One in three Britons will be doing anything but watching the World Cup match between England and Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday, according to a survey.
Coverage: FIFA World Cup 2006
A poll of 1,000 people by research firm Mintel found that 35 per cent of respondents will be doing anything but watching the game. And it is not just women who are shunning the football frenzy, the survey published on Wednesday found.
As many as three in 10 men responded that they will be at work or will be occupied when the game kicks off. One in five people said they would be rather be on holiday. Another 5 percent would like to be shopping, taking advantage of retail conditions expected to be quieter than usual.
But that still leaves millions of fans poised for more World Cup action. More than one in three fans plan to enjoy the Thursday game at home, with a further one in ten catching it at a pub.
And for those stuck at office during the game, one in 20 admit that they will be following the match either on the radio, Internet or television while still at work.
A separate poll showed that more than a third of Britons did not know where Trinidad and Tobago is. Out of 3,000 people questioned in a poll commissioned by UKTV G2, 37 per cent thought the country was in Africa while 19 per cent felt confident it was in the South Pacific. A further 10 per cent did not even know it was one country.
Trinidad and Tobago is actually in the Caribbean, a group of islands northeast of Venezuela.
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