It's coming up to that time of year that the men of the world have spent four years waiting for.

The fridge is groaning under the weight of 50 lager cans, and you're lucky if you can even see a glint of light through the England flag-adorned front windows.

But many UK women are left wondering what all the fuss is about as they brace themselves for a colder bed while their partners spend every waking moment glued to the box.

Of course, this certainly doesn’t apply to all of us, like me, who’ll be gearing up for many a sleepless night worrying about my beloved Italy’s chances of victory.

I can’t bear the game when Italy aren’t playing, which makes me a bit of a fairweather football fan.

Carmella will be supporting Italy in the World Cup, but not every woman enjoys the tournament
Carmella will be supporting Italy in the World Cup, but not every woman enjoys the tournament

But as time goes on, I’d say more and more women are warming to the Beautiful Game and don’t mind sitting beside their other halves in the pub, clutching a pint and cheering for their country, not to mention the ever increasing amount of women footballers themselves nowadays.

But it's safe to say that for the football-loathing wives and girlfriends of 2014’s World Cup, they must prepare to put themselves well and truly on the backburner for the next few weeks.

For most of June, it'll probably be futile to even attempt asking your beloved's opinion on anything that isn't related to a football, England or Brazil. Husbands and boyfriends are committed to one thing only – the TV.

Let's face it – women can't compete with the World Cup. But honestly, do we really want to? A survey by Littlewoods Bingo found that more than 80% of women are anticipating constant arguments with their other halves, over how much football they will be watching.

And another survey, by Indesit, found that nearly a quarter of the 4,000 women questioned are privately hoping England will get knocked out of the World Cup at an early stage, while one in 20 fear their relationship could break up due to all the stress caused by the games.

I find that hard to believe. If it’s true, why on earth are these women wasting their energy worrying about a game of football and not rejoicing in three weeks of glorious man-free independence?

Granted, women's days of being chained to the kitchen sink and racing to get their husband's egg and chips on the table for 5pm sharp are well and truly over, but during a time when men are positively basking in their masculinity, non-football loving women should take advantage of this World Cup.

If you really couldn’t care less about the tournament, don’t waste energy getting annoyed about how much it’s dominating your man’s life – make the most of it by having time to yourself!

Take his credit card and go on a massive shopping spree. It’s the least he can do.