The State of Soccer [REPORT]

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises released a timely report titled The Future Is Fútbol to define and characterize the fundamental shift in the importance of soccer in mainstream American sports and the role Latinos are playing in this economic, cultural and media phenomenon. The Future Is Fútbol report draws on primary and secondary research and data collection, including quantitative surveys and an innovative neuroscience study among bilingual Hispanics.

Fútbol has an estimated 5 billion fans around the world and 85 million adult followers in the U.S. Gallup estimates that soccer has seen a significant increase in popularity, with a gain of 52% more fans from 2012 to 2019, compared to 27% growth in basketball and 8% growth in baseball during this period. Fueled by its growing popularity among young people and women in particular, as well as Latinos overall, the sport is benefiting from the tailwinds of growth driven by the FIFA World Cup 2022TM – kicking off in November in Qatar – and the tournament’s arrival in the U.S. in 2026.

“Fútbol is the sport of America’s future. Soccer is growing in the U.S. and Hispanics are clearly leading the way,” said Monica Gil, Chief Administrative and Marketing Officer, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. “Every four years, the FIFA World Cup TM brings Latinos and non-Latinos together with a spirit and intensity that no other sporting event in the world can match. There is no more authentic way to experience the World Cup than in Spanish. For companies and brands seeking real cultural connection and a space to engage Latinos, soccer and the FIFA World Cup TM are the place to be, this fall and for years to come.”

According to the report, the World Cup is considered more important among Hispanic World Cup viewers than any other sporting event, including the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Olympic Games, or the NBA Finals. FIFA reported that the 2018 FIFA World CupTM reached over half the global population with 3.57 billion viewers. In 2018, the World Cup had its greatest 32-day performance in Spanish-language media history, with a commanding total U.S. audience reach of 37 million.

The Future Is Fútbol further highlights the power of soccer as a multibillion-dollar business with profits of $40 billion in 2019, twice the worldwide revenue for American football. Fans follow players and teams year-round as celebrities and representatives of national origin and sources of local pride. U.S. soccer fans spend 7% more than the average American sports fan on team sports clothing, tickets, sports equipment, and memorabilia. In 2021, soccer matches were available almost every day, with only six days without a match on broadcast TV, a phenomenon that offers brands, retailers and advertisers alike an advantage like no other sports property.

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Methodology: The Future Is Fútbol Report draws on primary and secondary research and data collection. For the primary data initiative, researchers relied on quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews with Enthusiasts and Superfans, and a neuroscience study with bilingual Hispanics. This research is about people who plan to watch the FIFA World Cup 2022™, referred to in the report as World Cup viewers. The quantitative phase consisted of a national survey fielded among World Cup viewers ages 16 and older using a hybrid online and intercept in-person sampling framework to ensure representation of the hard-to-reach population. The sample consisted of 1,351 completed interviews among 967 Latinos and 384 non-Latinos, representative of soccer followers in the U.S. Estimates of soccer fandom and World Cup viewing were derived from a national pre-survey screener. Fieldwork was conducted in February 2022. In the neuroscience study conducted by the firm Neuro-Insight, fluent Latino bilinguals were the target because they could watch the game in Spanish or English. This study measured the activity in different brain regions responsible for guiding viewing behavior. Metrics included the desire to watch certain content longer and the feeling of strong emotions during the experience. Bilingual Hispanics with similar demographics were divided into two groups to watch the same 2018 FIFA World Cup™ final (France vs. Croatia) match, with the only difference being the language of the broadcast.