Berlin, July 6:

A study presented here in Germany shows that fans around the world have been pleasantly surprised by Germany’s openness during the 2006 World Cup. Over 90 per cent of visitors said it was “A Time to Make Friends.” Millions of fans have descended on Germany during the World Cup, and while some have already followed their teams home and others look for last-minute bargains on airfare to Berlin, a study published showed nearly all of them enjoyed their time in the country.

“Germany has created an excellent atmosphere and image of itself,” said Alfons Madeja, a sports scientist, while presenting the study. Just over 93 per cent of the 5,000 soccer fans from around the world who took part in the study gave the host country an overall grade of good to very good.

Friendship and the bare necessities were what most fans were looking for in their trip to Germany. At 88.7 per cent, meeting people from other countries was nearly as important as eating, drinking and partying,” according to the study. Music concerts were the most popular part of the non-soccer programmes, catching the interest of 43.1 per cent of foreign visitors. Only four per cent of the respondents came to Germany alone while 64 per cent came in with friends.

“There were a lot of men coming in clubs who had previously travelled to world and European cups in the past,” Madeja said. The view of Germans as orderly and reserved also changed in a number of minds. “We showed emotion and were not afraid to be happy, express our pride and joy and show our national colours.”