Global interest for the 2018 FIFA World Cup continues to grow, with search volume across Google and YouTube besting that of the Olympics and other major sporting events.
YouTube researched which national teams, players, and football-related videos were trending on the platform over the past year.
Users around the world spent the most time watching videos related to Latin American teams. In terms of watch time in 2017, the top five most popular national teams were Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Portugal, and Mexico.
Below are the most popular 2018 FIFA World Cup teams in each of the world’s countries (by the watch time each team received in that country in 2017):
Videos of players including Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Cristiano Ronaldo, all had an 80 per cent increase in watch time last year (versus the year prior).
Over the past two years, the amount of time people spent watching match recaps on YouTube has more than doubled, and since the last FIFA World Cup, watch time for football game highlights has grown nine-fold,.
Hundreds of YouTube channels will take fans beyond the games for the complete World Cup experience. The FA will provide daily content from the English national football team, Germany’s DFB Die Mannschaft will report from the training camp as well as the team’s base camp, and FC Barcelona will host interviews with Barça World Cup legends.
