The wives and girlfriends arrive in South Africa to back England

Christine Bleakley, the girlfriend of England midfielder Frank Lampard, was the latest to arrive in the country, joining Chantelle Tagoe, Emile Heskey's fiancée, and Carly Cole, the wife of Joe Cole, who were already there.

Bleakley, the television presenter who last week clinched a lucrative three-year deal to switch from the BBC to ITV, landed at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg sporting a warm smile and wearing a gold, satin blouse and dark blue, skinny jeans.

Fabio Capello, the England manager, has discouraged WAGS from joining their husbands and partners in South Africa, but some have made the trip regardless – others also in the country include Ellie Darby, the girlfriend of Matthew Upson, and Glen Johnson's wife Laura.

Although Capello is known as an authoritarian, he has already softened his hard-line approach at the tournament. Ahead of last week's victory over Slovenia, he permitted players to drink alcohol although, in the end, it is not thought any player had so much as a single beer.


Unlike at the World Cup in Germany four years ago, the Football Association is not paying for the WAGS to travel to South Africa. They were seen as an unwelcome distraction for the team in 2006.

Today the WAGS are expected to do some "good works" in the morning – possibly a visit to a township or an orphanage – before watching the match in Bloemfontein, the winner of which will go through to the tournament's quarter finals.

Back in Britain, the television audience for the game is expected to beat the 19 million who watched England lose to Portugal in the World Cup in 2006. Millions will watch the match in pubs and cafés and on big screens in public areas.

Sainsbury's said it expected to sell five million pints of lager this weekend – up 30 per cent up on last week – 300,000 pizzas and enough sausages and burgers to stretch from London to Johannesburg.

Retail sales are projected to rise by £1.3 billion if the team reaches the quarter final and by over £2 billion if England win the World Cup, according to a survey by the Centre for Retail Research.


(source: telegraph.co.uk, photo/dailymail.co.uk)