NIELSEN RESEARCH COMPILED ahead of the FIFA 2026 World Cup shows soccer/football ranked first among adults in South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia, second behind cricket in India, and second behind baseball in Japan.
In the United States, Nielsen identified Hispanic audiences as a key growth driver for soccer:
· One in two U.S. Hispanics (first and second generation) identify as World Cup fans
· 47% expect their interest in the World Cup to increase over the next 18 months
· Hispanic fans are 87% more likely to have watched a World Cup qualifier in the past 12 months
· 39% of Hispanic soccer fans are more likely to be avid MLS fans
On social media, 94% of first- and second-generation Hispanic fans use social media for soccer content, and 81% plan to engage via social media during the tournament. Hispanic sports fans are 38% more likely to use TikTok for sports news than the general population.
From a marketing perspective, 32% of Hispanic sports fans consider a brand for the first time when it sponsors an event they follow, and they are 11% more likely to purchase a brand after seeing a sponsorship than the general population.
Nielsen’s data also shows Black Caribbean consumers are 52% more likely to be interested in soccer than adults overall, while 40% of Middle Eastern and Black audiences are more likely to be interested in soccer than the general population.
