ALMOST half of all Scotswomen are interested in football but few regularly attend matches, often because their husbands or partners actively discourage it, a survey reveals today.

A total of 49% of Scottish women say they are ''obsessively, passionately, or moderately'' interested in the sport, according to the survey for the Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS), the Scottish League Cup sponsor.

However, despite their interest, only 15% regularly go to matches and 26% attend occasionally. The survey findings will raise concern that a large source of income among women fans is remaining untapped at a time when Scottish football is in a parlous state, with most clubs struggling financially and some in administration.

Many observers in the sport believe that if more women could be persuaded to follow their passion and go to matches, it could give some clubs a lifeline.

While the proportion of women going to matches has steadily risen in recent years, the study suggests there are many thousands more who would like to join them in the stands of football grounds across the country. The survey shows that only 14% of husbands or boyfriends regularly invite their partners to accompany them to matches. A total of 46% said they were invited occasionally, but 40% said they were never asked.

When asked to give their main reasons for not going to football matches, 42% blamed their partners' failure to invite them, 22% said it was bad language and crowd behaviour that put them off, and 28% said they did not have the time.

Only 8% said they did not go because they believed football was a ''man's game for men''. If given the choice of going to a football match or shopping for clothes, just over half the women interviewed (54%) said they would prefer to shop.

Despite their partners' unwillingness to invite them to matches, only 22% of women looked upon themselves as football ''widows''. Four in 10 said appreciation of the game was what they liked most about going to matches, with 26%) citing their partners' company as the main attraction. The survey also reveals that younger women are keenest to go to more matches. Of those who said they would like to go more often, 41% were aged between 16 and 24, falling to just 5% for women aged 55 and above.

Louise Ferguson, CIS sponsorship officer who supervises its involvement with football in Scotland, said: ''I love going to football games. It's a great sport and I'm not surprised that more and more women are becoming fans.''

Andy Mitchell, a spokesman for the Scottish Football Association, said: ''We certainly try to encourage a wider audience for football and a lot of clubs have schemes to encourage people who wouldn't normally come to football.

''There were very few women who went to football matches in the 1970s, but I think the figure is now between 15% and 20% of total audiences. It is not equality, but it is rising.

''The reason for the increasing number of women is the all-seater stadia, the improved facilities and better toilets which make football more attractive for everyone. It is now acceptable for women to come to football matches and we should all encourage more of them to do so. Football needs all the spectators it can get.''

Many Scottish clubs have a large proportion of female spectators. A memorable feature of Celtic's 80,000 following at the Uefa Cup final in Seville last May was the number of women who travelled to the Spanish city for the match.

Women account for about 10-15% of Celtic's 53,000 season ticket holders.

The Scottish Women's Football Association said at the time of the Uefa Cup final that many clubs were beginning to realise the ''huge untapped potential of support'' among women.

'The atmosphere is second to none'

MELISSA Connell caught the football bug as a little girl, when her father took her to her first Celtic match, and that experience has remained with the 22-year-old Glaswegian.

A regular at Celtic Park with boyfriend Carl Kelly, also 22, from Drongan, Ayrshire, the student said: ''I really enjoy it because of the atmosphere and the craic. Sometimes you do feel a bit out of place as a woman, but on the whole I think a lot of matches are quite women-friendly.''

Melissa, who believes football is still a male-dominated sport but is convinced that is changing, added: ''I think more women should go because it is really good fun.''

CAROLINE Cuthill, a 38-year-old mother of two from Portlethen, near Aberdeen, is a keen follower of the Dons and attends games with husband Paul and daughter Danielle, 12.

''I go wherever Aberdeen go,'' she said. ''The atmosphere of a match is second to none . . . I'm always amazed by how many women now go to the football. Long ago it was seen as a sport purely for men, but I think it's now beginning to become more accessible to us.

''It's great being able to go with my husband and daughter every week and to make the game a family day out.''

EMMA Bryce, 20, from Dunfermline, is an avid Hibernian supporter and said playing football at primary school sparked her interest in the game.

She said: ''I'm much more interested in football now than I was in previous years just because my boyfriend is a fan (although he supports Dunfermline) and there are a lot of males in his family who are all into football.

She added: ''Women have every right to enjoy football.''