As kickoff day for the FIFA Men’s World Cup draws to a close, a new survey shows Canadian interest in the men’s national soccer team has increased since the World Cup kicked off in Qatar.
In a survey conducted by Research Co., 24 per cent of respondents from across Canada admitted they were more interested in the men’s national soccer team than they were before the World Cup. This includes 29% of men and 26% of Canadians aged 18-34.
However, more than half of Canadians (51%) say their interest in the team has not changed since the World Cup came into being, but a small minority (9%) say they are less interested now than before.
When asked about the November 23 Canada-Belgium game, 35 percent said they watched at least part of it.
“One in four men (24%) watched the entire Canada-Belgium match during Qatar 2022.” Mario Canseco, president of research firm said in a press release. “On a regional basis, Ontario (24 per cent) leads all regions in the overall competition.”
After the loss to Belgium, 35% of respondents again said they watched at least part of Canada’s second match against Croatia on November 27. But only 29 percent watched Canada’s third and final game against Morocco on Dec. 1.
While interest in the team appears to have increased, only about one in six (15 per cent) Canadians describe themselves as “genuine football fans” who enjoy watching and following games, according to the survey. Slightly more Canadians (17%) say they don’t follow the game all the time and just watch as much as possible.
According to Research Co., 27 percent of Canadians say soccer isn’t their favorite sport, but still watch it from time to time. 41% said they didn’t really care about the beautiful game.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents said they followed the World Cup “very closely” or “moderately closely” — including 49% of Canadians aged 18 to 34, 48% of men and 52% of Ontarians.
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The survey was conducted Dec. 6-7 and included responses from 1,000 Canadian adults. The figures are statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in Canada, according to Research Co. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Reporting on this story was paid for through the Meta-funded Afghanistan Resident Correspondents Program.