GLOUCESTERSHIRE is the county to head to for the World Cup this year, according to a quirky new study by a pub chain.

The study conducted by family-friendly chain Hungry Horse analysed Tripadvisor reviews for all of its pubs in the UK, and examined the number of keywords related to the screening of live sports events.

The data was used to determine which areas in the UK offer the best Hungry Horse pubs to watch the World Cup this summer, and revealed Gloucestershire took top spot - despite having only one Hungry Horse pub where you can watch sports in the county.

Wheatpieces saw the word “football” appear in 27 reviews, and the pub received a total of 56 mentions of sports-related words.

Caroline La Niece, Head of Brand Marketing at Hungry Horse said: “With the World Cup approaching fast, the study offers great guidance for football fans on where to head to watch a game.

“Counties like Gloucestershire appear in reviews for their sports-viewing atmosphere, which shows that fans don't need to head to a city centre to get a great match-day experience. What was notable was how few of these top-ranked counties are traditional footballing heartlands.

“What stood out was that smaller counties like Gloucestershire consistently outperformed major cities when it came to sports atmosphere in reviews.”

Greater Manchester ranked second-best, with the Matchstick Man being the best Hungry Horse pub in Manchester. The area received an average of 4.81 per cent of sports mentions, and the word “football” appeared across 124 reviews. Matchstick Man, located in Salford Quays, offers a good-sized beer garden with large outdoor TV screens.

Worcestershire ranked as the third-best area for football fans to watch the World Cup live. The county received an average of 4.46 per cent of sports mentions, with the top pub being Strawberry Field, located in Evesham.