Why the popularity of football has been growing in recent years?

Last update 17 January, 2022 por Alberto Llopis

Más del 40% of the world's population define themselves as a football fan or follower, a sport with fans in all corners of the world. It is not surprising then that this sport discipline is known as the King Sport and that it is undoubtedly the most popular sport in the world., followed not so closely by basketball with 36%.

These figures are contained in the latest survey conducted by the marketing and data analysis company Nielsen. According to the same source, football is practiced by more than 1.000 million people in 200 countries and more than three billion are followers of this sport.

The numbers of football fans seem to be very high, but the truth is that apparently there is still a huge potential for growth in this sport, mainly in countries like China, India and the United States. In the United States, interest in this sport increased from 28% a 32% in the last four years.

There are several reasons for the increase in the popularity of soccer in the United States, but one of them is the rise of FIFA and the live football betting, where football fans can stay up to date by following live sporting events.

The popularity of football will continue to grow

As has already been said in this article, soccer is the most popular sport in the world and still has a lot of growth potential. The reasons for the King Sport to continue reaping followers are many, but we can detail the most important.

• Soccer grows in China and the United States

According to statements by Glenn Lovett, who was Global CEO of Nielsen Sports, “The extraordinary reach of soccer in countries and cultures around the world makes it unmatched among sports, in terms of value for the media and sponsors”.

This is particularly true in China, where interest in football is growing rapidly. En la Copa Mundial de Fútbol 2018 which took place in Russia, the number of fans of Chinese origin was remarkable, even though his team did not participate in the event. Before the event starts, they were sold 40.000 tickets to chinese buyers, 2 thirds of those bought by the Germans and more than those bought by the British.

In the United States, the King of Sport is making its way among the most followed disciplines in this country, such as basketball, American football and hockey. The United States Soccer League came in 2020 a los 28 equipment, its value reached $1.000 million and its audience exceeded 30%.

• Women's football is also growing

Women's football has enormous growth potential. His audience has increased at a rapid rate, but it has also done so in value. According to Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, "women's football is going to have the maximum growth in the next ten years".

The Women's Soccer World Cup 2019, made in France, was seen by 1.200 millions of people, more of 1 million people visited the stadiums and the final meeting of the event gathered an audience of more than 263 million people.

• Go e-sports

The growth of electronic sports is also contributing to the expansion of the King Sport. Some European soccer teams are investing in their own teams, in the interest of capturing the interest of more fans and it is expected that more and more clubs will do the same.

Soccer is a sport already consolidated at the zenith of world popularity. But its growth potential has not yet reached its maximum. Por el contrario, there is an important segment of the world population that could join the ranks of football fans in the coming years.