Can football wreck your life?

Sports Studies lecturer Kevin Dixon wants to hear from football widows and widowers.

He has already conducted research into the behaviour and attitudes of fans from Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Sunderland, Hartlepool and Darlington.

This revealed that 74% of surveyed fans said they arranged their personal lives around football fixtures.

Kevin said: 'This statistic made me want to explore what effects could this have on close friends and relatives.

'This time I`m not just looking for responses from the North-east but the whole of the UK.

'We want those who feel strongly about this issue to come forward and share personal experiences online as long-suffering partners, friends or relatives of football fans."

In a pilot study one woman said: 'My partner watches football programmes endlessly throughout the week. I rarely get a chance to hold the TV control.

'When he says 'You can watch your TV programmes in five minutes` I should ask, 'Is that real time or football time?` I wait endlessly for the stupid clock to run down and then the half-baked 'analysis` from the pundits ('He kicked that ball really far Alan.` 'That`s right he did. Let`s see that in slow motion 10 times` and so on). All the while I am wondering if I will actually be able to watch whatever I was hoping for.'

Issues to be explored include:

* How does football affect household expenditure, particularly during the credit crunch and with rising heating costs?

* How does football interfere with your life?

* Does football affect your relationships?

* What do you do to escape football in the mass media?

To complete the survey go to:
Football Survey