The run-up to the World Cup uncovered a host of problems that the host nation had to tackle away from the pitch. There were the woeful delays in stadium construction and heated protests by sections of the country’s workers. But with the game on, it seems the negative expectations have just washed off.
The New Yorker ran a headline: ‘The day America feel in love with the World Cup’ in a recent edition, while the New York Times had: ‘Bigger Than Baseball: 25 million watch US vs Portugal World Cup match’. That game had the highest viewership for any football game telecast in America and outstripped even those for the NBA finals and the World Series. ESPN reported the game was its most-watched event outside of NFL or college football.
Ad Age says that the tournament as a whole is also proving a stronger draw than four years ago, both on TV and online. (Web streaming was in its infancy during the 2010 World Cup.)
BBC News wonders if Brazil proved has proved wrong those who doubted the tournament’s success. “Yes and no,” says the correspondent Wyre Davies, emphasising the works that were still going on, the unfinished airports and the brutality with which the police had dealt with protesters.
The championship, however, has changed the way fans follow the games. According to Facebook, the World Cup opening was tracked on the network by 58 million people, while 140 million exchanged messages during the game. The volume was five times higher than the interaction during the Oscar ceremony this year. Brazilians accounted for 30 per cent of the traffic that day, and the average age of users ranged from 18-24 years.
The match between the US and Ghana generated 15 million interactions on Facebook. The FIFA site on the social network during the World Cup became the most followed sport with 31 million followers.
Another measure of the new way to track a game is using Twitter — the opening generated more than 12 million tweets, six times more than the Oscars.
Meanwhile, adidas announced new record sales of £1.6 billion of footballing merchandise in the first twelve days of the World Cup. It looks to sell more than eight million jerseys altogether, significantly more than in 2010 when it did 6.5 million. The German jersey alone had more than 2 million pieces bought by fans, followed by those of Argentina, Mexico, Spain and Colombia. In addition, adidas will sell more than 14 million footballs in the design of the brazuca, the Official Match Ball of the World Cup — one million more balls than in 2010.
Some journalists still believe it is too early to evaluate the performance of the World Cup. Until now, nothing serious has happened that could compromise the event. The famed Brazilian cordiality has also had more than a walk-on part in the tournament, and let’s hope it stays true right to the end.
