County Durham is the third best region for English football, according to new sporting research published this week.
The study by football ticket marketplace FootballTicketpad.com analysed the birth counties of all 1,271 men who have represented England at international level to find the best counties for English football.
In its findings, it found that Lancashire is the most productive, with 218 players that have played for England’s men’s team being born there.
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Despite crowning the North West county in top spot, County Durham came in third place with a total of 84 players representing England from the region.
When compared against the population, the county has an England players per 100,000 people score of 9.69.
Notable players born in the county include Bryan Robson from Chester-le-Street and Sacriston’s Bobby Robson – but there was also mentions of Paul Gascoigne and Chris Waddle, due to the two Gateshead-born footballers having no ‘Tyne and Wear’ category included in the research.
Alongside County Durham’s inclusion in third, another North East county finished in second.
Despite its smaller size, Northumberland took second, as the county has produced 37 England players, which, when accounting for population, gives it a score of 11.55 England players per 100,000.
While both County Durham and Northumberland scored highly in the data – the chances of playing for England if you’re from those two locations leaves something to be desired and shows the tough nature of making it as a nationally recognised footballer.
In Northumberland – the chance of representing the country is 0.0116 per cent, and County Durham having 0.0097 per cent.
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson from FootballTicketPad said: “Looking at the selection of counties in the top ten, it’s clear that a lot of England’s footballing pedigree comes from the north.
“It’s interesting to see the areas that have produced the most international stars, and how accounting for population can really highlight where this pedigree is focused.”
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