FOOTBALL supporters of clubs in the South West have beaten fans of clubs across Britain in both their knowledge of the rules of football, and their understanding of the business behind the world’s most popular sport.

This is according to new research published by the Open University Business School and The Football League Trust.

The study of over 1,000 British football fans, carried out by Opinion Matters, compared ‘on-pitch’ and ‘off-pitch’ know-how and uncovered which areas of Britain have the supporters with the best all-round knowledge of the game.

Fans from the North East topped the league table with an overall score of 40% (see below), with supporters from the South West coming in a very respectable fourth at 38.% and Londoners scoring lower than any other region (33% overall).