WASHINGTON (AP) – This World Cup gave U.S. soccer fans plenty to cheer about, even though a new survey shows most Americans are still on the sidelines.
new vote from ipsos sportsThis article, provided exclusively to The Associated Press, shows that the World Cup has excited soccer fans and piqued the interest of many Americans, even though the sport faces an uphill climb to reach mainstream popularity in the United States.
Despite such challenges, many U.S. adults were excited about the U.S. advance to the knockout round of the world cup. Most U.S. soccer fans are satisfied with U.S. Men’s National Team Performanceand the overwhelming majority are excited about the remaining matches of the World Cup.
The poll was conducted June 26-28 after the U.S. advanced from the group stage, but before the group stage. Victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the knockout round.
Soccer fans excited about USMNT performance
Roughly 6 in 10 soccer fans are “very” or “extremely” excited about the U.S. advancing to the finals, significantly higher than the 25% of Americans overall who said the same.
Supporters of the U.S. men’s national soccer team are arriving from across the San Francisco Bay Area ahead of Wednesday’s FIFA World Cup finals match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The United States is once lost in history They reached the knockout round. The last time they won in the finals before Wednesday was in 2002.
The poll was taken before the U.S. win against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but fans were already praising the U.S. men’s team’s strong performance in the group stage. Most soccer fans (55%) say the U.S. team is doing “very well” or “very well.” Approximately one-quarter thought things were going “somewhat well.”
Similarly, about half of soccer fans say the United States’ role in co-hosting the World Cup is going at least “very” well.
There is less enthusiasm for FIFA’s role in organizing the World Cup. Only about a third of U.S. soccer fans say things are going “extremely” or “extremely.” During the tournament, FIFA faced criticism, including: Mandatory hydration breaks Some people say ruin the momentum of the gameas well as cooperating with Travel restrictions and visa denials against Iran.
The poll found that Americans and soccer fans are almost evenly divided when it comes to whether they have a positive or negative opinion of FIFA. About 2 in 10 U.S. adults have a positive view of FIFA, while 25% have a negative view. Most Americans (55%) don’t have an opinion.
Will this be the moment Americans turn to soccer? Probably not
Even with the World Cup in their backyard, getting Americans interested in soccer is not easy.
Only about 2 in 10 Americans consider themselves fans of international or U.S. soccer, far behind the percentages who root for pro football, basketball, and baseball. And while roughly one-third of U.S. adults say they’ve heard or read “a lot” about the World Cup, most say they’ve heard at least “a little.”
Roughly two in 10 U.S. adults (17%) say they are “very” or “extremely” excited about the remaining World Cup matches. a little higher than that May Ipsos pollbut points out the challenges involved in trying to turn America into a soccer nation.
Although most Americans expect the World Cup to increase other Americans’ interest in soccer, relatively few say it has personally increased their interest in soccer. About 6 in 10 U.S. adults think Americans as a whole will become more passionate about soccer because of the World Cup, while 24% say they personally agree.
But soccer fans are especially optimistic. About three-quarters of U.S. soccer fans expect this year’s World Cup to increase Americans’ general interest in soccer, compared to about half of non-soccer fans. Around half of soccer fans say the World Cup has increased their interest in soccer, while only 17% of non-fans say the same.
Many Americans will watch the game and follow social media
There are other ways people can participate in the World Cup other than watching the games.
About 4 in 10 U.S. adults (including about half of soccer fans) say they have used social media to keep up with their teams and players.
Roughly a quarter of Americans have gone to a restaurant or bar to watch a game or plan to watch a game, and two in 10 have gone to a World Cup watching party. Approximately 2 in 10 U.S. adults and 33% of U.S. soccer fans say they have purchased official team merchandise, such as jerseys, posters, or scarves.
As the sportsbook notes, World Cup betting exceeded expectations Amid the USMNT’s success, polls show that about 1 in 10 Americans say they have officially bet on the game. Approximately 5% said they had used prediction markets to trade match results.
and, Official and unofficial watch parties Games will be held in host cities across the United States, and 8% of respondents said they have attended a game in the host city.
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The Ipsos Sports poll of 1,027 adults was conducted June 26-28 using a sample drawn from Ipsos’ probability-based KnowledgePanel. The margin of sampling error for all adults is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
