Sports
ITS suggested that there are as many as 3.5 billion football fans worldwide[1], but which country is most dedicated to the game?
The football experts at Ticketgum have analysed fan attendance, buzz around the last men’s World Cup, football infrastructure and investment in 42 nations around the world, to reveal which country has football at the centre of their culture.
The 10 countries with the greatest cultural commitment to football
| # | Country | Domestic broadcast deal value per season (£bill/million) | Total market value of top league (£bill/million) | % of people interested in World Cup | Average attendance per domestic league game | Number of stadiums | Cultural commitment score /10 |
| 1 | England | £1.632b | £10.42b | 65.0 | 40,236 | 90 | 8.37 |
| =2 | Spain | £850m | £4.69b | 63.8 | 29,584 | 66 | 7.83 |
| =2 | Germany | £926.5m | £4.01b | 50.1 | 42,992 | 61 | 7.83 |
| 4 | Brazil | £171m | £1.47b | 85.9 | 28,296 | 144 | 7.60 |
| 5 | Italy | £796.5m | £4.57b | 59.3 | 29,537 | 64 | 7.52 |
| 6 | Argentina | £36m | £805.18m | 82.3 | 40,768 | 54 | 7.17 |
| =7 | Mexico | £246.325m | £821m | 73.5 | 20,500 | 58 | 6.71 |
| =7 | United States | £205.5m | £1.25b | 30.7 | 21,981 | 127 | 6.71 |
| 9 | France | £500m | £3.56b | 40.6 | 23,708 | 61 | 6.63 |
| 10 | Saudi Arabia | £63.5m | £749.68m | 85.3 | 10,197 | 13 | 5.70 |
42 countries across the globe were analysed in order to create the ultimate cultural football index.
Ticketgum can reveal that England, the home of football, has the most football-centric culture, scoring 8.37/10 on the index study. England has the third most stadiums within the top ten countries, and fans turn out to these stadiums in droves, with last season’s Premier League averaging 40,236 devotees at every match, almost double the amount attending soccer matches in the US (21,981).
Far and away the biggest indicator of England’s obsession with the game is the immense amount of money spent on domestic broadcast rights, with the Premier League worth £1.6 billion in broadcast deals per season.
In second place is Spain, scoring 7.83/10 for cultural commitment to the game, and home to the recent winners of the Women’s World Cup. La Liga is the second most valuable football league in the world, with its players totalling a market value of £4.7 billion. The domestic broadcast rights per season are similarly valuable, at £850 million. This is the third highest broadcast deal in the world, highlighting the huge demand for televised coverage within the country.
Germany is joint second in the index study. Broadcasting rights for the Bundesliga are the second most valuable in the world at £926.5 million. Bundesliga is also the most attended league in the world; averaging 42,992 attendees for each game. The value of the league is the fourth greatest in the world, at a huge £4 billion.
Special mention should go to Saudi Arabia. Though the country comes in tenth position overall (5.7), there is a clear growing commitment to football. 85.3% of the population was interested in the most recent World Cup, behind only Brazil, and the hosts, Qatar. Although average attendance is currently at just 10,197 a game, when Neymar Junior was unveiled as a new addition to Al Hilal in August, there were 65,000 fans cheering him on. Saudi Arabia may soon become one of the world’s greatest epicentres of football.
A.
-Nov. 30, 2023 @ 10:55 GMT |
