The trophies have long since been awarded. Now come the statistics from Euro 2024: Who were the fans in Germany, how many were female and how many male? What was their average age, how interested were they in buying merchandise and what brands did they associate with the championship?
International market research company YouGov* has asked a thousand people from each of six traditional footballing nations, plus the US, a number of questions. The results make for fascinating reading. Nicole Pike, Global Head of YouGov Sport, said: “The Euro 2024 action is already well under way in Germany as the teams battle it out to be crowned the champions of Europe, but how are fans engaging with the tournament? We’ve explored what the tournament’s audience looks like and how they follow it across six key competing European nations, as well as in the US where we’ve seen interest in international football (soccer!) growing rapidly.”
Euro 2024: Takeaways
- The host effect: As the event’s host nation, Germany had the highest followership for the tournament, as well as the most even split by sex among supporters. In Germany, then, football seems to have expanded its reach beyond the traditional fan base. This could also explain why followers in Germany were the most likely to say they would “keep up to date” but not ”go out of their way to watch the games.”
- Rising US appeal: Despite not having a team participating in the tournament, the US had strong engagement from young soccer fans – a reflection of football’s growth in the country.
- Scottish super fans: Known as “the Tartan Army,” Scottish fans were the most likely to say they would “try to watch as many games as they can.”
- Hitting the bar: Out-of-home viewing was most prevalent in British culture, with more than one in three England and Scotland fans watching the tournament at pubs, bars and other outdoor venues.
- Topping the tables: Followers in mainland Europe and the US were more likely than their counterparts in the UK to associate brand sponsors with the tournament, with Coca-Cola and Adidas coming out on top across the board.
The split by sex
Four in ten Euro 2024 followers were women. Germany had the highest percentage of female followers of all the surveyed countries, with 41 percent. Spain had the lowest, with 32 percent.
The split by age
Euro followers were likely to be over 55 in Italy. In the US, 54 percent were 18 to 34, 33 percent were 35 to 44, and 13 percent were over 55 years old.
The average Euro viewer was male and 35 to 44 years of age, and 44 percent were watching as many games as they could.
Festive, flag-flying or merch mindset?
30 percent of Euro followers in France said they would host or attend a Euro party, while 27 percent of Euro followers in the US said they would buy merchandise related to their favorite team.
YouGov’s complete report can be downloaded here.
Scoring high - Brand association
Followers in mainland Europe and the US were more likely to associate brand sponsors with the tournament than were followers in the UK, with Coca-Cola and Adidas coming out on top across the board.
*YouGov is a British international internet-based market research and data-analytics firm headquartered in the UK with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. YouGov has 27 million registered panel members in 55 countries.
