Three in Four Canadians are Proud of Canada’s Qualification in the Women’s FIFA World Cup

Toronto, ON, July 19, 2023 – On July 20^th, Canada will gear up to take part in the nineth edition of the Women’s FIFA World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand. According to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News, many are taking pride in this year’s tournament, with 75% of Canadians saying Team Canada’s qualification in women’s World Cup soccer makes them proud to be Canadian (24% strongly; 51% somewhat). This is 6 points higher than for the men’s World Cup in 2022. Women (78% vs. 73% men) are more likely to express pride in Canada’s participation in this year’s women’s World Cup, and they are also more likely to agree (83% vs. 76% men) that the women’s FIFA World Cup is an opportunity to advance women’s sports in general, not just soccer.

One-Third of Canadians Say the Women’s FIFA World Cup is More Important to Them than the Olympics, Higher than for the Men’s World Cup

Despite expectations of total viewership to reach a record-breaking 2 billion this year, not all Canadians will be tuning in to women’s FIFA World Cup. Four in ten (41%) will be paying close attention to the matches this summer. This proportion is 7 points higher than those who said they would watch the men’s World Cup in 2022 (34%). Further, a third of Canadians (34%) place higher importance on the women’s FIFA World Cup than they do on the Olympics (34%); for comparison, 26% said the men’s World Cup was as important to them as the Olympics.

Interest in the World Cup is driven by age. Millennials (45%) and Boomers (44%) are more likely than Gen Xers (36%) to be tuning in to watch the women’s FIFA World Cup this summer. Gen Z (39%) and Millennials (40%), however, are more likely than Boomers (28%) to say that the women’s FIFA World Cup is more important to them than the Olympics.

Regionally, Canadian residents in British Columbia (49%) and Ontario (47%) are more likely to be tuning in to the matches this summer compared to those in Quebec (34%). Those in Ontario (37%) are more likely than Albertans (25%) to say that the women’s World Cup is more important to them than the Olympics.

Seven in ten (69%) go on to say that Canada’s qualification for the women’s FIFA World Cup demonstrates that the country is a sports powerhouse, 10 points higher than reported in November about the men’s FIFA World Cup. Moreover, women (75% vs. 64% men) and those living in British Columbia (78%) and Atlantic Canada (78%) compared to those in Quebec (63%) are more likely to agree with this sentiment.

An Opportunity to Advance Women in Sports

The women’s FIFA World Cup is not only an opportunity to advance women’s participation in soccer, but sports in general, according to 80% of Canadians. Women (83%) are more likely than men (76%) to agree, as are Boomers (88%) compared to younger generations (74% Gen Z; 76% Millennials; 78% Gen X).

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of Canadians say that the women’s FIFA World Cup is an important demonstration of gender equality in sports, supported more by women (79%) than men (68%); 72% go on to say that the women’s FIFA World Cup is also an important demonstration of gender equality in general, again with more support from women (78%) than men (66%). There is little variation in opinion across age groups.

Across provinces, British Columbians (90%) are more likely to say that the women’s FIFA World Cup presents an opportunity to advance women’s sports in general, not just soccer, compared to all other provinces (80% Alberta; 80% Saskatchewan and Manitoba; 78% Ontario; 78% Quebec; 80% Atlantic Canada).

Women’s World Cup Predictions: Who Will Take Home the Cup?

On day one of the match, Canada will go head-to-head with Nigeria, followed by Ireland on match day 2 and Australia on match day 3. Although 44% of Canadians are not sure how far Canada will get in the tournament, many of them have their predictions. Fourteen percent say Canada will go on to win the World Cup, while 6% say they will be eliminated in the initial group stage. Eight percent predict Team Canada will be eliminated in the round of 16 (second round), while one in ten (11%) say they will be knocked out in the quarter-finals. Almost the same proportion (12%) say they will be eliminated in the semi-finals, and 6% predict losing in the finals. Notably, 25% of Canadians say will be cheering primarily for another country. Gen Z (38%) and Millennials (39%) are more likely to cheer for another country than Gen Xers (23%) and Boomers (9%).

Compared to predictions about the men’s World Cup last year, Canadians who express an opinion appear more confident in the women’s team winning earlier on than for the men’s team last year, where more predicted the team would be eliminated within the first few rounds. However, more Canadians say they are not sure about the outcome of the women’s matches than the men’s (32%).

 

How Far Canadians Think Canada Will Go in Women’s FIFA World Cup Tournament

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between June 20^th to 21^st, 2023, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

 

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Senior Vice President, Ipsos Public Affairs Canada
[email protected]

1 416-324-2002

 

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