More than half of adults in Singapore plan to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup

A new Ipsos global survey finds that, on average across 34 countries, more than half of all adults plan to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held from November 20 to December 18 in Qatar.

Half of adults in Singapore (50%) also say that they intend to watch at least some of the month-long event, a significantly larger proportion than the 36% who say they follow football (soccer). Most of those who plan to watch plan to do it with family and friends, but many also plan to do so with colleagues – and 46% expect they will miss work or school to watch games.

Brazil is the country most widely expected to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup by adults in Singapore, followed by Germany, England, and France. The survey was conducted among 22,528 adults under the age of 75 between August 26 and September 9 on Ipsos’s Global Advisor online survey platform. This included about 500 Singaporeans aged 21 – 74 years.

Key Findings:

• 36% of Singaporean adults say they follow football, including 14% who describe themselves as passionate about it
• 50% of Singaporeans intend to watch at least some part of the World Cup
• 29% of those who intend to watch the World Cup plan to do so at least in part on a TV set, 24% on the internet, and 16% on a mobile device, and 9% on a tablet
• Among those who plan to watch any of the month-long competition,
  - 82% expect they will do so with family and/or friends
  - 55% expect they will do so with colleagues
  - 61% expect they will go to a bar or a restaurant to see for it
  - 52% expect they will buy World Cup-theme products
  - 47% plan to keep a good luck charm with them during the games
  - 46% expect they’ll miss work or school to watch a game
• Among Singaporeans who have seen, read, or heard about the tournament, 26% expect Brazil to be the winning country of the 2022 World Cup, 13% Germany, and 7% each England and France
  - Germany is expected to be the runner-up by 13%, both Brazil and France by 9%, England by 8%, Argentina by 7% and Spain by 5%
  - These expectations come close to those of global citizens who have seen, read or heard about the tournament - 21% expect Brazil to be the winning country, 13% Germany, and 10% each Argentina and France.

Detailed Findings

Football following

Of Singaporeans surveyed, 14% describe themselves as “passionate” followers who “will watch as many games as possible at any given time” and 22% say they follow the sport but will only watch games played by their favourite league or club and national team. Combined, after rounding, self-described football followers make up 36% of Singaporean adults surveyed.

Another 20% say they “very occasionally watch football/football games played by leading league/club and national teams” while the remaining 44% either do not watch any games at all or are not aware of the upcoming World Cup.

Countries with the largest proportions of football followers are, in order: Indonesia (69%), Saudi Arabia (67%), the United Arab Emirates (65%), and India (60%). The next tier consists of Argentina (51%), Brazil (50%), South Africa (50%), and Peru (49%). In contrast, fewer than one in five in Japan (14%), Canada (15%), Hungary (18%), and The United States (19%) describe themselves as football followers.

The intensity of football following varies more by gender than it does by age. In Singapore, football following is twice as high among males (48% are followers, including 20% who are “passionate” about it) as it is among females (24% are followers, including 8% who are passionate). Of note, football following is just as high across all age groups - aged under 35 (36% followers, 16% passionate), aged 35-49 (35% followers, 14% passionate), aged 50-74 (35% followers, 11% passionate).

Viewing intent

50% of all adults in Singapore say they plan to watch at least some part of the World Cup. This is similar to the global average of 55% adults who share this intent.

In Singapore, the average proportion of those intending to watch the 2022 competition is higher among males (65%) than it is among females (35%). Comparing between age groups, viewing intent is highest among adults aged 35-49 (54%), followed by those under the age of 35 (49%), and lowest among those aged 50-74 (46%).

Among all adults surveyed in Singapore, an average of 29% say they intend to watch at least part of the World Cup on a television set, 24% on the internet, 16% on a mobile device, and 9% on a tablet. Rebasing percentages only on those who intend to watch the World Cup on any device, finds that 42% of likely viewers plan to watch at least some of the competition on TV, 35% on the internet, 24% on a mobile device, and 13% on a tablet – and therefore, that many will use multiple devices to follow the month-long event.

On average, in Singapore:

• 40% of all adults surveyed (82% of likely viewers) expect they will do so with family and/or friends
• 27% of all adults surveyed (55% of likely viewers) expect they will do so with colleagues,
• 30% of all adults surveyed (61% of likely viewers) expect they will go to a bar or a restaurant
• 26% of all adults surveyed (52% of likely viewers) expect they will buy World Cuptheme products,
• 24% of all adults surveyed (47% of likely viewers) plan to keep a good luck charm with them during the games
• 23% of all adults surveyed (46% of likely viewers) expect they’ll miss work or school to watch a game

Expected winner and runner-up

Brazil’s team is most widely expected to win the tournament. 26% of adults in Singapore surveyed (vs 21% global average), of those who have seen, heard, or read anything about the 2022 World Cup 2022, believe Brazil will take home the cup. Following Brazil are Germany (13%), France (7%), England (7%), Argentina (6%) and Portugal (4%). Germany is expected to be the runner-up by 13%, both Brazil and France by 9%, England by 8%, Argentina by 7% and Spain by 5%.