The World Cup final is a sporting event like no other in terms of its ability to draw in a major international audience from across the globe.
Football’s popularity around the planet means the final showdown is always a huge occasion with supporters tuning in to watch the game on every continent.
The reach of the major domestic European leagues, primarily the English Premier League, has only deepened the role watching football plays in everyday viewing.
The 2022 World Cup was no different with the final attracting another huge audience.
How many people watch a World Cup final?
Viewing figures for World Cup matches, including the final, have been on a steady upward curve since 2010 after a slight dip in the 2006 tournament.
According to official data from FIFA, an estimated 3.575 billion people watched matches at the 2018 World Cup, with 1.12bn tuning in for France’s final win over Croatia in Moscow.
That was split between traditional ‘home’ televised viewing figures of 3.262bn (2018) and 309.7 million (2018) watching via public domestic means and digital-first streaming options.
Early data from FIFA on the 2022 World Cup indicates more growth, with records smashed for group stage and Round of 16 fixtures, with almost every nation involved seeing their internal viewing figures go up from 2018.
There are no official figures just yet for the 2022 World Cup final which saw Argentina down France on penalties.
World Cup final vs. Super Bowl, Champions League finals
The World Cup final’s true power as a televised spectacle is potentially demonstrated up against the other major TV sporting events on the calendar.
FIFA’s figure of over a billion viewers watching the 2018 World Cup final outstrips the NFL Super Bowl almost nine fold.
Data from Nielsen Media Research indicates 91.6 million US-based viewers watched the 2021 Super Bowl between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs, with an estimated worldwide figure of 140m.
In comparison to the UEFA Champions League final, which is widely viewed as the biggest game in club football, the World Cup wins by another huge margin.
Data from Statista shows the global audiences for the five Champions League finals from 2016 to 2021, which involved superpowers from Spain, Italy, England, Germany and France, averaged at 76.1m, with a high in 2017/18 of 105.8m.
World Cup final audience figures in history
If the 2022 final does continue on its expected surge in viewing figures, a total worldwide figure of 1.5bn does not seem unrealistic.
The 2018 figure of 1.12bn was up on the 2014 total of 1.01bn, which broke the 1bn mark for the first time since FIFA began measuring the figures.
The 2006 tournament finale saw a drop off, but only based on individual national numbers, with the 2010 final in South Africa watched by 909 million people.