MOST ENGLAND FANS OPPOSE A WORLD CUP BOYCOTT

Fewer than one in five English football fans support a boycott of the World Cup in Qatar, figures show

RESULTS of a survey presented by Safebettingsites.com show that only 18% of respondents would agree with England boycotting this month’s tournament. With Gareth Southgate’s squad just announced, excitement is building for a World Cup that is expected to be unique for several reasons.

Not least for the controversy surrounding host nation Qatar’s human rights record, and the concerns at hosting one of global sport’s biggest events in a nation where acts of homosexuality are criminalised.

There have been calls by many for England and other nations to boycott the tournament altogether, which would send a powerful message to the powers at FIFA who decided on Qatar as a host venue.

But with no signs of any boycott going ahead, and teams announcing their final squads this week, the vast majority of England fans would appear to be against such a protest.

According to the figures, 50% of those English fans asked would oppose a boycott, whilst 27% would neither support nor oppose one, and 5% did not know how they would feel.

More men were in favour of a boycott than women, with 22% of men agreeing compared to only 14% of women.

However, men were also more strongly opposed to a potential boycott, with 45% disagreeing versus 38% of women.

Far more women were unsure though, with 20% saying they didn’t know, but only 6% of men gave the same answer.

When comparing the results by age, Baby Boomers (born 19461964) were the most in favour of England sitting out the World Cup.

Some 23% said they agreed with a boycott, with 31% opposed, also the lowest rating of any age group.

Within other age groups, support was largely the same across the generations, with 18% of Gen Z (born 1995-2012) and 17% of both Millennials (1980-1994) and Gen X (1965-1979) in favour.

Gen Z were also the age group most strongly opposed to a boycott, with 47% disagreeing that England should stay home for the tournament.