Football Food For Thought / Joe Dyer / 24 October 2009 /

The biggest sofa in footy is touring the country as Betfair's Front Room campaign kicks off

The world's biggest sofa has been unveiled by Betfair in the spiritual home of British football - Hackney Marshes, London. The 10 metre by four-and-a half-metre (33 foot by 15 foot) structure - weighing over a tonne - took a team of designers, engineers and fabricators two weeks to construct and includes over 2,500 nuts, bolts and staples.

The giant sofa will travel around the country throughout the football season offering fans the most comfortable seat to watch and debate football on. The sofa - able to seat over 70 football fans - was created to mark the launch of Betfair's new 'Front Room' advertising campaign

According to research from Betfair, supporters have voted Liverpool and Manchester United (16 per cent) as the fiercest rivalry in UK football, closely followed by West Ham and Millwall (15 per cent) and Newcastle and Sunderland (11 per cent).

Surprisingly, the Auld Firm derby between Glasgow giants Rangers and Celtic appeared only fifth in the nationwide survey of over 3,000 football supporters.

1. Liverpool v Manchester United (16 per cent)
2. West Ham v Millwall (15 per cent)
3. Newcastle v Sunderland (11 per cent)
4. Man City v Manchester United (9 per cent)
5. Celtic v Rangers (8 per cent)
6. Everton v Liverpool (6 per cent)
7. Swansea City v Cardiff City (5 per cent)
8. Tottenham v Arsenal (4 per cent)
9. Chelsea v Fulham (3 per cent)
10. Burnley v Blackburn Rovers (2 per cent)

*Other = 21 per cent

Betfair UK PR Manager Andy Lulham said: "As the home of fan v fan betting what better way to launch our new Front Room advertising campaign than with the ultimate sofa for fans to enjoy the beautiful game. The average front room sees a lot of football debate, and we're sure our giant sofa will see its fair share as it travels up and down the country.

"British supporters are passionate about football and it's no surprise there are some intense rivalries between clubs. Interestingly our results show that the fiercest rivalry is not between two local clubs, but the two Premier League heavyweights Liverpool and Manchester United. Of course there are plenty of other fans who seem to disagree, and the banter coming from our Front Room certainly reflects that!"

The multi-million pound unscripted Betfair Front Room advertising campaign features rival football fans in a living room talking about real football. The stars of the Betfair Front Room have been recruited through a series of street castings and via fanzines and club fan sites. Over 1,000 fans registered an interest to appear in the campaign, with the first full advert being unveiled during the coverage of the Liverpool v Manchester United game on Sunday 25th October.

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