The World Cup is now finally upon us, after the first match between Russia and Saudi Arabia officially kicked-off on Thursday 14 June.

Britain is a nation of football-lovers, so it makes complete sense that it’s people will want to enjoy the World Cup as much as they can. This is particularly true this time around, with the England team looking strong and some bookies estimating that we have a 71 per cent chance of reaching the knock-out rounds.

Each year, however, employees all across the country find themselves at loggerheads with their managers and bosses, as staff rush to book time off to watch the biggest games and fans whose holiday requests are shunned are forced to check scores on the sly whenever their bosses are looking the other way – perhaps even running the risk of facing disciplinary action.

Fortunately, contractors and freelancers will face none of the above problems this summer, due to the greater flexibility that self-employment provides.

Contractors can choose their own hours, take leave whenever it suits them and even schedule their workloads around ‘the beautiful game’ as much as they like.

These reasons – among many others – are why an ever-increasing number of Britons are opting to ‘be their own boss’ by taking advantage of the many fantastic opportunities working for themselves can bring.

For example, on top of the greater freedom contracting can offer, recent research suggests that the average contractor takes home approximately £5,414 more per year than the average traditional employee.