British football fans have been voted the most knowledgeable by their German counterparts, according to new research by Euro 2008 sponsor Castrol.
51 per cent of German fans polled chose their British counterparts and the result was similar across the rest of Europe. 48 per cent voted British fans top, ahead of the Italians (23 per cent), Germans (19 per cent) and Spanish (16 per cent).
The Castrol fan study also revealed that more than a quarter of British fans felt they got more respect from their peers for their football knowledge than having a good job or being known for their sexual prowess.
Says Castrol’s Marketing Manager, Rob Stroud: “Given that we have a big role to play at next year’s Euro 2008 finals, we wanted to better understand the growing importance of football in the everyday lives of millions of fans across Europe and what they think of one another. Not only does the study show the high regard British fans are held in across Europe, it also highlights the increasing appetite European fans in general have for in-depth analysis and data about the game.”
Other key research findings include:
• British fans are more likely to follow a game online as opposed to watching it live.
• Eight out of 10 football followers said they use the internet to follow games, while only 11 per cent of the same group claimed they attend live games.
Castrol is planning to produce a definitive index of performance for next year’s Euro tournament, allowing fans to compare players and their teams in even greater depth. The data – which will be exclusive to Castrol – will include statistics produced by a new real-time UEFA tracking system that can instantly convey information such as the area covered by a player or team, exactly how substitutions can alter the shape of the team and the speed of players and the ball.
“When we started looking at football sponsorship, we were made aware of football fans’ appetite for data,” says Stroud. “Data tells the story of the game – of the speed, efficiency and economy of the players – and analysing it can help improve performance. It is exactly that approach we use to analyse the performance of motor vehicles.
“For next year’s Euro 2008 Championships Finals we will be using this new system to enhance the enjoyment and understanding of the game for football fans across Europe.”
