Femail Father tricks his wife into naming their daughter after his favourite football team - and it took her TWO YEARS to figure out why he chose to name the child 'Lanesra'

A football-mad Australian father has named his baby girl after his favourite team - but managed to keep the inspiration behind the unusual name a secret from the mother for two years.

The unidentified father's sneaky behaviour was revealed in a letter the young girl's mother wrote to a magazine.

Clare Smith, from Blacktown - a suburb in Sydney's west - told a story claiming she thought her partner had chosen the name 'Lanesra' because it was 'unique and romantic romantic'. 

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A football-mad father has cheekily managed to name his baby girl after his favourite team - without telling the mother the meaning behind the unique choice

'We chose our daughter's name, Lanesra, because it was unique and romantic,' the letter in the magazine reads. 

'It wasn't 'til she was two that my husband told me it was actually his favourite soccer team, Arsenal, spelled backwards!''.