I CANNOT be the only woman in the area who is set for some lonely weeks ahead, thanks to a certain global sporting tournament.

The World Cup commences next week – June 12 – and my husband has been frothing at the bit for some weeks now.

He is utterly football mad and has been all his life. He has always played it – in reality for a league team in Southampton and virtually on his PlayStation – and watched it and supported his home city team of Saints.

When we first became involved, I knew what I was in for, given the many Saturdays I spent alone and the amount of kit I ended up washing on his behalf.

Now, as the month-long celebration of the sport is almost upon us once more, he’s getting more and more excited.

He has the new white England shirt (one of his birthday presents) and he has been filling in the official Panini sticker book in the manner of a small child, thrilling as he spots a silver sticker in the pack, and playing ‘swapsies’ with his work colleagues.

The latter process has come a long way since the days of merely going through each other’s piles and spotting the ones you needed.

My husband has downloaded the album’s app on to his phone and, as he gets a sticker, he can scan it. This app then tells him what percentage of his album he has filled up, and easily identifies those stickers he still needs.

Thankfully, he’s definitely not alone in this ridiculousness – multiple news stories on the number of men in their 30s completing this very sticker album have appeared in the media over recent weeks!

For part of the tournament, we’ll be with my parents. It’s a relief that they know what he’s like and won’t therefore mind that all he wants to do is watch football – he’s one of those sorts who will have an interest in most, if not all, of the matches, as well as England’s games.

My dad will probably join him on the sofa and they’ll sit and quote statistics and discuss the beautiful game in the manner that men tend to do while my mum and I concentrate on looking after the four-year-old and feeding everyone.

And when the country’s team do take to the field, we’ll all join with him in enduring torturous minutes, praying for a miracle and cheering Roy and the squad on with all our might.

I’m hoping for the best, given the negative effect on his moods of an England loss, controversy or all-out disaster! Please let there be no missed goals, penalties or general not turning up, performance-wise. Fingers crossed.