Fans think about football 80 times a day
- And when the going gets tough they spend even more time
thinking about the game
Fans think about football 80 times a day on average – and that’s not including any dreams about the game, new research* from Virgin Money shows.
The average fan thinks about the game once every 12 minutes during the day, a poll of more than 2,000 fans shows. And the research shows that if their team is battling for honours or to avoid relegation the thinking time goes up.
Virgin Money, which measures the cost of going to games through its Football Fans’ Inflation Index, commissioned the research to find out how much time fans put into the game. And while the average is 80 times a day around seven per cent of supporters admit to thinking about the game once a minute.
Fans were asked to estimate how much in an average day – assuming eight hours sleep – they thought about the game. And Sheffield United fans emerged as the biggest thinkers – they managed 110 times a day compared to 104 a day for Charlton supporters. Chelsea came in third on 90 with Man Utd on 79. Everton supporters manage to limit themselves to 43 times a day.
Virgin Money spokesman John Franklin said: “The old advertising slogan was “Eat Football, Sleep Football, Drink Football. It should be “Think Football” as well.
“Partners of obsessive football fans will be well aware of the sometimes frightening level of interest in the game by hardcore supporters and they’ll be used to the occasional glazed look on the face of their loved ones.
“We all know that football can be expensive financially but this shows it also requires a lot of thinking as well. Supporters show huge commitment to their teams – and 80 times a day is pretty impressive. They might though consider thinking about a few other things as well.”
The Premiership of thinking fans shows Sheffield United edging out Charlton at the top of the table which possibly proves that relegation worries are worse than dreams about honours.
| CLUB | NUMBER OF TIMES THINKING ABOUT FOOTBALL A DAY | CLUB | NUMBER OF TIMES THINKING ABOUT FOOTBALL A DAY |
| Sheffield United | 110 | Aston Villa | 62 |
| Charlton | 104 | Tottenham | 61 |
| Chelsea | 90 | Middlesbrough | 59 |
| Liverpool | 81 | Blackburn | 58 |
| West Ham | 79 | Man City | 57 |
| Man Utd | 71 | Fulham | 57 |
| Newcastle | 70 | Bolton | 57 |
| Arsenal | 69 | Wigan | 57 |
| Reading | 67 | Watford | 51 |
| Portsmouth | 63 | Everton | 43 |
Virgin Money’s Football Fans’ Price Index shows that in the past year the cost of attending games has risen by 17.8 per cent. The index is aimed at helping supporters keep track of the rises and falls in the costs of supporting their team. The company identified the match-day essentials fans buy and keeps tabs on increases and decreases.
At the launch of the index last year the matchday basket of goods cost £77.95 and now it’s £91.46 – a rise of £13.92 or 17.8 per cent. An increase in the cost of match tickets and replica shirts are the main reasons behind the increase.
Virgin Money’s Football Fans’ Prices Index runs every three months and looks at the cost of a typical basket of goods monitoring the ups and downs of prices.
The firm’s research team examines the cost of items such as a gallon of petrol; match tickets; food; alcohol; train tickets and replica shirts.
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
- Football Fans’ Census interviewed a representative sample of 2,013 football fans between 10th – 19th April 2007 The basket of goods includes a gallon of petrol, a pint of lager, a bacon roll, a train fare, a match ticket, a replica shirt, pay-per-view cost and a match programme.
For further information
John Franklin, PR Manager, Virgin Money
Tel: 01603 215909
Kevan Reilly/Billy Partridge/George Ullstein, Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Tel: 0207 638 9571
About Virgin Money:
- Virgin Money is Virgin’s financial services arm and was established in 1995.
Virgin Money has over two million customers and offers a wide range of financial products across lending (e.g. credit cards and personal loans), savings (e.g. deposits, investments and pensions) and protection (e.g. life insurance, home insurance and car insurance) to the UK market.
Virgin Money Personal Financial Service Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Registered office: Discovery House, Whiting Road, Norwich NR4 6EJ. Registered in England No. 3072766. Entered on the Financial Services Authority's register number 179271.
About The Football Fans’ Census:
The Football Fans Census is Europe’s leading football research expert. With over 100,000 members The FFC provides a communication channel between the supporter and the football industry.
Virgin Money’s Football Fans’ Price Index shows that in the past year the cost of attending games has risen by 17.33 per cent. The index is aimed at helping supporters keep track of the rises and falls in the costs of supporting their team. The company identified the match-day essentials fans buy and keeps tabs on increases and decreases.
At the launch of the index last year the matchday basket of goods cost £77.95 and now it’s £91.46 – a rise of £13.51 or 17.33 per cent. An increase in the cost of replica shirts, match tickets and food are the main reasons behind the increase.
