Most Americans expect the 2026 World Cup to increase U.S.’ interest in soccer

Washington, D.C., July 2, 2026 – A majority (57%) of Americans say they think the 2026 FIFA World Cup will increase America’s general interest in soccer, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted June 26-28. Two in five (40%) say it will have no impact on America’s interest in soccer and 2% say it will decrease America’s interest.

Overall, 44% of Americans plan to watch the World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. When it comes to viewing plans, 40% say they plan to use social media to keep up with teams and players in the World Cup, 27% plan to go to a restaurant or bar to watch a game, and 19% plan to attend a watch party. Just 9% of World Cup viewers plan to place an official bet on the games, either online or in-person, while just 5% plan to trade on game outcomes using a prediction market.

The poll, which was conducted before the U.S. match against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the first knockout stage of the World Cup, also found that 46% of Americans and 82% of World Cup viewers are at least somewhat excited about the U.S. men’s national team advancing to the knockout round.

More broadly, America’s overall excitement about the World Cup has grown compared to before the tournament started, with excitement rising from 25% in May to 38% in July. In addition, half (49%) of World Cup viewers say the tournament has increased their personal interest in soccer (48% no impact, 3% decrease).

When it comes to the U.S.’ role in hosting the World Cup, 53% say it is going at least somewhat well so far, compared to just 9% that say it is going not very well or not well at all and 37% that are unsure.

The poll also covered attitudes to FIFA, the organization that governs international soccer. Overall, 19% hold a favorable view of the organization, compared to 25% that hold an unfavorable view and 55% that don’t know. Views vary across party lines: Republicans are more likely to hold favorable views of FIFA (24% favorable, 14% unfavorable), while Democrats (19% favorable, 34% unfavorable) and independents (18% favorable, 29% unfavorable) tilt unfavorable.

About the Study

This Ipsos poll was conducted June 26-28, 2026, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,027 general population adults aged 18 or older.

The study was conducted in English. The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race and ethnicity, census region, metropolitan status, education, household income, 2024 vote choice, and political party identification. Political party identification benchmarks are from the 2025 NPORS annual survey, with a midyear adjustment estimated across aggregated KnowledgePanel surveys accounting for changes in panelists’ party identification over time. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2025 March supplement of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS).

• Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45-59 and 60+)
• Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
• Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or higher)
• Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
• Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
• Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
• 2024 Vote Choice (Trump, Harris, Another candidate, Did not vote)
• Political Party ID (Democrat, Lean Democrat, Republican, Lean Republican, Independent/Something else)

The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.33. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Alec Tyson
Senior Vice President, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]

Johnny Sawyer
Senior Research Manager, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]

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