Football. The beautiful game which has inspired millions across the world. Founded centuries ago and commercialised as a sport viewed by people from all walks of life. Anyone and everyone knows what football is and it might be bigger than you ever have expected it to be.
Whether it’s supporting your favourite team through affluence from family or friends or just checking the latest scores because ‘your mates’ won’t stop talking about last nights amazing game. Football reigns supreme as a sport many love and watch religiously.
But did you know the influence football has in tourism in the UK? It’s probably not something you might have thought about but through the recent figures VisitBritain have found the importance of football; drives the tourism levels sky-high with boosting the economy.
Its ‘Football Tourism in the UK’ report published today which overseas all the visitors who went to a football match spent £1.4 billion across the UK in total during their trip in 2019. Up to 84% on the £742 million spend in 2011 when the research was last conducted.
This just shows how monumental the game of football is for not only residents of the UK but international people who come solely to watch the best players play.
Football also took the top spot in 2019 as the most popular live sporting event for international tourists in the UK.
Nigel Huddleston, the tourism minister expressed:
“Our national game is a massive draw for visitors that want to come and watch top-class football from some of the best Leagues in the world. Football tourists boost local economies during the off-peak tourism season supporting restaurants, hotels and hospitality venues.
“I will continue to work closely with VisitBritain, the Premier League and the EFL to keep up this momentum.”
This figure just shows how monumental the game of football is for not only people who live in the UK but visitors who travel thousands of miles away to watch their favourite team.
The Premier League is one of the biggest reasons fans love to come and watch the games due to the competition level. Many footballers believe and so do their fans, the English Premier League is the toughest league to play in the world.
Recent signing of the world-renowned Cristiano Ronaldo has over 4.4M views in his first game back in Manchester United. The comment section of the video shows how the fans loved him for not only coming back to his home team but challenging himself at his age to compete as such a high level.
The next time you watch a game of football, don’t be surprised to see some unfamiliar faces, they probably might know your own team better than you!
