Fred hopes to pay England back for 1966 World Cup win

Betfred founder Fred Done has gone Top Price on England winning the World Cup because he wants to pay out. It's not every day you hear that from a bookmaker.

The Three Lions at 7/1 to win the tournament, 60 years after the legendary triumph in 1966 which is woven into the fabric of the Betfred story.

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Fred had a dream of opening his first betting shop and a punt on England to go all the way in 1966 helped that dream become a reality.

He explains: “I put £200 on England [to win the World Cup] at 8/1. Why did I do it? Because I’m a loyalist. I believe in my country.

“It was equal to 10 weeks’ wages, I was on £20 per week. It gave me great pleasure, it was a fabulous result and it won me £1.6k.

“That covered almost 50% of what I paid for my first shop. It gave me a deposit to put down. It was a great help to me. That’s what England did for me in ‘66, so I owe them.”

For this reason, Fred has gone Top Price on England to win the World Cup in 2026. He knows it’ll be costly but the Three Lions supporter is trumping the competition with this price because he's been waiting six decades to return the favour.

“As a bookmaker, 7/1 would be bad for us because we’re England and our fans are going to back us.

“I hope it is a bad result for us because I want to pay out on England. I’ve had plenty of money out of England. I owe them. They helped me in ‘66 and I hope and pray we can pay out on England this year.”

Fred believes that his drive would’ve still led to him getting his first shop open, even without the winnings from his life-changing bet.

“I believe in myself and I believe I would’ve found a way to open my own shop. I paid £4k for it. £1.6k came from England, and then I went through my in-laws and out-laws to borrow some money and I received £2k.

“The man I bought the shop from gave me a mortgage for £2000 so it was a massive help. I strongly believe that without England I’d have still got there, I would’ve had to borrow more off him.”

Fred thinks that England boss Thomas Tuchel could be the man to end the Three Lions' 60 years of hurt.

“I think we’ve got every chance, we’re a 7/1 chance. I believe we’ve got a manager who is a bit different.

“He’s not afraid to tread on people's toes, as he’s done with leaving people like Harry Maguire and Phil Foden out of the team.

“He’s not frightened of upsetting people, he believes in himself, so I think we’ve got every chance."

Fred is excited for the tournament to begin because he gets to enjoy it in different ways.

“As a fan I’ll watch every game because it comes around every four years,” he adds.

“For me, it’s like the new Premier League season is starting. As a bookie, it brings back a lot of memories for me because it was instrumental in the beginning of Betfred.

“This is the biggest event that we do. The Champions League is big but nowhere near the size of the World Cup. We’ll take a lot of money on it and I’ll be kicking every ball over there.”