Only one per cent of Exeter England fans have made a bet on England winning the world cup and 21% claim they will probably pray for England at some point, a new survey has revealed.
Many England football fans are going to feel far more stressed, overly superstitious, fall out with a loved one, skip work or college and moan mostly about Adrian Chiles during the World Cup, William Hill research has claimed.
As we strap ourselves in for a carnival of football and a rollercoaster ride of emotions, most of us agree England's chances of becoming the first European team to win a World Cup in South America are slim to nothing.
But the "Three Thousand Lions Report" (so called because these are the views of 3000 England fans who were questioned by William Hill), looks at what the World Cup really means to them and how related issues will affect their lives and behaviour for the month ahead. Issues that will divide opinions and house-holds, invite ridicule and cause a social media moaning melt-down.
The main findings for Exeter are:
- 64% of fans expect to watch England play during the World Cup
- 68% of men and 21% of women consider themselves real fans and intend to watch all of England's games
- 21% claim they will probably pray for England at some point, especially if they reach a penalty shoot-out. 17% of those who said yes do not consider themselves religious!
- 10% of fans believe they will have an argument with a partner or loved one as a result of watching the World Cup. 12% of people intend to watch England play in a pub with friends, making it one of the most likely reasons
- Only 1% of fans have had or will have a bet on England to WIN the Tournament! A further 4% will back England to win a game at some point. Of those betting on England, 75% will do so for patriotic or superstitious reasons, 45% because the odds are very good, and 25% genuinely believe in them.
- 14% of fans are so superstitious they have to watch England play in the same seat, with the same people, or wearing a specific item (typically an England shirt for 70% of the latter)
- A huge 72% of fans will feel some sort of genuine disappointment if England fail to perform well and around a third of those would be "quite depressed" about it
- 30% of fans will feel some sort of stress level increase when watching England play, with 1 in 3 of those expecting their stress level to probably be "unhealthy"
- 7% expect to either definitely or probably skip work or lectures to watch a World Cup Game at some point
- Adrian Chiles is the TV presenter/pundit fans will find the most irritating (25%), followed by Roy Keane (15%) & Rio Ferdinand (12%)
William Hill spokesperson, Rupert Adams, added:
"We've already heard from more than enough pundits about the football, but this gives us a snapshot of how a huge sporting event can affect our lives. Not just for ardent England fans, but even those who aren't really that interested. We can't escape the World Cup and our research clearly shows that for some people it is a temporary life-changing event"
This World Cup is set to become the biggest sporting event in betting history with William Hill, the largest bookmaking firm in the UK, predicting over £200m from over 17m bets staked with them alone.
"I'm very confident that this will be the first ever sporting event to see a £1Billion betting turnover in this country", continues Rupert. "Betting activity could nearly double on days when England are playing, and if they can exceed expectation and reach the latter stages, that could even be a conservative estimate"
