I was born into a family of 6 other children, 3 of which are boys, 2 of which were big football fans, one a Liverpudlian and the other an Evertonian. My late father cared more for cricket but i will say no more about that!

Unless you live on Mars, you will know that Football is a game consisting of 22 players on a pitch, playing 11 for each team including a goal keeper, forwards, midfield players and defence. The team has its own coach and there is a referee and also linesmen . It is played over 90 minutes, 45 minutes each half. The aim of the game is to score into your opponents goal by using the feet only and of course, the team with the most goals wins the game.

Each team are also allowed substitutes, chosen by the manager, and they can replace existing players on the pitch, either due to injury, or simply because the manager needs to change a player who they feel needs to rest or is not performing as well as expected.

Players are shown a yellow card if they committ a foul, which can be for a number of reasons, such as a two footed tackle, hand ball, or just being rude and obnoxious to the referee. If they committ a second foul during the game, the referee can then send the player off the pitch after showing them a red card. The player cannot be replaced with another if they have been sent off which means that team would be short of a player for the remainder of the game. If a foul is bad enough, then a player can be send off directly with a red card, without firstly being shown a yellow. Hope you are keeping up with all this.

If a player is fouled in the boxed area around the goal then the referee can give the team that have received the foul, a penalty which involves a player placing the ball on a penalty spot and it is then him or her, versus the goal keeper. If the player beats the goal keeper, then this is a goal for them.

The season will also involve taking part in other games other than league games, such as FA Cup and also European Championships, if the team has been lucky enough to reach the dizzy heights of the table.

Since i was 5 years, i have supported Everton Football club, as one of my brothers insisted that someone else in the family would see the benefits of supporting the underdog in the city of Liverpool. I have never regretted this and remember my first game. The smell of coffee, hot dogs and cigarettes. I found it so overwhelming, sitting in a crowd of thousands of people, mostly males and hearing them shouting and swearing. I remember asking my brother what a certain swear word meant but never received an explanation. His answer was simply 'don't ever say that word'. My experiences of attending a match from a child with my brother, through to going with my best friend as a teenager were full of excitement, passion and enjoyment, as well as dissappointments.

A football seasons aim is to find a champion. As an example, the English Premiership consists of a number of teams who will play each other twice during the season, once at their home ground and once at the other teams home ground. If they win the game by scoring the most goals, they get 3 points, they get 2 for a draw and zero points if they lose. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins the title. However, if two teams finish on the same points, the team with the bigger goal average will win the title.

It seems i have always loved the beautiful game and although i don't attend every game, mainly due to cost, i visit my beloved Goodison Park as often as i can.

Football spans the world and it is a passion which lies within the blood of the most avid supporters, who will travel the planet to watch their team.
The game has changed over the years and now it seems that alot of teams struggle financially to keep their heads above water. The wages alone of the football players is enough to send any club spiralling into administration but still we love the game.

As i am writing this review, i am watching the lead up to the World Cup in South Africa and can't wait to watch Englands first game tomorrow night against the USA.

Football, wether you love or hate it, will always be a talking point on a Monday in work, after the weekends games, and at the local pubs and clubs on a Saturday night. It is a game for the masses, enjoyed the world over.

When i shuffle off my mortal coil, i want everyone to attend my funeral in their football colours and i want the crest of my team to be the flowers that accompany me.

Enjoy the World Cup and if you don't like football, then do go shopping. I personally will be sat with a wine and a quick heartbeat watching my country with pride. I am a woman, but football is in my blood and my soul and always will be.