Sinitta used to be tipped up as a future football pundit after her incredible in-play predictions.
The 56-year-old singer and reality TV star admits she used to have a great knack of predicting when Chelsea would score during a match, leaving her pals to recommend her for a job in the beautiful game, but they later realised she only knew what was going to happen because she lived next to the Blues’ stadium, Stamford Bridge.
The former ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ star has revealed her secret hidden passion for football after Hotels.com uncovered that female fans are more likely than men to travel for sport, cancel date nights or anniversary plans and ditch their mates to watch the football.
She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I don’t get to go to much football at all but I’ve got a really big TV.
"I used to live next to Stamford Bridge, and people used to think I should be a pundit.
"Because of the delay on TV I used to hear whether someone scored or missed – I didn’t have double glazing – by the groans or cheers from the crowd.
"So I was like, ‘OK, Drogba is going to score, or going to miss.’ People were like, ‘Sinitta, you’re incredible, you should be on talkSPORT.’ But yeah, I was cheating."
Sinitta is a big fan of Chelsea but admits she has supported a number of teams over the years, depending on who she was dating.
She said: "I’m a Chelsea fan but I’ve got behind a few teams, depending on who I was dating.
"I’ve supported Man U a bit, Hull City a lot. I know a lot of footballers, I grew up with a lot.
"John Fashanu, Ian Wright, and Vinnie Jones back in the day.
"I didn’t used to know who was in what team and then it amazed me to discover they were all in different teams. Although Vinnie and Fash both played for Wimbledon.
"So I’ve been involved in football for a while.
"But I wouldn’t plan my holidays around football like some of these crazy women.
"When I first came to England there were hardly any women at football because they used to riot. But now it’s a lot more American and a family occasion."
The Destination Football survey, which was conducted by Hotels.com, part of Expedia Group, revealed nearly three quarters of women plan their holidays around sporting events (71 per cent), marginally more than men (67 per cent).
Former ‘Love Island’ star Gabby Allen is also a big football fan, after it was instilled in her during her younger years.
She added: "I didn’t have a choice about being a Liverpool fan. It was instilled in me growing up, my granddad was the biggest Liverpool fan ever.
"There was Liverpool memorabilia all over the house. All through the 80s he went to watch all the European games.
"So it was instilled in us when we were young.
"I’m a lady, I don’t chant when I go … "
But she joked: "It depends how many drinks I’ve had."
As well as Sinitta and Gabby, Courtney Green and Tallia Storm have also revealed their secret hidden passion for the beautiful game, for Hotels.com – official Travel Partner of the UEFA Champions League.
According to the survey, female fans are also prepared to sacrifice more to watch a live match with almost a quarter of women (24 per cent) up for cancelling date nights, compared to 19 per cent of men, and more than 40 per cent of women would sacrifice a night on the town with friends to watch the football.
Sinitta nearly became TV football pundit after goal predictions
