THOUSANDS of soccer fans plan to take "sickies" to watch England World Cup games - at a cost of £3.2bn.
A poll of 4,500 supporters showed that 40 per cent will take time off to see England games in Japan this June.
As office workers across the UK were trying to keep in touch with today's Australian Open tennis clash between Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, firms were warned of the potentially huge cost of £400m per game.
Around £1.2bn will be lost if England win their three first round games, rising to £3.2bn if the team reach the final.
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