Football tackles rugby as London’s top sport class | London Daily News

As the country prepares for a string of high-profile matches over the festive period, new research has crowned football as England’s top sport, narrowly beating rugby.

Search engine analysis by experts at Harlow Leisurezone uncovered the average number of searches for keywords relating to football and rugby classes across England.

It revealed that 52.7% of cities searched for football training more than rugby training – that’s 29 out of 55.

London was named the football capital with an average of 3,680 searches for football classes, followed by Birmingham with 1,410, and Manchester with 1,130.

Rugby stronghold Bristol was declared the rugby capital with an average of 1,140 searches for classes, followed by Newcastle Upon Tyne with 940, and Plymouth with 850.

From a national standpoint, football classes led the way in England with an average of 16,040 searches a month, compared to only 7240 for rugby.

Scotland and Northern Ireland both back football, but Wales bucks the trend favouring rugby.

Health and Fitness Manager David Marrington, from Harlow Leisurezone, said, “The festive season sports fixtures are a pivotal part of Christmas for many households across the country. This is also a time when people plan their next health and fitness goals as they move into the new year.

“There are some interesting results in this data which demonstrate the importance of sport in people’s lives whether they enjoy football or rugby. It is encouraging to see so many people putting sports participation at the top of their fitness agendas in the coming year.”

“Whatever your personal preference, the traditional sports such as football and rugby offer a great opportunity to meet others and exercise as part of a community.”