The future of Sport: Nielsen’s 2025 report reveals growth drivers

Over a third of global football fans find brand sponsorship appealing and 41% of all sports sponsorships are in that sport.

The FIFA World Cup 2026^TM will open up opportunities to break through with fans, particularly the U.S. fanbase, where 62% expect interest to grow.

Women’s sports are growing quickly and the WNBA fanbase has increased more than 31% in just two years.

New York  – June 12, 2025 – Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics, today released its 2025 Global Sports Report. The report examines the evolving sports landscape, helping brands and rights holders better understand today’s fans as the world of sports explodes. 

Some of the key highlights revealed in the report include:

• The fervent football (soccer) fanbase is highly receptive to sponsorships – over a third (67%) of global football fans find sponsoring brands more appealing compared to just over half of the general population (54%).
• That is seen most prevalently in the U.S., where football fans are significantly more receptive to brand sponsorship than the country’s general sports fans, second only to Brazil, one of the sport’s most dominant markets worldwide.
• With major tournaments slated for 2025, 2026, and 2027, including the FIFA World Cup 2026™ hosted across North America, the U.S. market is poised for significant growth, driven by a young, diverse, and affluent fan base (76% Millennials or Gen Z, 22% Hispanic, 34% earning $100K+ household income) eager to spend with aligned sponsors.
• Interest in women’s sports is growing – reaching 50% of the general population globally in 2024, up from 45% in 2022

Today’s sports fans are more connected and passionate than ever. Globalization, diverse fandoms, and evolving media consumption are reshaping sports engagement. The report identifies three growth factors, empowering marketers to optimize sponsorship strategies and unlock global sports potential.

Jon Stainer, Global General Manager, Nielsen Sports, said: “The global sports industry is experiencing an exhilarating evolution, as live sports continue to grow and extend into all parts of media. At Nielsen, we are uniquely positioned to deliver the most important insights for broadcasters, brands, and organizations interested in connecting with fans. The data in our 2025 Global Sports Report illuminates precisely the opportunities that exist for these partners as the worldwide appeal of live sport, especially with major, worldwide sporting events on the horizon, gains even more momentum.”

Firstly, the report identifies that football, as the world’s most popular sport, presents a compelling opportunity to deepen engagement and drive ROI. With 51% global fandom, football significantly outpaces all other sports with notable regional variations — including Mexico at 64% fandom and a substantial 62 million fans in the U.S. alone, making it the fourth largest market globally. But getting brand sponsorship right depends on understanding the nuances of fans in target markets so as to capitalize on this passionate and engaged fanbase. 

Second, the significant surge in interest in women’s sports presents unparalleled opportunities for strategic brand investment and engagement, with particularly strong growth in major markets like India, China, the UK, and Germany. This growth is mirrored by specific sport expansions, notably women’s football and the WNBA, which has seen its U.S. fanbase grow over 31% in two years to 46.9 million, alongside a remarkable 201% increase in 2024 regular season viewership. 

Critically, women now form a larger share of fans for both women’s (47%) and men’s (42%) sports (up from 45% and 40% in 2022). This creates new, diverse, and highly engaged audiences demanding tailored approaches and brand opportunities. This expanding, receptive female fanbase underscores that supporting women’s sports is not merely a social gesture but a compelling business imperative, offering brands access to new consumer segments—as evidenced by luxury brands like Coach entering the WNBA sponsorship space, leveraging high purchase intent among women’s sports fans.

Third, the rapidly evolving sports media landscape offers significant opportunities for brands, advertisers, rights holders, and marketers to engage diverse audiences across traditional and digital platforms. Live sports continue to be a powerful driver of fan engagement, with streaming attracting a growing segment of older fans (21% increase in 50+ viewers between 2022-2024), while innovative formats like the TGL golf league are successfully bringing in younger, non-traditional viewers (32% of 18-34 TGL viewers are not regular PGA viewers) to linear channels. 

Concurrently, social media is proving instrumental in globalizing sports and cultivating new fan bases. This is exemplified by the rapid rise of rugby fandom in new markets, driven by influential athletes like Ilona Maher—who grew her Instagram following by 141% during last year’s Olympic Games—and the accelerated growth of women following rugby globally. This dynamic environment, coupled with the emergence of new sports like pickleball and successful social-first brand activations (e.g., Nature Made®’s #ProPickle campaign), underscores the critical need for brands to strategically leverage diversified media and authentic social engagement to reach expanding fan demographics.

About Nielsen

Nielsen is a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviors across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their global audiences—now and into the future. Learn more at www.nielsen.com and connect with us on social media (X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram).

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