·                     17% of all British men believe they are slightly or even comfortably better at football than an England Women’s player 

·                     A brash 5% of males believe they are more skilled than a Lioness star, despite never kicking a ball 

·                     A quarter of sport-playing men believe they can compete in the FA Women’s Super League  

 

With the England Women’s team looking to add a World Cup to their recent European crown, new research reveals that 17% of British men believe they are a better footballer than a typical Lionesses player – rising to more than a third amongst sport-playing men (34%). 

 

The study by BonusCodeBets examined how Brits think they compare to professionally trained female footballers, finding 17% of sporty men believe they’re marginally better than one of Serena Wiegman’s stars, with the same proportion also describing themselves as “comfortably better”. 

 

The delusion continues with 5% of males who play no sport whatsoever having the audacity to believe they’d be superior on the pitch than a player at the top of the women’s game. 

 

Of all UK cities, the people of Southampton are the most brash of all, with almost one in 10 (9%) believing they’re comfortably better at football than a female international. Londoners and those in Leeds, Edinburgh and Aberdeen also back themselves to be vastly superior players (all 7%).  

 

Top five cities where Brits believe they are “comfortably better” than a Lionesses player 

 

Rank  

Cities 

% of people who believe they are comfortably better than a Lioness player  

1  

 Southampton 

9% 

2  

London 

7% 

3  

Leeds 

7% 

4  

Edinburgh 

7% 

5 

Aberdeen 

7% 

 

When asked to compare themselves to players heading to the Women’s World Cup, the majority (57%) of men say they’re better in at least one aspect of the game – with speed (16%), heading and tackling (both 15%) the areas men are most likely to believe they excel. 

 

Of those who regularly play sport, 29% believe they have superior ball control, 27% say they are stronger in the air and 26% claim to be better at dispossessing opponents. 

 

This view is shared by 13% of men who hardly play any sport, yet feel they’d put in a better tackle than the World Cup stars this summer. 

 

When looking at what level of the women’s game males comparatively believe they would be good enough for, around a quarter (24%) of men who play sports regularly believe they would be competitive in the FA Women’s Super League. 

 

And the likes of Millie Bright and Lucy Bronze might need to humble the 8% of British men who believe they can play in the highest echelon of the women’s game, despite not playing any sports at all.  

 

A spokesperson from BonusCodeBets said: “We’re all for a bit of self-confidence, but the number of British males who believe they are on the same level as – or can even play better than – a professionally trained women’s footballer is eye-opening. 

 

“It’s good to back yourself, but I think the 6% of males who hardly play sport may need to have a rethink if they honestly believe Sarina Wiegman would take them to Australia and New Zealand!”