Russia may enjoy economic upturn, if it wins 2002 FIFA world cup

. Majority of football fans are living in economically developed countries. So, apprehensions of analysts are well-grounded.

At the same time, the situation is not so much dangerous. Goldman Sachs investment bank’s experts say, rate of economic growth in any country depends upon the showing of its national squad at the world cup.

NTVRU.com informs, analysts of the bank say, “world economy is developing simultaneously with football.” At the end of 2000 the bank published a report to prognosticate, in the first decade of the new century economic growth of Brazil, Russia, India and China will be rapid. At that two of the four countries, Brazil and Russia, are referred by the bank to “weighty football powers.” If the forecast proves to be correct, it is to become another argument in favor of football-economy correlation. By this moment Goldman Sachs can cite a very vivid instance of Ireland. The Irish squad did not score wonderful victories within a very long period, but it was even ahead of Britain at the 1988 Europe Championship. Then a match at the 1990 world cup followed, the squad withdrew from the group at the 1994 championship. Within that very period Ireland enjoyed great upturn: GDP in 1988 made up 67% to the average level of the EU countries, and it has reached already 140% by 2002.

It is hard to say, to what extent the forecasts are justified. Probably, analysts of the bank are looking for an excuse in case they fail to be at their workplaces when football matches are to be televised. If the forecasts are true, winner of the world cup is certainly in for an unexpected economic upturn. So, it is another reason for Russia to support its squad greatly.

Vasily Bubnov PRAVDA.Ru

Photo from the Yezhenedelny Zhurnal (Weekly Magazine) archives

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/05/31/42037.html