WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� This World Cup has given U.S. soccer fans plenty to cheer about 鈥� even if a new survey shows most Americans are still on the sidelines.
from , provided exclusively to The Associated Press, shows that the World Cup has excited soccer fans and piqued many Americans鈥� interest, even as the sport faces an uphill climb to reach mainstream popularity in the United States.
Despite that challenge, many U.S. adults were excited about the United States of the World Cup. Most soccer fans in the U.S. have been pleased by , and the overwhelming majority are excited for the rest of the World Cup.
The poll was conducted June 26-28, after the United States advanced from the group stage but before they in the first knockout round.
Soccer fans are excited by the USMNT’s performance
About 6 in 10 soccer fans were 鈥渆xtremely鈥� or 鈥渧ery鈥� excited about the U.S. advancing to the knockout round, much higher than the 25% of Americans overall who said the same.
The United States has they reached the knockout rounds. Before Wednesday, they had last won a knockout game in 2002.
Though this poll was conducted before the United States’ victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina, fans were already giving the U.S. men鈥檚 team credit for having a strong showing in the group stage. Most soccer fans, 55%, said the U.S. team’s performance was going 鈥渆xtremely well鈥� or 鈥渧ery well.鈥� One-quarter, roughly, believed it was going 鈥渟omewhat well.鈥�
Similarly, about half of soccer fans say the United States鈥� role in co-hosting the World Cup is going at least 鈥渧ery鈥� well.
There’s less enthusiasm for FIFA’s role in managing the World Cup. Only about one-third of soccer fans in the U.S. say that’s going 鈥渆xtremely鈥� or 鈥渧ery鈥� well. During the tournament, FIFA has faced criticism for that some say , as well as cooperating with against Iran.
The poll found Americans and soccer fans alike are about evenly split on whether they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of FIFA. About 2 in 10 U.S. adults have a positive view of FIFA, while 25% have a negative one. Most Americans 鈥� 55% 鈥� don’t have an opinion.
Will this be the moment Americans turn to soccer? Probably not
It鈥檚 not easy to get Americans to care about soccer, even with the World Cup in their backyard.
Only about 2 in 10 Americans consider themselves fans of international or U.S. soccer, far behind the share who root for professional football, basketball or baseball. And roughly one-third of U.S. adults say they have heard or read 鈥渁 lot鈥� about the World Cup, though most have heard at least 鈥渁 little.鈥�
Roughly 2 in 10 U.S. adults 鈥� 17% 鈥� say they are 鈥渆xtremely鈥� or 鈥渧ery鈥� excited about the rest of the World Cup. That鈥檚 up a smidge from , but points to the challenge that comes with trying to turn America into a soccer nation.
Most Americans expect that the World Cup will increase other Americans鈥� interest in soccer, but relatively few say they have personally gotten more interested in the sport. About 6 in 10 U.S. adults think Americans in general will get more into soccer because of the World Cup, while 24% say they personally have.
Soccer fans are especially optimistic, though. About three-quarters of soccer fans in the U.S. expect this year鈥檚 World Cup will increase Americans鈥� general interest in soccer, compared to about half of non-soccer fans. And roughly half of soccer fans say the World Cup has increased their own interest in the sport, even if only 17% of non-fans say the same.
Many Americans will watch games or follow on social media
Outside of watching games, there are other ways for people to engage with the World Cup.
About 4 in 10 U.S. adults 鈥� including about half of soccer fans 鈥� say they have used social media to keep up with teams and players.
Roughly one-quarter of Americans have gone to a restaurant or bar to watch a game or plan to do so, and about 2 in 10 have gone to a World Cup watch party. About 2 in 10 U.S. adults 鈥� and 33% of soccer fans in the U.S. 鈥� say they have bought official merchandise like team jerseys, posters or scarves.
As sportsbooks note how amid the USMNT’s success, about 1 in 10 Americans in the poll say they have placed an official bet on the games. About 5% say they have traded on game outcomes using a prediction market.
And with popping up in host cities across the United States, 8% say they have watched a game from a host city.
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The Ipsos Sports poll of 1,027 adults was conducted June 26-28 using a sample drawn from the Ipsos probability-based KnowledgePanel. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
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