The ripple effect of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) is coming into focus, and the news is good for the sport.

Ampere Analysis, a global data and analytics firm that focuses on the media, game and sports sectors, has released a report on the impact of the tournament on worldwide interest in women’s professional soccer.

Noting a 35% surge in interest in the quarter in which the tournament took place (July 20 to Aug. 20, 2023), the report’s authors say the firm’s data indicate an “increasing global appetite for women’s football competitions.” Ampere’s consumer survey is conducted in two annual phases across 28 markets worldwide, including Canada, and reaches 108,000 consumers.

Researchers found that seven percent of global consumers reported being interested in women’s soccer in Q3, which was a 29% increase over Q1. Comparatively, 22% of global consumers reported being fans of international men’s soccer, a sizeable difference but one that has actually declined since 2019. That year, 24% of respondents said they were fans of the men’s side.

In Canada, “interest in the FIFA Women’s World Cup has increased from 3% in Q1 2023 to 5% in Q3 2023, an uplift of 66% over the course of 6 months,” a spokesperson from Ampere told MiC.

Canada ranked #8 in Ampere’s list of top-10 countries by growth in interest in the WWC.

The report specifically calls out the impact of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, where it was hosted, and reveals the WWC is not as popular. Interest in the tournament rocketed up in the run-up and execution of the tournament, rising 247% from 3% of local respondents in Q1 to 9% in Q3. “This highlights the importance of hosting the event in emerging women’s football markets to accelerate development of the game globally,” the report’s authors noted. (Toronto and Vancouver are host cities for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup.)

They also pointed out that keeping the sport widely available to global viewers through free-to-air coverage “will be pivotal in growing the Women’s game globally and therefore, in generating more interest in national competitions.”

Canadian Soccer Daily reported that the airing of Canada’s elimination (TSN, CTV) game to Australia on July 31 attracted 539,200 average viewers, 169,000 of which were in the 25-to-54 demo. The site noted that the game took place at 6 a.m. ET/3 a.m. PT on a Monday morning, which likely impacted viewership. It was the second-most-watched sports broadcast of the day, it said.

Canada is home to one of the sport’s “GOATs,” Christine Sinclair, who plays her final game on Tuesday Dec. 5. TSN is airing that game at 9 p.m., along with a pre-game special at 8 p.m. ET. CIBC and Visa are sponsoring the coverage and Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium is being re-named Christine Sinclair Place for one night only.

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