MORE THAN 120,000 Irish fans travelled to watch football in Britain in 2014, making up some 15% of all foreign visitors to games there.
The 800,000 overseas fans are estimated to have brought in £700m according to research conducted for Visit Britain.
Ireland topped the list of foreign visitors with 121,000 followed by Norway (93,000), Sweden (58,000) and the United States (53,000).
Old Trafford and the Emirates were the two most popular venues to visit attracting 109,000 fans each.
The last time Visit Britain – which has a partnership with the Premier League to encourage visitors to come to Britain and see a live match – published figures was in 2010, when 50,000 fewer fans attended games.
Premier League chief Richard Scudamore said the rise was “very encouraging”.