Six in ten South Africans plan on watching the 2022 FIFA World Cup

With a 39% global country average of people saying they follow football (soccer), it is clear that the FIFA World Cup is a phenomenon to the sport, with more than half (55%) of all adults across 34 countries intending to watch at least some of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held from November 20 to December 18 in Qatar, UAE.

In spite of the fact that Bafana Bafana will not be representing South Africa at the spectacle in Qatar, three quarters of online South Africans (76%) are aware of the coming big attraction of the FIFA World Cup and many are preparing themselves to watch the matches - and this group of fans have their firm favourites.

When asked who they think will play in the final, Brazil (16%) and Germany (16%) are mentioned by the same proportion of supporters, closely followed by France (13%).  All the other participating countries were mentioned as well, albeit by smaller proportions. However, if it depended only on the opinions of South Africans, it does not look as if Africa’s chances of having a team in the final are seen as very high – Cameroon was mentioned by 2% and Senegal and Tunisia by 1% each of South African adults.

This month-long event is a shared occasion, with most of those South Africans who plan to watch, planning to do so with family and friends (90%), but many also plan to do so with colleagues (61%) – and one in four expect they will miss work or school to watch games (25%).

Worldwide, Brazil is the country most widely expected to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup with 21% of 22,528 adults under the age of 75 voting for them, followed by Germany (13%), Argentina (10%), and France (10%). The survey was conducted between August 26 and September 9 on Ipsos’s Global Advisor online survey platform.

Key Findings:

On average across the 34 countries surveyed:

• 39% say they follow football, including 17% who describe themselves as passionate about it
• 55% of all adults say they plan to watch at least some part of the World Cup. Viewing intent exceeds 75% in the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Brazil, and India
• 75% of those who intend to watch the World Cup plan to do so at least in part on a TV set, 35% on the internet, 26% on a mobile device, and 13% on a tablet
• Among those who plan to watch any of the month-long competition
  • 85% expect they will do so with family and/or friends
  • 57% expect they will do so with colleagues
  • 53% expect they will go to a bar or a restaurant to see it
  • 46% expect they will buy World Cup-theme products
  • 34% plan to keep a good luck charm with them during the games
  • 31 % expect they’ll miss work or school to watch a game

Passion for Football (Soccer)

On average across all 34 countries surveyed, 17% describe themselves as “passionate” followers who “will watch as many games as possible at any given time” and 23% 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 39% of adults surveyed globally.

Another 21% say they “very occasionally watch football/soccer games played by leading league/club and national teams” while the remaining 40% either do not watch any games at all or are not aware of the upcoming World Cup.

With 27% of South Africans saying they are passionate about football/soccer and will watch as many games as possible at any given time, and 23% saying they follow football/soccer but only watch games played by their favourite league/club and national team, it is no surprise that South Africa ranks 12th on the list for those stating that they plan to watch any part of the World Cup (66%).

Only 5% of South Africans stated that they do not plan to watch, with another 5% undecided.

The intensity of football following varies more by gender than it does by age. On average globally, football following is about twice as high among males (51% are followers, including 24% who are “passionate” about it) as it is among females (28% are followers, including 9% who are passionate). Of note, it is just as high among those aged 35-49 as it is among those under 35 (43% followers, 19% passionate in both age groups), but somewhat lower among those aged 50-74 (31% followers, 12% passionate)

Among the surveyed countries with a national team competing this year, more than three in four adults in Argentina, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil plan to watch at least some of the games vs. just one in four in the United States and Canada. In European countries that won the World Cup at least once, viewing intent is on par with the global average in Spain, Italy (although its national team did not qualify this year), and Great Britain (which will have two teams, England and Wales, competing in Qatar). However, it is lower than average in Germany and even more so in France.

Globally, the average proportion of those intending to watch the 2022 competition is higher among males (66%) than it is among females (45%). It is identical among adults under the age of 35 and those aged 35-49 (59%) and comparatively lower among those aged 50-74 (47%).

Among all adults surveyed in each of the countries, an average of 41% say they intend to watch at least part of the World Cup on a television set, 20% on the internet, 15% on a mobile device, and 5% on the radio. In South Africa, these numbers rise, with 53% saying they will be watching on a television set, 26% on the internet, 21% on a mobile device and 10% will listen on the radio.

The countries that are most “unconscious” about the 2022 FIFA World Cup taking place, where more than half of respondents said that they are unaware, are the United States (62%), Japan (57%), Canada (55%), Hungary (53%), and Australia (50%).

Expected winner and runner-up

Brazil’s team is most widely expected to win the tournament. On average across all 34 countries surveyed, 21% of those who have seen, heard, or read anything about the 2022 World Cup, believe the South Americans will take home the trophy. Following Brazil are Germany (13%), Argentina (10%), France (10%), Spain (7%), England (6%), Portugal (4%), the Netherlands (2%), and Belgium (2%).

Argentina and Brazil stand out as the two countries whose citizens most display “patriotic optimism”: 73% in Argentina expect their national team, la Albiceleste, to win the tournament; 66% in Brazil expect their Seleçao to do so. Next, but far behind are Spain (31%), France (27%), and Germany (23%). In each of the other 10 countries surveyed competing in the tournament, fewer than 20% believe their national team will win.

Brazil and Germany are tied as the countries whose team is most expected to be the runner-up each selected by a global average of 13% of all adults aware of the tournament. They are followed by France (11%), Argentina (8%), England (8%), Spain (7%), Portugal (4%), Belgium (3%), the Netherlands (3%), and the United States (2%).

About the Study

These are the findings of a 34-country Ipsos survey conducted August 26 – September 9, 2022, among 22,528 adults aged 18-74 in Canada, the Republic of Ireland, Israel, Malaysia, South Africa, Turkey, and the United States, 20-74 in Thailand, 21-74 in Indonesia and Singapore, and 16-74 in 24 other countries, via Ipsos’s Global Advisor online survey platform.