First visit of two this week to Wembley - the second being for Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final on Saturday - was for Tesco’s launch of its sponsorship of the England World Cup team today.

First visit of two this week to Wembley - the second being for Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final on Saturday - was for Tesco’s launch of its sponsorship of the England World Cup team today.

It’s a bit eerie going to Wembley when there isn’t a game on, but by the time I left there were loads of kids trying to get in for the launch of the Match Attax World Cup sticker range, which I’m told is a very big thing these days. a bit like those frustrating Panini stickers us kids of the 80s grew up with.

The World Cup is very big business for grocers and Tesco is hopeful that being able to use the Three Lions on its marketing will help it make the most of the opportunity. Sainsbury’s certainly did a decent job of capitalising on it in the last World Cup, and this year there’s the advantage that the England team is quite good, at least if Wayne Rooney’s injury clears up.

Retail director David Potts was put up as the spokesman, who even by the standards of Tesco’s board is an understated character. Terry Leahy’s ultra low-key executive team of him, Richard Brasher and Phil Clarke are right in the mould of their leader but their stability is one of the keys to the company’s success - Potts, who isn’t old by any stretch of the imagination, joined Tesco before I was born.

Sponsoring the team will cost a few quid but can’t do a business like Tesco any harm. Everyone in England will go football crazy during the World Cup and Tesco sees it as a big opportunity to sell more non-food as well as food. Tesco’s own TV brand Technika has just overtaken Philips at the UK’s fifth biggest selling brand and the World Cup is a big spur for people to buy a new plasma to watch it on.

Potts also talked about all the footballs, goalposts, St George Flag pizzas and just about everything else Tesco will sell. Just not beer, which of course is the one thing everyone buys loads of to watch football. Not surprising, given its political sensitivity, but rest assured being price competitive on booze is going to be as big a part of the World Cup battle as ever.