More women falling for footy

The tradition of fathers taking their sons to see football matches could be overtaken by a new phenomenon - mothers taking their daughters.

Women now make up more than a fifth of all Premiership football fans - double the proportion ten years ago.

And mothers are almost as likely to take their daughters along to see a game as fathers taking their sons, researchers say.

Celebrity players such as Thierry Henri and David Beckham have made the game more attractive to women, a Coventry University study found.

Premiership clubs Liverpool and Arsenal are already trying to cash in by introducing replica shirts cut for the female figure.

Jeff Clowes, who wrote the study, claimed women liked the more macho aspects of watching football.

'They enjoy the singing and tribalism as much as men,' he added.