Sports have always been a form of entertainment that unite people around the globe. One of the most-watched sports is football with its popular annual event – FIFA World Cup. The YouGov Sport reveals the level of interest in the championship worldwide. Find more blog posts on the GBC Time website.
According to the YouGov Global Fan Profiles research, 45% of consumers across 50 markets see the World Cup as one of their top interests. YouGov experts insist on the highest level of popularity for FIFA, compare to other sports events around the globe. But still, there is a competing event that overtakes FIFA in interest. Multi-sport Summer Olympics is considered to be the most popular sports event (50%).
Deep analysis of interest in FIFA
Let us compare consumers’ interest Olympic Games with the World Cup
| Country | Olympic Games | FIFA World Cup |
| MENA | 40% | 61% |
| South America | 45% | 67% |
| South Africa | 57% | 71% |
| North America | 41% | 27% |
| APAC | 53% | 44% |
| Europe | 48% | 45% |
Obviously, the demographic factor is one of the main drivers for the level of interest. Therefore, it is quite clear that the biggest difference in interest is collected in North America and MENA. Talking about Europe, consumers find these events as the same interesting championships.
Speaking of data in specific countries, in China people are more interested in Olympic Games (60%) than in FIFA (35%). Canadian sports fans also demonstrate a low level of the interest in World Cup (29%), compared to the Olympic Games with an interest of 49%, the difference is significant. American consumers demonstrate a higher interest in the Games as well (36%), while 18% of sports fans watch FIFA. However, there is a country, where sports fans actively watch both events (57% and 55%) – Mexica. These three countries will be hosting the FIFA World CUP in 2026 collectively.
Interest among age groups
Group of younger age demonstrates higher interest in FIFA. Talking more specifically, consumers from 18 to 24 find the football tournament more often (45%) than Olympic Games (40%). The next age group from 25 to 34 demonstrates the same data.
Considering the older age group, consumers are interested in Olympic Games quite more. 51% for the Olympic Games and 34% for FIFA – among sports fans of age 55+.
Sports preferences among gender
Considering the level of popularity among female and male groups, the difference is quite large. Female consumers demonstrate more interest in sports events – 55% for FIFA and 52% for Olympic Games. At the same time, women are interested in Olympic Games (47%) more than in FIFA (35%).
Why FIFA World Cup is popular?
The YouGov researchers are sure that one of the drivers of popularity is the gaming industry. Gamers around the globe actively download games related to football themes. In the UK, gamers are more interested in FIFA that regular football fans (49% vs 41%). The analogical situation is in Germany and the US.
