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A UK and Europe-wide breakdown of web searches has found which countries and cities are most interested in the upcoming Euros. The results are pretty surprising.

 

With the European Football Championships 2016 just a day away, interest is reaching fever pitch. But just which countries are most excited and where in the UK is most excited for the tournament to begin?

 

The results show that rather than football mad London, Liverpool or Manchester, Norwich is the most interested in the Euros, according to a study into internet searches. In fact none of those three powerhouses of English football even made the top ten. With Norwich top, Derby were second, Nottingham third and Newcastle fifth.

 

All of those great footballing cities either suffered relegation or missed out on promotion this year. Perhaps their fans are just hungry for more punishment. Also in the top ten was Brighton, Cambridge and Bristol.

 

Across the EU, there were more interesting stats regarding which cities were most interested in the Euros. Top of the list was Brussels, the unofficial capital of Europe. Lyon and Paris were second and third, perhaps not surprisingly because France is the host nation. However, in the top ten there were more German cities than French ones. Perhaps their Teutonic neighbours are getting more excited about the prospect of another win, after their triumph in the world cup two years ago.

 

 

German cities Stuttgart, Cologne, Frankfurt and Hamburg were all in the top ten for the most searches regarding the upcoming tournament. There were no English cities in the top ten, perhaps because we don’t really fancy our chances, going into the tournament with a young and inexperienced squad and off the back of several disappointing displays in previous tournaments.

 

In terms of the most interested countries, it seems Eastern Europe is getting more excited about the upcoming tournament. Ukraine was top of the list, with Russia in second. Perhaps both countries are expecting big things from their squads heading into France. The UK was third most interested as a country, ahead of France, the hosts.

 

The results were gained by researching the amount of searches for ‘UEFA Euro 2016’ over the course of the year. In the Ukraine, there were 823,000 searches for the term, with more than half a million in both Russia and the UK. To get the regional and city results, the same search term was used but over a period of 30 days only.

 

If you want to see a complete list of the results across Europe, then you can check them out here: https://sbo.net/sports-map/

 

In terms of global interest in football, it’s no great shock that Brazil comes out on top. This football mad country and five times world cup winner searches for the term ‘football’ more than any other. However, elsewhere in the top ten is Indonesia, not a country known for its footballing prowess.

 

So, as the Euros kick off on 10 June at the Stade de France, with the hosts against Romania, it’ll be interesting to see if interest has anything to do with success. If it does, then Ukraine will be having a great tournament. And don’t bother trying to get in touch with your friends and relatives in Norwich. We’ve got a feeling they’ll be busy.

 

Image: Action Images / Craig Brough