The World Cup is often dubbed the biggest event on the planet. But that’s not the case in the US, even with America hosting matches for the first time in three decades.
In a recent survey, more than half of US adults said they’re unlikely to watch any of the 104 tournament games on TV at home. Only 13% said they were absolutely certain to watch, according to a Morning Consult poll conducted in late May for Bloomberg.
Views on the tournament varied widely by age. Generation Z, whose oldest members are in their late 20s, showed the most enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, Baby Boomers, now in their 60s and 70s, displayed the least excitement as three-fourths of the cohort said they weren’t football fans and about half had never heard of Argentine megastar Lionel Messi.
One issue appears to be that many Americans hadn’t heard much about the World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada and kicked off on Thursday.
Only a quarter of respondents said they had learned quite a bit or more about the tournament, while nearly 40% said nothing had come across their radar.
Much of what Americans have heard the most about the World Cup was negative, according to the poll of roughly 2 000 people.
Topping the list was that about 30% said they were aware of high ticket prices. The backlash against those costs and how tickets were distributed has included state investigations and nearly 70 US Congress members calling for prices to be lowered.
Fifa, the tournament’s organiser, giving US President Donald Trump its first peace prize was cited second most often. It’s a move that was strongly opposed by 31% of respondents, compared with 16% who strongly approved.
Big brands spanning McDonald’s to Verizon have bet millions on advertising, both as official Fifa partners and during the matches, which will be shown by Fox and Comcast’s Telemundo in the US.
According to the poll, respondents connected Cola-Cola most often with World Cup marketing. The soda brand began advertising at the tournament in 1950, and is an official sponsor once again.
Nike came in second in corporate awareness level. The sneaker maker isn’t an official Fifa partner but does have deals with several prominent national teams, such as France, England and the US.
Adidas came in a few percentage points behind its rival despite its role as a longtime World Cup partner, including being the supplier of the official match ball for this tournament.
Heading into the tournament, there have been some signals pointing to demand not being what was expected. An Argentine airline reduced flights specifically aimed at World Cup travellers and Airbnb hosts in one host city have been disappointed by a lack of interest in their listings.
In early June, burger chain Shake Shack, which isn’t an official sponsor of the tournament, cut its outlook for quarterly comparable sales to remove any positive impact from the World Cup.
“We’re seeing some tourist numbers that have slowed down over the last three or four weeks, particularly in some of the big cities that we’re in,” Chief Executive Officer Rob Lynch said at an investor conference June 4.
The company had previously forecast that the tournament would boost traffic to its locations.
According to the poll, almost 60% of respondents said their household wouldn’t spend any money on the World Cup, including tickets, watching outside the home and merchandise.
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