Survey Reveals 64% Increase in People Watching 2019 Women's World Cup Than 2015

The 2019 Women's World Cup has been one of the most talked about subjects in football in recent weeks, with the eagerly awaited tournament eventually kicking off in France this month.

Women's football has experienced a boom in popularity and exposure since the last World Cup in 2015 and a survey has found that there will be a 64% increase in people watching the 2019 tournament than tuned in four years ago when it was in Canada.

Image by Jamie Spencer

Net World Sports surveyed 1,030 people across 21 countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, to ask who watched the 2015 Women's World Cup and who will be watching in 2019.

The results can reveal that 75% of respondents said they will watch games in 2019. That is compared to only 46% of the people watching games at the last Women's World Cup, and a 64% increase in surveyed viewers from one tournament to the next.

In terms of gender breakdown, 79% of men declared they will watch this year's competition, with only 51% watching last time. Just 30% of female respondents said that they watched Women's World Cup game in 2015, but as many as 63% want to watch this time around.

In the UK alone, there is set to be an 81% increase in Women's World Cup viewers from 2015 to 2019. Just 42% in Britain watched the 2015 tournament, while 76% said they will watch in 2019.

As well as improved quality, greater exposure and a growth in general popularity, that sharp increase in anticipated viewership in the UK might also be influenced by kinder kick-offs times - a big time difference was at play in 2015 - while there is much greater expectation on England to do well, plus it is Scotland's first ever appearance at a Women's World Cup.

More generally, it suggests that if women's football is made more widely available, visible and accessible, then an increasing number of people will watch it.

England's opening match of the tournament against Scotland saw a peak UK television audience of 6.1m, while FIFA have announced since it kicked off that over one million tickets have been sold.

1,030 people responded to the survey across the UK (547), USA (179), Canada (85), Australia (121), New Zealand (42), Ireland (40) and 15 other countries, including Greece, Hungary and Slovenia. 756 men and 269 women responded to the survey (five people selected 'prefer not to say').