Top signs of being a true football fan - including supporting both men and women's teams

You can only call yourself a true football fan if you're able to name the starting XI of England's World Cup winning team, and go to at least five games a season, a study has found.

A study asked 2,000 self-declared football fans the top signs of what it takes to be a real fan – with owning multiple shirts, and playing the game yourself, even Sunday league, named among the top 30.

And a third of those polled said that being able to easily explain the offside rule is a requirement of being a fully-fledged supporter.

Knowing where all the stadiums are in different cities, collecting merchandise for a favourite team, and predicting the substitutions about to be made in a game are also signs of a true fan.

However, nearly half (47%) said you can only be classed as a full fan if you support both the men's and women's teams.

The research was commissioned by the England Teams' partner Snickers, whose spokeswoman Chloe Smith said: “From missing or being late to the birth of a child or a flight abroad as a result of watching football, we know that England is a nation of passionate football fans.

“However, we know you can’t call yourself a “full fan” if you don’t support both the women and men’s football teams.”

The love for female football is clearly rife, as 46% have an interest in it – with men more so than women.

And 43% think the growing interest in the women’s game is great for the sport as a whole.

When comparing genders, 54% don’t think female footballers are given the same level of recognition as their male counterparts.

As a result, half (49%) of those with kids would encourage their daughter to follow or play the game as much as they would encourage their son.

Three in ten said their daughter plays, compared to a