Geographic Segmentation - World Map

USA

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Soccer fans are younger and more diverse than general sports fans in the United States. More than half (54%) of the respondents who identified as soccer fans were under the age of 45, compared to NBA (51%), NFL (46%) and MLB (43%). MLS says it boasts the youngest fan base of any men’s pro league in the country. Not only are U.S. soccer fans younger, but they’re also more culturally diverse, with 40% being fans of colour. MLS reports approximately 30% of its fans are Hispanic or Latino.

United Kingdom

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Among UK Premier League fans, Manchester United is the most commonly supported side with 15% of them indicating so. The Red Devils are also the most popular among older audiences although with a lower share (13%). Next in the ranking is Liverpool, followed by Arsenal, and Manchester City. According to Statista (2024), football is not only the most popular sport to watch and spectate in the United Kingdom (UK) and England but also the most popular team sport to participate in, with roughly 2.1 million people in England playing at least twice per month in 2023.

Spain

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Fc Barcelona is the most popular football club in Spain. In Spain, football is the most popular sport by participation. Football has a long tradition in the country, with its history dating back to the beginning of the 19th century and its first official club founded in Huelva in 1889. Nowadays, there are over 30 000 officially recognized football clubs (Statista, 2024).

Italy

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43% of Serie A fans show a strong attachment to their team. Among them, young people and men tend to be more devoted to their favourite Club, while the more “placid” supporters include mainly women and those over 65. Passionate fans represent the largest group (37%), followed by partially interested fans (22%) and big-event fans (21%). A smaller percentage (14%) declare themselves informed fans, while “only” 6% say they are diehard fans. Differences between categories also emerge in demographics: some groups appear more male dominated (diehard and passionate fans), while others have a higher female presence (3 out of 4 partially interested fans are women). Furthermore, in some categories (such as diehard fans), younger people are more numerous, whereas, in other categories, more mature fans dominate.

USA

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According to a Statista survey carried out in January 2020, the largest share of Brazil's soccer fanbase was composed by FOMO followers, meaning fans who are interested in this sport because of their friends. As of January 2020, around 46% of Brazilians considered themselves to be soccer fans. Main Eventers constituted the second largest group of the Brazilian soccer fandom, with a share of 19 percent of respondents. This type of fan follows soccer only in major events or tournaments. In the same study, almost eight out of ten Brazilians interviewed were in some way interested in soccer. The enjoyment of watching a football match at the stadium, is a cultural characteristic of the Brazilian fans. This factor shows that regardless of external factors, such as violence, poor organisation, corruption, incompetent management and adverse results, there is no substitute for watching a match live in the arenas/stadiums in Brazil. You should also read Chapter 20 of your core text, Routledge Handbook of Sports Fans and Fandom, The Ecosystem of Football Supporter Groups in Brazil.

Argentina

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There is not a sport more popular in Argentina than soccer. For generations, Argentinians of all ages have filled stadiums and streets to celebrate victories and support one another during defeats. This sport’s popularity in the South American nation has been strengthen by Argentina’s predominant place on the global soccer stage. In addition to winning three trophies at the prestigious FIFA World Cup, Argentina has also produced some of the finest football players to grace the field: Lionel Messi, who is arguably one of the best soccer players of all time based on his record-breaking number of Ballon d’Or trophies, as well as the well-remembered Diego Maradona, who captained the national team during their World Cup triumph back in 1986. According to Statista in Argentina in 2021, more than 90% of the responding men reported being interested in soccer. In the case of women, approximately eight in ten respondents said the same. This cultural significance of football has seeped into every aspect of Argentine life, influencing its art, music, and literature, creating a rich tapestry that portrays the nation’s identity.

Australia

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In a Statista survey conducted in Australia in 2020, responses showed that attendance to Australia Football League matches was dominated by people aged under 35 years old, with approximately 819 000 attendees from this age group. The 65 and over age group reported the lowest attendance to AFL matches in 2020. 40% of soccer / football fans have a high annual household income (Statista, 2024). Soccer has more than 1.7 million participants through clubs or venues, according to AusPlay statistics.

South Africa

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Football is referred to as Soccer in South Africa. It is the most popular sport in the country. 39% of soccer / football fans have a high annual household income. Most South African football fans watch PSL games on TV at home, with 61% saying they always watch PSL matches on TV at home. Small matches are attended by groups of friends and family spending R185 per person per small match, normally groups of seven people, R1,295 per group. Mega matches and its groups of five people spent R2,785 per match. Of the 13 million soccer viewers the average SABC viewer (46% female and 54% male) earns R5,645 per month and the average SuperSport viewer (38% female and 62% male) earns R16,165 per month. Of 13 million soccer viewers 35% or 4,5 million is in Gauteng.

Saudi Arabia

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The majority of the fans (50.8%) have attended football matches in the stadium while only 23.7% of the total participants in the study stated that their favourite way to watch their team is by attending to the stadiums, this percentage is a huge in relation to a previous study done by Binjwaied et. al, (2015) which stated that only 1.9% of Saudi football fans prefer to watch the matches in the stadiums. 83.6% of the participants are willing or planning to attend the football matches in the Saudi football league which could be related to the improvements made by the ministry of sports in Saudi Arabia to attract the fans to attend. Nowadays, social media platforms play a major role in the relationship between the football club and the fans, Twitter for example is a perfect social media platform to let the football clubs engage with the fans and increase the fans’ loyalty in Saudi Arabia.

India

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India’s estimated sports audience base is a staggering 678 million, with football having an estimated 305 million fans. The majority of India's fans are from Kerala and West Bengal, followed by Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Despite the spike in media attention and popularity of the game, only one-third of the respondents who expressed interest in football were women. In India, football continues to entice more men. Football fanaticism strongly correlates with age; most fans we identified fall within the 18–25 age range.

China

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According to Statista, in 2022, an estimation of about 200 million people in China were football enthusiasts. As the country's disposable income level is on a rise, more fans would be willing to pay to watch football matches. Compared with the football fandom in Europe and South America, Chinese football fandom only really emerged from the 1980s. However, from the start, such fandom was associated with people’s national and local identities. Based on estimated number of fans, Real Madrid is the most popular European football club in China. As of 2019, Real Madrid had about 127 million fans in China according to estimates, followed by Manchester United FC and Inter Milan.