82% of Europeans interested in football, with 25% very interested

82% of Europeans are interested in football, claimed the sixth benchmarking report of European clubs, published by UEFA (Union of European Football Associations), on 17/04/2014. This figure results from a survey conducted in November 2012 by Repucom on behalf of UEFA, with 18,000 European citizens aged 18 to 69 years, in 38 countries of the continent.

57% of respondents said they are "interested" in football and 25% were "very interested." With 37% of people being "very interested," Spain and England came just ahead of Scotland (35%), Ireland and Italy (both 33%). France ranks 23^rd, with 19% of people "very interested" in football.

In each of the 35 countries surveyed by Repucom and UEFA (the United Kingdom includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), the most popular clubs tend to be the local ones, with 23% of support on average. Portugal has the highest concentration of fans in Europe, with 47% of people expressing support for Benfica. Followed by Romania (45% for Steaua Bucharest) and Turkey (37% Galatasaray). Sweden is behind with 9% of the population supporting…