- Brazil, Argentina and Russia are favourite teams for Indians in ongoing FIFA Worldcup
- 84% respondents promise to support Indian Football team in their upcoming matches
Mumbai: Velocity MR, a leading market research and analysis company announced the results of their pan India study to understand the awareness levels and the popularity of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2018 and Football in India. The national study was conducted across a sample size of 2000 respondents and covered prominent Indian metropolitan cities Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.
The study conducted across various demographics, mapped the current awareness of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2018 in India, its popularity and its impact on the popularity of Indian Football. The study observed that with majority of the respondents up to speed with this current rage, Indian football fandom has also received a great boost. 84% respondents claimed that they will support the Indian team in their upcoming matches and most of the respondents were highly appreciative of India’s winning streak in the recent international matches. Indian Skipper, Sunil Chhetri emerged as the favourite Indian player, with support of 84% respondents. In FIFA World Cup 2018, Brazil, Argentina and Russia emerged to be the top 3 favourite teams and also happen to own the top 10 valuable football players in the world. The average Indian fan’s World Dream XI team boasted of 4 Brazilian players, positioned across the goalkeeper, defender, mid-fielder and forward sections. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) emerged as the top contender for World Dream XI captain, followed by Lionel Messi (Argentina) and Neymar (Brazil).
Jasal Shah, Managing Director & CEO of Velocity MR, shared, “Sports in India is no longer restricted only to cricket. Driven by a burgeoning talent base, government and media interest in sports like badminton, hockey, kabbadi, wrestling, etc., has greatly influenced and inspired the youth and millennials. People have started to appreciate every form of sport, be it at a national or international level and do not shy away from referencing their peers globally. Similarly, Football, a global sport has taken the country by storm in recent years. With the current population and audience base in India, it is no wonder that FIFA has left no stone unturned in promoting the World Cup 2018 in India. With tactical promotions and marketing campaigns through the year to the pre-season promotional campaigns like #meridoosricountry, FIFA has managed to create a fan base in the country that is only next to Cricket’s.”
He further adds, “This has in fact, also proved to be a great boost to Indian football as fans have now also started participating in and encouraging their own country’s players. Our study recorded a whopping 84% of the respondents claiming that they follow the Indian football team’s games and were also aware of top Indian players like Sunil Chhetri, BhaichungBhutia, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, etc. Indian fans also seemed to recall and were immensely moved by the Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri’s heartfelt appeal to the fans to support them during their games. With the current rage, it won’t be surprising if the government diverts their attention to Indian football to make this sport the next cricket of India.”
Highlights of the Study
- A majority of the people who are aware of the ongoing FIFA World Cup held in Russia, prefer watching their favorite team’s matches live, whereas others keep themselves updated either by watching news, reading newspaper or through social media websites
- Amongst those who are aware of the Indian Football Team, 84% claim that they will support and watch the Indian Team play in their upcoming football matches
- Indian skipper Sunil Chettri is currently on the top of mind of every Indian and has also proved to be the most favorite Indian footballer
- Brazil (34%), Argentina (16%) & Russia (11%) are the Top 3 favorite teams in this FIFA World Cup 2018
- 4 out of 11 players selected in the World Dream XI Team are Brazilian players, which clearly indicates that the Brazil Team has the maximum number of fan followers
- The world-famous Cristiano Ronaldo (20%), Lionel Messi (17%) & Neymar (13%) are the most preferred captains of the World Dream XI Team
- The Indian Football Team has also gained a lot of popularity and attraction amongst the football followers, since their winning streak in the recent Intercontinental Cup.
