Greater Manchester is benefiting greatly from football tourism, which is generating a prolific amount for the regional economy.

This is according to a Manchester Metropolitan University-led study of fans travelling through Manchester Airport in May.

Both the hospitality and retail industries are football tourism's main beneficiaries, with a high proportion of fans saying they visited leisure and shopping facilities during their stay in the city.

The Uefa Cup Final in Manchester on the 14th May saw football tourists flying in from 11 countries on four continents.

And more than 25,000 football fans flew from Manchester Airport to Moscow to see Manchester United take on Chelsea in the Uefa Champions League Final in May.

Andrew Cornish, managing director of Manchester Airport, said the intentional hub saw an extra £1 million in revenue as a result of the increased traffic associated with the Uefa and Champions League finals.

This is not the first time that Manchester has benefited from sports tourism on a grand scale. In 2002, east Manchester hosted the Commonwealth Games and local businesses saw turnover increase by £22 million.