In England, Victoria Beckham, wife of David Beckham, may reign as the resident Queen of the English Wags (the acronym for Wives And Girlfriends of footballers). However, an international crop of fresh-faced beauties are poised to fight it out for the title of queen.
1 Alena Seredova, 32, Czech Republic
Girlfriend of Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon
This former Miss Czech Republic was placed fourth in the 1998 Miss World
competition. She has been featured in adult magazines such as Penthouse and Playboy and was named the sexiest soccer Wag in the world by French sports newspaper, Les Dessous du Sport. Apart from being a model, she also has a clothing line in Italy called Baci e Abbracci.
2 Alessia Ventura, 30, Italian
Fiancee of Italian footballer Filippo Inzaghi
She started out as a model in Italy and moved into television when she was hired as a presenter for the Italian version of The Price Is Right, a popular American gameshow. She currently hosts Italy's SKY Cine News.
3 Sarah Brandner, 22, Germany
Girlfriend of German footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger
She met Schweinsteiger when she was a 19-year-old undergraduate and soon became Germany's equivalent of Victoria Beckham. In February, she was featured in the swimsuit issue of American magazine Sports Illustrated, wearing nothing but body paint in the form of the German football jersey.
4 Abigail Clancy, 24, England
Girlfriend of English footballer Peter Crouch
Her claim to fame is coming second in the 2006 British version of reality show America's Next Top Model. She has also been the face and body of English lingerie label Pussy Glamour and graced the cover of lad mag FHM four times. Earlier this year, the magazine ranked her number 10 in its annual 100 Sexiest Women In The World list.
5 Luli Fernandez, 22, Argentina
Girlfriend of Argentine soccer star Pablo Mouche
Nicknamed Chica Stone (she earned the moniker by having an affair with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger), she is one of Argentina's most popular young models. She has appeared on the cover of Britain's Maxim magazine and is featured along with three other Wags in sports label Umbro's ad blitz for its World Cup jersey (right).
>> Wag queens' photos
This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times.
