The World Cup seems to have shaken off some of the controversy over working conditions in Qatar and human rights as viewership is up, especially in the United States.
About 3 in 5 U.S. soccer fans (58 percent) plan to watch this year's World Cup final on Sunday, according to a Morning Consult survey conducted last month. That's up from the 48 percent who said they watched in 2014, and the 45 percent who reported watching in 2018.
In terms of U.S. viewership, the Super Bowl, Olympics, baseball World Series, and more are still more popular. Among all U.S. adults in the Morning Consult survey, 45 percent said they were "very likely" to watch the Super Bowl, compared to 13 percent for the World Cup final. Yet with the next World Cup in North America in 2026, it seems possible interest will grow.
Sponsorship can bring major boosts to brands and it's worth noting that of the 76 FIFA sponsors, not one decided to pull out this year despite the Qatar controversy. Given the viewership increase, it seems possible brands might be willing to spend much more if they are bullish on trends.
Q: By 2026, could U.S. viewership of the World Cup exceed the Super Bowl?
Kelly Cunningham, San Diego Institute for Economic Research
NO: Trends clearly point to growing U.S. interest in the World Cup, but viewership needs to grow much more over the next four years to exceed the Super Bowl. Interest in the Super Bowl more than doubles the World Cup according to Morning Consult survey. Even among soccer fans Super Bowl interest exceeds the World Cup. Two-thirds of Americans indicate little to no interest in the World Cup, despite higher and growing interest among the young.
Lynn Reaser, economist
NO: Soccer continues to have explosive growth, but 2026 will unlikely match viewership of the Super Bowl. The numbers show 99.2 million viewers of the Superbowl vs. the 11.7 million viewers of the U.S. Men's soccer match in 2022. 2026 would have to feature a winning U.S. team to sustain viewership over the month-long event. The Super Bowl features its halftime, watched by millions. Still, the novelty of the sport and the popularity among younger viewers and Latinos mean that it should surpass the Super Bowl in the future.
Phil Blair, Manpower
YES: A lot can happen in four years. With every World Cup more and more excitement is created for soccer's national teams. There seems to be a trend away from kids playing football and more attention to soccer. Baseball may not be far behind.
Gary London, London Moeder Advisors
YES: U.S. viewership can be correlated with the number of U.S. citizens who play, have played or otherwise understand the sport. Another four years brings that number up further. And don't forget that the next World Cup is being played in North America. That, in and of itself, will gin up tremendous interest and eyeballs. Now, if we could just find a way to change the rules and create more scoring.
Alan Gin, University of San Diego
NO: Soccer is growing in popularity in the U.S., but it is unlikely to ever reach the same level of interest as American football. The sport is too low scoring and the action too nuanced for the typical American sports fan. Even some traditional American sports such as baseball and basketball are having trouble in terms of fan interest. The Super Bowl concentrates that interest into a single game, making it event viewing that is growing in popularity around the world.
Bob Rauch, R.A. Rauch & Associates
Yes: Super Bowl viewership might exceed World Cup viewership on a single game basis, but World Cup viewership will be in the billions by 2026. Three North American countries, a new format, lots of venues and no likely boycotts of these games will cement the 2026 World Cup as the most viewed games in history. If 2 out of 3 soccer enthusiasts watch these games, the numbers will soar above any MLB and NFL numbers.
Kirti Gupta, Qualcomm
YES: We can hope to see U.S. viewership of the World Cup exceed the Super Bowl by 2026. The World Cup is an international sport uniting large parts of the world, the U.S. advanced to the round of 16 this time, and North America is the host in 2026 — all helpful trends towards the steadily increasing viewership that is being driven by Gen-Z and Millennials, the fastest growing adult population in the U.S.
James Hamilton, UC San Diego
NO: It is true that interest in soccer is growing in the United States even as football is losing some fans. But the Super Bowl has become its own cultural tradition. It's an opportunity for people to get together even if many of the family members aren't that interested in the game itself. The commercials and half-time show will be discussed by everybody after the game. And when else do Americans get a chance to use Roman numerals?
Austin Neudecker, Weave Growth
YES: The domestic popularity of soccer is on the rise. Having the largest tournament in our backyard will drive additional viewership, especially if the U.S., Mexican, or Canadian teams progress deep into the tournament. While overall ad revenue generated by football and basketball are likely to surpass the World Cup, championship game viewership could be hard to beat. FIFA's brazen corruption may draw protests when hosted in less oppressive states, but the controversy might increase attention.
Chris Van Gorder, Scripps Health
NO: I think the Super Bowl will still have stronger viewership and commercial support than the World Cup as a single event even in 2026. However, given the host countries will include the U.S. — in addition to Mexico and Canada — the World Cup will come close and U.S. sponsors will spend more money. Of course, all is predicated on the popularity of FIFA and the NFL come 2026.
Norm Miller, University of San Diego
NO: The Super Bowl is enshrined as a national holiday where even non-football fans dress crazy, watch ads between the plays, and eat excessively as they pledge their return to a healthier diet and exercise beginning tomorrow. Many of the party attendees will not even know who is playing until they reach their favorite party spot. It has taken decades for Americans to perfect our Super Bowl party rituals, and it will take decades for the World Cup to compete.
Jamie Moraga, Franklin Revere
YES: With the confluence of success of the U.S. men's team, increased popularity of American U.S. soccer stars like Christian Pulisic and hosting the World Cup in North America in 2026, the chances are high that U.S. viewership of the World Cup could exceed the Super Bowl in four years. The 2026 FIFA World Cup has matches scheduled in 12 U.S. cities across the country which will draw a significant amount of attention and fanfare.
David Ely, San Diego State University
NO: The World Cup continues to gain in popularity and with many of the games played at U.S. venues, U.S. viewership will reach a new high in 2026. However, the media hype surrounding the Super Bowl draws in large numbers of non-sports fans who enjoy attending watch parties, the commercials, and the halftime show. This additional component of viewership will likely allow the Super Bowl to continue to exceed that of the World Cup.
Ray Major, SANDAG
YES: Interest in this year's World Cup is a harbinger of things to come. Soccer fans continue to grow in the U.S., and around the world, making the World Cup more appealing than ever. More importantly, the 2026 World Cup will be held in North America at 16 locations, many of which will be in the U.S. One should not underestimate the impact of potential advertisers who are going to go all out to market and sponsor what is essentially 16 Super Bowls in one year.
Caroline Freund, UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy
NO: The World Cup has roughly one U.S. viewer for every five that watch Super Bowl. Too big a gap to close in four years. U.S. viewership of the World Cup could exceed the World Series though.
Haney Hong, San Diego County Taxpayers Assoc.
NO: The Super Bowl has become an institution that fits into many households' annual calendars, and even someone like me — I don't watch any football, professional or collegiate — knows it happens once a year, early in the year, and triggers conversation at the water cooler among colleagues and at the dinner table with extended family. It's in the American consciousness and perhaps disappointingly more so than any four-year contests — and not just the World Cup.
