Nielsen described a post-2026 World Cup surge in U.S. soccer fandom and viewership. Nielsen separately cited fan numbers in the United States, the World Cup final audience and MLS viewing on Fox and FS1 among younger audiences.
Fan numbers in the United States
According to Nielsen, the number of people in the U.S. who identify as soccer fans rose from 66.8 million to 75.2 million from July 2025 to July 2026. According to Nielsen, that change represented growth of 13%. According to Nielsen, there has been a 27% increase in soccer fandom across the U.S. between World Cups, with 16 million new fans.
World Cup final audience
According to Nielsen, Spain's victory against Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final registered a U.S. viewership of 62.8 million.
MLS viewing among younger audiences
According to Nielsen, MLS viewership on Fox and FS1 is up 55% among men 18–34 and 29% among adults 18–34 compared to before the tournament.
Comments from Seth Ladetsky and Don Garber
Seth Ladetsky said, "The FIFA World Cup 2026 has served as a powerful catalyst for soccer's explosive growth across North America,"
Seth Ladetsky said, "Our data shows that fandom is not only reaching record highs, but it is also expanding rapidly among younger, diverse audiences and carrying over into major domestic and international leagues."
Don Garber said, "People ask us all the time: ‘How’s it going after the World Cup?’"
Don Garber said, "But that was only a few months ago—leaders of businesses need to think generationally. We started working on our World Cup plan in 2018 when U.S. Soccer won the bid."
Don Garber said, "This is not about tomorrow. It’s about weeks and years after the World Cup when we’ll really capture the opportunity’."