Malaysians’ Attitudes on World Cup 2018

Ipsos conducted an online study in 27 countries to explore attitudes towards FIFA World Cup 2018 with almost 20,000 interviews. Here’s the Malaysian take…

Brazil is Malaysians pick to win the FIFA World Cup in 2018
Malaysians believe that the Brazilian football team (25%) will win the final of the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia, followed by national teams of Germany (19%) and Spain (11%). Worldwide, nearly one fourth (23%) of the respondents think that Germany will come up tops in the sporting event, followed by the national teams of Brazil (21%) and Spain (11%).
If Germany does not take the Cup, almost 2 in 10 people (18%) believe that they will at least come in second place. Another 15% of worldwide respondents believe Brazil will be the runner-up. Malaysians shared the same runner-up favorites, picking the football teams of Germany (16%) and Brazil (14%).
Malaysians are passionate football followers
More than half of Malaysians (51%) are passionate followers of the World Cup. 24% of Malaysians indicated they will be watching as many games as possible, while 27% will follow the games but will only watch games where their favorite teams are playing.
Russian hosts show the least interest in football: less than 1 out of 10 Russians (9%) consider themselves to be passionate football followers. Moreover, one third of the Russian population (35 %) state that they watch games only occasionally, while 36 % suggest that they do not follow football at all.

World Cup merchandise are popular among Malaysians
For many people, their passion for the game goes so far that they even expect to miss work or school to watch this coming World Cup. Globally, nearly one in four (24%) will most probably or definitely miss work or school during the tournament. This rate is highest in India (51%), Turkey (46%) and the US (46%); in contrast, only around 10% of the population in Belgium (11%), Spain (10%) and Serbia (6%) plan to do so.
Malaysians are more likely to purchase World Cup football merchandise (64%) than miss work or school (23%) during the World Cup season. Moreover, 35% of Malaysians say they will have a good luck charm that they will keep with them during the World Cup games. Meanwhile, more than 6 in 10 Indians (63%) and more than 5 in 10 US-Americans (54%) admit this habit.

Football is a social experience among Malaysians
A vast majority of viewers will watch the 2018 World Cup in good company. Worldwide, more than 8 in 10 people (84%) who intend to follow the tournament will probably or definitely watch the games with relatives and/or friends.
Malaysians share the same enthusiasm with an astounding 9 in 10 (88%) indicating that they will be watching the games with their family and/or friends. Malaysians are planning to bring the football fever to work, because they expect to watch the games with their work colleagues (70%) and almost half of all Malaysians (49%) will watch the games in a bar or restaurant.
Television most popular media device to watch World Cup
Despite the ongoing digitalization of everyday life, television sets remain the most popular media devices (61%) among Malaysians to watch the World Cup in 2018. Fewer but still a significant number of Malaysians plan to watch the event via their mobile devices (24%).
Commenting on the findings, Michael Looi, Associate Operations Director, Ipsos Malaysia, “I have been a supporter of the Italian football team, which sadly didn’t qualify for the World Cup. This doesn’t stop me from watching as many games as is humanly possible as this is the only time for me to see world class players playing at an event that occurs once in 4 years. Malaysians probably picked Brazil over Germany due to their flair and technical abilities and it will be a great redemption for Brazil following their 7-1 defeat to Germany in their own home country.”

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