such venues are expecting thousands of people to come for the atmosphere – and more importantly, to spend money on nights which aren't usually busy.

"It's a massive boost," Byrne tells CGTN. "It goes beyond just the England games, but if we take England as an example: the three group games, two of them are weeknights. Fantastic opportunity there. 

"If they go all the way to the final, that's an additional five games," he continues. "We know one of them will be a Sunday night – again, a great night to boost hospitality. And then you've got three or maybe four of those games again being weeknights, so a huge opportunity to boost. And even on the weekends, it's a massive, massive spike on those days."

Retail sector boost 

It isn't just hospitality that reaps the rewards: the World Cup can be a financial windfall for the entire retail sector. 

Supermarkets, off licenses, betting shops, electronic stores – all see a boost to their businesses during the tournament, and the British Retail Consortium's Guy Leman says the retail sector and economy as a whole desperately needs a World Cup windfall.

"I think we're hoping that the World Cup does provide a boost," he tells CGTN, citing how the 2024 European Championships caused "an uptick" in sales of home entertainment systems – "people looking to upgrade their TVs, computers, laptops, whatever it is that they might be watching the games on."

Food and drink sales also spike during major sporting tournaments; as Leman says, "If the weather does hold up, people holding barbecues, having friends and family over to watch games, so we would expect to see a nice boost from the World Cup."

The biggest World Cup yet? 

The figures certainly bear this out. A leading British retail website estimated that this year's World Cup could generate up to $5.1 billion for the UK economy.

That's more than the $3.7 billion generated during England's run to the Euro 2024 final, and almost twice the $2.7 billion garnered during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – although that figure may have been reduced by that tournament being played in winter. Meanwhile, this edition will also include Scotland, further boosting the potential UK economic windfall.

One of the main reasons this particular World Cup is expected to bring such a significant financial bonanza is that it's bigger and longer – with 48 teams, up from the 32 at the previous seven editions.

More teams means more matches, a week-longer tournament – and more opportunities for football fans to spend their money as they support their team.

So no matter how well England's team does, the real winner will be the economy.