In what is perhaps the least surprising news of the day, a new study has found that Irish fans account for more football tourists to the UK than fans from any other country. The study was undertaken by VisitBritain and it found that, in 2014, 121,00 Irish fans visited our nearest neighbours for the purpose of watching live football.
121,000 of those visitors came from Ireland, while 93,000 travelled over from Norway. #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/T3j8bVLOqM
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 10, 2015
In total, football tourists contributed the best part of £700 million to the British economy in 2014 with Irish fans, through numbers alone, accounting for the greatest slice of that figure. Unsurprisingly, this report has caused quite a bit of anger among fans who are of the opinion that football fans should support their local teams.
@SkySportsNewsHQ leprechauns should go and watch Shamrock Rovers
— Jack (@WengersProject) September 10, 2015
Someone should set up a league in Ireland. There's definitely the appetite for football here. pic.twitter.com/wh4WDu3zJA — Kevin Brannigan (@KevinBrannigans) September 10, 2015
Regardless of which side of the League of Ireland vs Premier League divide you fall on, there's no doubt those numbers are something to lament. It may not be the fault of the individuals who travel to England to watch football but when you see in black and white the amount of money that's spent by Irish fans abroad it certainly does make you think what we could do with a well supported League of Ireland.
