Curiously, there are few studies on the interest generated by the World Cup in Africa, despite the continent's well-known passion for soccer.
In Ivory Coast, the Fieldpro Research institute surveyed residents of Abidjan during the Senegal-England match and provided initial insight into the success of this competition.
According to this study published on Abidjan.net and conducted on December 5, just after the match was broadcast, 85.1% of Abidjan residents had watched at least one match since the start of the competition, despite the absence of the Ivory Coast national team.
Regarding the knockout matches, 57.3% of Abidjan residents watched the Argentina- Australia match, 58.8% watched the France-Poland match, and 80.1% watched the Senegal-England match (an increase of nearly 40% in viewership), confirming the enormous enthusiasm when an African team is involved.
The study also sheds light on the most avid viewers:
89% of 18-24 year olds and 91% of 25-34 year olds say they have watched at least one World Cup match since the start of the competition, compared to only 65% of those over 55.
Women are also very present in front of their televisions, as according to the Fieldpro Tesarch study, 78% of women surveyed watched at least one match of the competition and 70.9% watched the Senegal-England match.
In Africa, as elsewhere, soccer is best watched in good company: 77.2% watched at home or with friends, and 22.8% in a public place.
It should be noted that in Côte d'Ivoire, the 28 best World Cup matches are broadcast on NCI, while the other matches are shown on the English-language Super Sport channels distributed by CANAL+.