US football fans watched 80 billion minutes in 2025

A report by Nielsen reveals that US football fans spent almost 80 billion minutes watching football matches in 2025.

Heading into the FIFA World Cup 2026, the report demonstrates the rise in popularity of the world’s most popular sport in the US.

The study, called Get Ready with Media Intelligence: 2026 FIFA World Cup Edition, looks at viewership trends, engagement trends, and local market impact.

It found US viewers spent 79.8 billion minutes watching football in 2025 and 33% of the US population expects their interest in the sport to increase over the next 18 months. This compares to 64% of football fans in the US who expect their interest in football to increase over the next 18 months

In 2024, the average audience for Copa América more than doubled compared to 2021, and in 2025, both the UEFA Women’s Euro and the CONCACAF Gold Cup saw significant increases.

The top three football leagues based on viewership in 2025 are Liga MX 2 followed by the UEFA Champions League and then the Premier League.

Nielsen’s report found that US soccer fans are social superfans. 79.5% of US soccer fans use social media for sports news and content, regardless of platform.

“To understand where fans are watching and how they engage with the world’s most popular sport, Nielsen is sharing our new proprietary insights and capabilities around the World Cup to arm and empower our clients to thrive during this iconic moment in our sporting history,” said Seth Ladetsky, head of global sports, Nielsen.