According to the latest research overseas football fans going to Premier League matches is now a booming industry worth £684 million to the UK economy.
According to Visit Britain which has a partnership with the Premier League, over 800,000 overseas football fans flocked to Britain in 2014 to watch Premier League football and that was worth a staggering £684 million to the economy.
Most fans came from the Republic of Ireland (121,000), then Norway (93,000), Sweden (58,000) and the United States (53,000) next. Following up comes the Netherlands were indeed Saints saw an influx of visitors from last season after Ronald Koeman's arrival and then Spain France & Germany.
Old Trafford and the Emirates Stadium were the most popular venues, both receiving 109,000 visits each.
Indeed the Norwegian Branch of the Liverpool supporters club estimates that for the big games at Anfield as many as 1,500 Norwegians are in attendance.
Tore Hansen is the chief executive of the official Norway branch of the Liverpool Supporters' Club and has been visiting Anfield for the past three decades.
He told BBC Sport
"The love affair started in the 1960s when many Norwegians adopted English teams as a result of games being screened on TV. Also the numerous flight routes to Britain have made it easier for fans to travel."
"It's been building for many years," one of the reasons was because the standard of football in Norway wasn't that great. British football has always been popular in Norway and it's also a nice country to visit."
"Some Norwegian fans end up buying from season ticket holders, with some choosing to sell their seats every week. He also says there are many examples of fans paying for tickets on the internet, never to see them in person.
The demand is massive and it's a shame it's gone that way, especially for local people in Liverpool,"
But it isn't all good news, many football supporters groups are saying that the figures have underlined concerns they have about the make-up of fans in stadiums, ticket prices and club identity.
Certainly some of the big club's have actively courted a "tourist" fan base and for the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal & Liverpool who sell out week in week out there is a feeling that financially they are better off selling tickets individually every match for a Premium rate to supporters who due to coming from abroad and on a rare perhaps only visit to their club's ground are likely to spend more on merchandise etc than a season ticket holder or regular local supporter.