BEER and football have had a long association. As the shirt sponsorships enjoyed by Liverpool and Everton show, the brewing business has played its part in bankrolling the phenomenal growth of Premiership and international football.

Little coincidence, then, that FIFA chose 5pm to start the draw for next year’s World Cup tournament – a time when many people would be enjoying a drink in the pub at the end of the working week.

Fans will have crowded round pub TV screens to hear the details of how the summer campaign will line up.

They were not alone in taking a close interest.

Commercial interests in next year’s finals are immense. At the high end of the scale are the tournament’s leading commercial partners, lining up to pay for the privilege of being associated with arguably the largest sporting event on the planet.

At the lower end, publicans will weigh up the cost of showing games live in their bars versus the likely increase in takings. It’s anticipated around 70,000 England fans will travel to the finals in South Africa.

As well as determining which rivals England face in the group stages, Friday’s draw also provided a sort of campaign map for the travelling supporters. Meaningful research into flights and hotels can now begin.

That’s not a task facing fans of the Irish national side this time round, of course. When their earlier qualifier against France was announced in October, flights to Paris on the country’s two major carriers cost around 25 euros just minutes before the draw. Fifteen minutes later, the same flights cost 125 euros.

That’s about as plain an example of basic economics as any scholar could wish to find.  Everywhere you look, it seems there are more.

Supermarkets will also have been paying close attention to the draw. One research company estimates England’s participation will add an extra £15bn to take home sales of lager. That’s a lot of cans and bottles to fill, pack, distribute and sell.

They also estimate that the pub trade will sell an extra 10m pints to those fans choosing to tune in at their local, rather than at home, on the days England play. That’s an impressive figure – especially if you are a Treasury mandarin waiting for the tax windfall it creates. We’ll have to wait and see whether the nation is drinking in celebration or sorrow.