Playing soccer has its friendly benefits

CHILDREN who play football are four times as likely to have a large group of friends than those who enjoy tennis or cricket.

A British study by telecom giant BT found that soccer was the most sociable sport among youngsters, with three out of four having at least 17 friends.

Just 13% of gymnasts had a similar number of friends, rising to 15% among tennis players and 16% of martial arts and netball players.