Whether you’re a budding footballer keen to expand their understanding of the mechanics of the game, or simply an armchair fan who wishes to improve your knowledge so as to win arguments with your friends, there are a wide variety of ways in which you can boost your football knowledge.

Of course, getting out onto a field and playing the sport yourself is perhaps the most logical and maybe the most effective way of enhancing your skills and your footballing intelligence at the same time.

However, here are a handful of alternative methods of increasing your knowledge, whatever your end goal may be.

Go to games

With more and more fixtures televised these days, it has become less tempting to attend matches in person.

But while TV cameras might give you all the angles and replays on the key phases of play, they’re simply no substitute for watching the action unfold from the stands.

That’s because viewing a live football game gives you a far better impression of the physical positioning of the players, which will inform your own decisions and awareness next time you pull on a shirt – as well as equipping you with fodder for your next debate.

Bet on the outcome

Although football matches are usually exciting enough without the need for any additional entertainment, the outcome always matters more when there is money on it.

You can leverage your existing knowledge of a team’s form, star players and injury list to bet in advance, but staying engaged throughout the match is where you’ll really pick up tips.

And with access to the best in-play odds for upcoming football matches just a mouse click away, it’s never been easier to place a wager during the big match.

Play Football Manager

Football Manager (formerly known as Championship Manager) is undoubtedly the most popular management simulation game out there – and it’s not difficult to see why.

In fact, as far back as 2014, real clubs were using the game as a scouting platform for their next signings, demonstrating just how valuable a tool it can be in enhancing your awareness of the rising starlets and next big things in leagues at home and abroad. Oh, and did we mention how fun it is, too?

Watch (some) pundits

Some football fans are only interested in the 90 minutes from kick-off until the final whistle, turning off their TV or changing channels before and after the game itself. And while watching one of the most popular sports in America 2022 is highly entertaining, they’re missing out on the insight offered by those who have been there and done that.Of course, some of the pundits on television are barely worth the title and seem to be stealing a living by virtue of their past glories alone, but others (like Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Emma Hayes) display meticulous understanding of the sport that we mere mortals can only aspire to.

Keen to improve your knowledge of the beautiful game?

Follow these top tips and you can’t go wrong.