Anticipation for the upcoming Football World Cup, set to be held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, is relatively subdued among the German public. According to a Forsa survey commissioned by RTL and ntv, only about a quarter of citizens (26 percent) are excited about the tournament, while 71 percent stated they are not looking forward to the World Cup.
Enthusiasm is significantly higher among those with a general interest in football. In this group, nearly half (52 percent) of participants look forward to the tournament. Furthermore, men (31 percent) expressed more excitement about the WM than women (21 percent).
Despite the generally reserved attitude, however, a majority of Germans plan to watch the matches. Overall, 52 percent intend to view the live broadcasts. Of these, 29 percent are restricted to matches involving the German national team, and an additional 23 percent plan to follow games even without German participation. This interest in viewing transmissions currently surpasses the level recorded during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when only 45 percent of people intended to watch matches. Nonetheless, the current participation rate does not measure up to the figures set during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
This low level of excitement is also visible in the limited demand for fan merchandise. The survey revealed that only seven percent of citizens have already purchased fan gear in anticipation of the tournament. Most commonly, fans bought jerseys or other clothing items (four percent). Flags or decorative supplies accounted for two percent, while one percent purchased other fan products. The vast majority of Germans (93 percent) have not made any purchases related to World Cup merchandise so far.
