Sports Fans Opinions Survey

Controversial football and sports fan opinions: standout stats

1. 12% of Brits (8.2 million) believe they could go pro in the Premier League with just two years’ training.

2. 1 in 10 British sports fans believe they could land a clean punch on a pro boxer

3. The Sir Alex effect: 1 in 10 (11%) Scots think they could coach a Premier League team to a successful season without prior experience

4. Almost a quarter (23%) of would-be professionals think they’d score 7+ out of 10 penalties against a PL keeper.

5. Half of the respondents who think they could score 10/10 penalties also believe they are capable of at least one difficult sporting feat

6. Over three-quarters (79%) of British men think they could score between 1 and 10 penalties against a PL goalkeeper, vs less than half (42%) of British women

7. Two-thirds of Londoners think they could pull off a sporting feat; 23% back themselves to win a point off a pro tennis player.

8. More than 1 in 5 (21%) Brits think they could score a hole-in-one, despite amateur odds being 12,500 to 1

9. Just under one-third (29%) of 45 to 54-year-old Brits think they’d definitely or maybe make it as a pro Premier League player

10. The UK’s younger generation is most confident about outrunning a horse over a short distance, with 4% believing they can

Almost one-third of the UK thinks they could play in the Premier League

The chances of ever playing in the Premier League are well known, as one day in May 2019, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard posted “0.012%” on their Instagram accounts. A simple message referencing that approximately 180 of England’s 1.5 million youth players will ever play even one minute of Premier League football.1

Despite this, one-third of Brits we surveyed think they’d at least have a chance of making it as a Premier League player with just two years of training. The most confident age group was 25 to 34-year-olds, with almost two-thirds (65%) thinking they could go pro in the Premier League with just two years of training.

Surprisingly, there was little difference between the confidence levels of men and women regarding whether they could play in the EPL. Over two-thirds (68%) of women thought they’d have no chance, almost equal to the 67% of men who thought the same.

A combined 39% of people in the South East of England believe they can definitely become or have a chance of becoming Premier League players with just two years of training. The next most confident region is Northern Ireland, with 37% of people thinking they could go pro.

One in five Brits believe they could score 3 to 4 penalties against a Premier League goalkeeper

Penalties are either scored or not, either being saved or put wide of the goal, making them a flip of a coin or a battle of nerves between the taker and the goalkeeper. However, during the 2023/24 EPL season, penalty conversion rates skyrocketed, with almost 90% of penalties taken being scored, up from 75% the previous season.2

Perhaps that’s why so many people in the UK are confident they could put a penalty past a Premier League goalkeeper. One in five, equivalent to 13.4 million people in the UK, think they could score at least three out of ten penalties against an EPL goalkeeper.

There was a huge gap in belief between genders, with more than half (58%) of women thinking they’d score none, compared to just one in five (21%) men. Meaning that 79% of men believe they could score between one and ten out of ten penalties against a Premier League goalkeeper.

Younger generations are again more confident, with only a quarter of those aged 18 to 24 saying they’d score zero penalties. This figure increases with each age group, culminating in over half (52%) of those aged 65 and over thinking they’d score zero penalties.

Two-thirds of people in Northern England believe they could score between one and ten out of ten penalties, making them the most overconfident region in the UK. However, Wales had the highest proportion of people who think they’d score nine or more out of ten, with 4% backing themselves for it.

A quarter of the UK believe they could successfully coach a Premier League team with good staff and players

According to statistics from Opta, as reported by the BBC, the average tenure of a Premier League manager is around two years and four days.3 It seems easier and harder for Premier League managers to stay in a job, as Arsenal stick it out with trophy-less Arteta, whilst Tottenham Hotspur have now gone ahead with the bold decision of sacking ‘Big Ange’, who brought them the Europa League title in May.

Despite the uncertainty and immense pressure they would face, one quarter of British sports fans back themselves to successfully coach a Premier League team. This is, without prior experience, and the caveat of a good staff and team. One in five respondents said they’d give it a go, but don’t expect to be successful, representing more grounded beliefs.

This time, the youngest age group did not prove to be the most confident; the slightly older and perhaps wiser 25 to 34-year-olds backed themselves the most. Over half (56%) of respondents in the age group said they’d back themselves or be successful with the right staff and team. However, those aged 65 and over had the least confidence, with less than one in ten (7%) saying the same.

Over half of the female respondents (53%) said definitely not, compared to just over one-third (38%) of males. This again highlights that men are more confident that they’d “give it a go” or even succeed.

Glasgow, the birthplace of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, is the city with the joint-highest proportion of people (41%) who think they’d succeed or have a chance with a good staff and team.

Over a third of the UK thinks they are capable of at least one difficult sporting feat, including landing a punch on a pro boxer

When asked if they could achieve a sporting feat, such as land a blow on a pro boxer or run 100 meters in less than 10 seconds, with sufficient training, over a third (34%) of British sports fans thought they could achieve at least one of the feats.

The odds of a tour pro golfer getting a hole in one are 1 in 2,500. Yet, this was the feat people were most confident they’d be capable of, with one in five (21%) thinking they’d be able to do so.

Among pro sprinters, 12 to 15 seconds for a 100-meter run is considered pretty good; however, below 12 seconds begins to approach world record times. Despite this, one in ten (11%) UK sports fans think this would be achievable given sufficient training. A further 3% believe they could outrun a racehorse over a short distance.

Again, men were more confident than women in accomplishing at least one of these difficult sporting feats. Almost two in five (37%) male sports fans back themselves, compared to under one-third (30%) of females. The two feats with the biggest gap between genders were landing a punch on a pro boxer and winning a point against a tennis player, both 7% differences in favour of males.

The UK cities with the most confident sports fans

Londoners were the most confident among UK sports fans regarding becoming a Premier League player with two years of training. More than two in five (42%) sports fans in the capital think they could make it as an EPL football player. Meanwhile, people from Cardiff were more grounded, with over four in five (82%) thinking they wouldn’t make it.

Mancunian sports fans were the most confident about a penalty shootout with a Premier League goalkeeper. Almost four in five (79%) think they’d score between one and ten penalties. To offer some perspective, among Premier League players with at least 10 penalties converted, Riyah Mahrez has the worst conversion rate at 68.4%.5

Alongside Glasgow, London was the city with the most confident sports fans in managing a Premier League team to a successful season, with two in five (41%) believing they’d at least have a chance.

London sports fans again have the highest proportion of fans who believe they could achieve a difficult sporting feat, with only one-third thinking they couldn’t.

One in twenty (5%) of the capital's sports fans think they could outrun a horse over short distances, and over one in five (23%) think they could win a point against a professional tennis player. Bear in mind, tennis players serve speeds average around 120mph, with record serve speeds reaching over 160mph.6

And Scousers were most confident among UK cities that they could land a blow on a professional boxer, with nearly one in five (16%) backing themselves to do so. Studies have shown that even pro male boxers land somewhere between 14% and 29% of their punches, meaning this would be quite the feat.

Author Comments

“It’s no surprise that sports and football fans back themselves, but these results show how far that self-belief stretches. The idea that one-third of Brits think they could make it as a professional Premier League footballer with just two years of training is far-fetched, but also incredibly entertaining.

“What really stands out is the ‘armchair manager’ phenomenon, with nearly a quarter of fans convinced they could lead a Premier League team to glory without any real coaching experience. This kind of mindset fuels not just pub debates but also the popularity of football betting, where passion often meets prediction.

“From scoring penalties against Premier League goalkeepers to landing punches on professional boxers, it’s clear that football fans across the country are full of confidence about their sporting abilities, some might say overconfidence.

“These insights are quite revealing, highlighting the unique blend of passion, optimism, and competitive spirit that defines British football culture. Whether it's Londoners dreaming of coaching glory or Manchester fans fancying themselves from the penalty spot, the data gives us a fascinating snapshot of sporting self-belief across the UK.”

Methodology -

Through the TLF Panel, we were able to survey 2,001 sports fans in the UK and asked the following questions:

SCREENER: ‘Do you consider yourself a sports/football fan?’

Q1 - If you had two years of full-time, professional-level training starting today, do you believe you could become a professional Premier League footballer?

Q2 - ‘Out of 10 penalties, how many do you think you could score against a Premier League goalkeeper at your current level of football skill?’

Q3 - ‘Do you believe you could coach a professional Premier League football team to a successful season (e.g., avoid relegation, and finishing in the top half) without prior experience?’

Q4- ‘With sufficient training, which sporting feats do you believe you could realistically achieve?’

• I could hit a nine-darter in darts.

• I could score a 147 in snooker.

• I could score a hole-in-one in golf.

• I could run 100m in under 12 seconds.

• I could outrun a racehorse (over a short distance).

• I could last one round in a professional boxing match.

• I could beat a professional tennis player in one point.

References

1. BBC

2. The Analyst

3. BBC

4. The Experience Golf

5. Stat Muse

6. Tennis Nerd

7. RECYT