 England Fans facing a half-time rush for cash
06/30/2006
England supporters planning to take out some cash for a World Cup bet during Saturday's game against Portugal could be advised to withdraw some money before the match.
ATM operator Link has said that it expects a surge in usage of cash machines during the break in the quarter-final.
England's previous games have all seen sharp rises of around 40 per cent in withdrawals at half-time.
A staggering 6,200 transactions were made every minute during the interval in the first Group B game against Paraguay, amounting to a total of £3.5 million being dispensed.
This fell as the second 45 minutes were being played and then shot up again to 6,000 per minute once the final whistle had blown and the post-match celebrations got underway.
Graham Mott, spokesman for Link, said: "If this quarter-final is as tense as England's pervious games, fans won't be able to tear themselves away from the action during the match and will rush to get cash during half-time.
"Those fans watching the game in pubs which have an ATM in the building will be at a real advantage as they won't have to charge about looking for a machine in those few precious minutes before the game restarts."
Footie fans who also fancy a World Cup bet could therefore be advised to get their cash beforehand, possibly in advance of the France versus Brazil game in the evening, for which the South Americans are favourites at 8/11 and the Europeans have been valued at 7/2.
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