Hoare-Laval Pact, which would accept the expansion of Italian Eritrea's sphere of influence over all of Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia). However, the treaty's unpopularity forced Hoare's resignation, and future British governments showed more opposition.<ref>James C. Robertson, “The Origins of British Opposition to Mussolini over Ethiopia.” Journal of British Studies''' , vol. 9, no. 1, 1969, pp. 122–142. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/175172</ref> The subsequent lack of recognition of Italian East Africa from Great Britain made it apparent that Italy would need to seek approval elsewhere. With Italy and Germany increasingly facilitating cooperation, Britain made an attempt to prevent Italy from further drifting into Germany's sphere of influence. On April 16, 1938, Italy and Britain signed the Easter Accords, which helped to obtain consensus over the status quo in the Arabian peninsula, uphold freedom of navigation in the Suez, and to preserve the peace between their colonial possessions in East Africa. Ethiopia was conveniently not named in the agreements. This ultimately proved to be insufficient in reattaining the previously friendly attitude between the two Empires. Owing to Mussolini's Axis Pact between his Italy and Hitler's Germany, in 1940 Italy joined the Second World War on the side of Germany. Britain and Italy were thus at war through the early 1940s, until the Allied invasion of Sicily ended with Italy's defeat in 1943. The Italian government overthrew Mussolini in 1943 and signed an armistice with the Allies. Germany meanwhile invaded the northern half of Italy, released Mussolini, and set up the Italian Social Republic, a puppet regime that helped Germany fight against the Allies until it collapsed in spring 1945. The United Kingdom and Italy now enjoy a warm and friendly relationship. Queen Elizabeth II made four state visits to the Italian Republic during her reign, in 1961, 1980, 2000, and April 2014, when she was received by President Giorgio Napolitano. Cultural relations Between 4 and 5 million British tourists visit Italy every year, while 1 million Italian tourists visit the UK. There are about 30,000 British nationals living in Italy, and 200,000 Italians living in the UK. In 2011, 7,100 Italian students were studying in UK universities, this is the seventh-highest figure amongst EU countries and fifteenth globally. Association football, in its modern form, was said to have been introduced to Italy by British expatriates during the 1880s. Genoa Cricket and Football Club, founded by Englishmen in 1893, was allegedly formed as a cricket club