Capitivated by the Cup?

YouGov
June 02, 2010, 11:00 PM GMT+0

Over half of the British public is interested in this summer’s FIFA World Cup tournament in South Africa, a survey has found. However, significantly fewer people believe England has a good chance of winning.

54% state an interest in the world’s biggest football tournament, which is due to kick off in less than two weeks. A substantial 30% say they are ‘very interested’, with 24% describing themselves as ‘somewhat interested’. And it seems, perhaps expectedly, that the World Cup, which lasts for a month, is attracting the attention of more men than women. Two thirds (66%) of men, compared to a significantly smaller 44% of women, claim an interest in the competition.

Londoners are also the more likely among us to be captivated by the football World Cup, which lasts for a month, with 67% saying they are interested, and nearly half (43%) agreeing that they are ‘very interested’. This is compared to 49% of those in the South (excluding London), 51% in the Midlands and Wales, 59% in the North and 51% of those in Scotland.

However, while many may be looking forward to the World Cup, fewer rate England’s chances of lifting the illustrious FIFA World Cup Trophy when the final is played on the 11th July. Only four percent said they think England have ‘a very good chance of winning’, while 31% believe the team have ‘a fairly good chance’.
In contrast, many are generally pessimistic about England’s chances, with 30% believing that England has ‘a fairly little chance’ of glory. It seems that the higher north, the less optimistic – while 44% of Londoners feel England has ‘fairly or very little’ chance, this figure rises to 47% in Wales, 52% in the North and 55% in Scotland.

And while 48% across the country feel largely more pessimistic than optimistic about England’s chances, a less-than-expectant 18% categorically think that England ‘has very little to no chance of winning’ the Cup.

Survey details and full results