22 May 2010

Plenty of Brits will take sickie to watch World Cup

5:09 am on 22 May 2010

A record number of British workers plan to take time off to watch next month's football World Cup, even if it means chucking a sickie.

A new report predicts about one in seven plan to watch every game in the tournament, which would mean having to make arrangements to see games during the day.

The survey of 1,000 adults by food giant Kellogg's showed fewer than 13 percent of UK workers watched all the games in the previous World Cup in Germany in 2006.

Only one in 10 of those questioned say they would be allowed to take time off this year to follow the tournament, leaving many considering taking a sickie.

Only one in 20 say they were happy to use their own holidays to watch games in the day.

Kellogg's said it would try to allow its staff to watch games in staff canteens.