World Cup widows

While some women are just as fanatical about the footie as the fellas, for others out there the World Cup seems more like a feat of endurance.

It may seem like only yesterday you were resigning yourself to the fact the TV was off limits for a month and your normally considerate other half was about to turn into football obsessed humanoid.

All those memories from 2010 are still so fresh, it's hard to believe it was actually four years ago England were last throwing it all away against Germany and your other half was cursing the TV so loudly you had to pop into the garden just to escape it.

Of course it doesn't stop at just supporting their own team, oh no they'll be watching Honduras take on Ecuador at eleven o'clock at night too.

Avoiding it

So what can you do to escape the endless sea of smug-faced, perma-tanned, football pundits who will be setting up shop in the corner of your living room?

Well you could try avoiding it all together, just pretend it's not happening and invest in a TV box-set you've been meaning to watch for ages. The Wire, Breaking Bad, 24, Game of Thrones, need we go on? If you haven't got round to watching any of these shows now is your chance to catch-up, do it at any other time and you run the risk of overhearing someone talking about them and ruining the ending.

For the month of June you can almost guarantee the office know-it-all will be fully focussed on the World Cup and not ruining your new fave show.

Be pro-active

You could choose to use your time wisely and start a project you've been talking about doing for months. Most days there'll be games kicking off from five pm onwards which will give you the whole evening to yourself.

Whether it's getting fit, doing the garden, writing a book, now is the time. You have four weeks of freedom so use them to do something for you, even if it's just organising that girl's weekend away you've been talking about forever. Spending the day in a spa and the night in a bar with your friends will make the World Cup seem like a distant memory.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em

Sometimes you just have to accept the inevitable, the World Cup is coming and try as you might you can't stop it, so why not embrace it?

At the end of the day (a phrase you will hear every footballer say at least once during the tournament) an event of this scale is quite a spectacle and, just like the Olympics, there's scope for everyone to enjoy it.

Think about it, when everyone gets caught up in Olympic fever and cheering on shot-putters and javelin throwers, how much do they really know about the sports? Not a lot, yet they still cheer them on and get involved because it feels good to all be part of something so big.

Get the girls together, organise a World Cup sweepstake then you'll all have a team to cheer for which makes it a little more interesting.

Drop a knowledge bomb

Finally, if you are going to settle down and watch some of the games with your footie obsessed partner, then try to learn a few facts about the tournament.

Try something along the lines of: "I wonder if all this drama over Neymar's transfer fee and accusations of Barcelona avoiding tax in the deal will affect his performance? I mean he's only young and as Brazil's poster boy it's a lot of scrutiny to deal with."

It'll be worth it just for the look of confusion mixed with admiration on your sofa mate's face. Probably best to actually look up the back story on that first just in case you get asked any follow-up questions, try BBC sport.