The World Cup in Qatar starts this Sunday, but there doesn't seem to be any real World Cup atmosphere yet, because the focus is on many other topics, just not on the sporting aspect. But what does the actual target group at a World Cup, namely the German soccer fans, really think about the World Cup in Qatar?
SLC Management has taken on exactly this task and put this question under the microscope. Over 5600 people, who are fans, customers and those interested in soccer, took part in this survey. The results of the study, which show a different perspective on the interest in the World Cup, were taken up and published by the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung".
This shows that interest in the World Cup among soccer fans is stronger than the recent public image suggests: 75.1% of German fans want to tune in to the World Cup in Qatar, 13.9% want to watch all the games, 41.7% want to watch selected games of all teams, 19.9% want to concentrate on the games of the German teams in Qatar, but 24.9% also state that they will not tune in to the World Cup at all.
German soccer fans are particularly critical of the strong politicization of the World Cup. 71.7% of the supporters surveyed feel that the sport is being "politically instrumentalized" in the current discussions. This means that soccer and the World Cup are no longer ends in themselves, but means to an end.
In addition, an overwhelming majority of 97.8% of soccer fans feel that the debates and protests that were unleashed immediately before the World Cup came too late and should instead have taken place when the World Cup was awarded to Qatar.
A clear majority of 80.2% also believe that critical behavior on the part of the DFB and the national players will not bring about any changes.
In contrast, the respondents' expectations of the political behavior of the DFB and the national players during the World Cup are not quite so clear. A majority expects critical statements and corresponding actions, with a distinction made between the association and the players. 44.8% of fans say the DFB should make critical statements on issues and 30.5% would like to see corresponding critical actions. Three quarters of those surveyed are thus in favor of actions by the DFB, whereas only 24.7% say that the DFB should focus on sporting matters and not engage in politics.
Critical political statements (38.5%) and corresponding actions (22.0%) are expected less from the players than from the association. 39.5% say players should focus on soccer and not engage in politics.
SLC managing director and expert Prof. Dr. Alfons Madeja explains in this context, "that violations of human rights are fundamentally unacceptable and it is also part of this to draw attention to them, because without the World Cup in Qatar, one would not have been able to take note of the criticized circumstances. Therefore, it is important to have access to such countries through major sporting events. Sport must continue to use its role in connecting people to be ambassadors for human dignity and human rights."
For more information please feel free to contact
Jens Jaschinski
Director Consultancy
Fon: +49 (0) 911 - 54 81 830
Tags: FAZ, Footballfans, Madeja, Marketresearch, Nationalteam, Qatar, SLC Management, WM2022
German soccer fans are particularly critical of the strong politicization of the World Cup. 71.7% of the supporters surveyed feel that the sport is being "politically instrumentalized" in the current discussions. This means that soccer and the World Cup are no longer ends in themselves, but means to an end.
