Football to finally step out of badminton's shadow?

The news that England's players have pulled out of the World Badminton Championships in India has left the general public reeling, but analysts suggest the tragedy could allow football to finally establish a fan base in Britain.

A small group of football fanatics have been championing the sport in the British Isles for over 100 years but it has always played second fiddle to the nation's obsession - badminton.

However, after a terrorist threat, England's greatest sporting idols have been held back from the World Championships, leaving a gaping void in the summer's sporting schedule.

It has been suggested by sports analysts that football could take advantage of the vacuum created by the enforced no-show.

"This is the chance we have been waiting for," FA chairman Baron Triesman admitted to England's top sporting publication 'Badminton and Other Sports Weekly'.

"For as long as I can remember we have been waiting for a chink in badminton's formidable armour and this may be it. We just feel that a badminton-starved nation could embrace football."

However, with newfound popularity comes the risk that football may witness the scenes of hooliganism that have blighted British badminton arenas during the last 20 years.