Baby boy boom triggered by 2010 World Cup in South Africa

Researchers have revealed a statistically significant increase in the number of boys born in South Africa in the ninth month after the 2010 Fifa World Cup of Football.

The first game of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Image by Shine 2010 / CC BY 2.0

The study, published in the Early Human Development journal, noted that the ratio of boys to girls born during that month was the highest recorded between 2003 and 2014. Dr Gwinyai Masukume of the University of the Witwatersrand, who was involved in the study, told News Day on BBC World Service: “The World Cup caused less stress, people were happier…people also probably had more sexual intercourse.” Researchers added that the more people have sexual intercourse, the higher tendency there is to have more males born than females. Read more: bbc.co.uk