The World's Most Football-Obsessed Countries, Ranked

Ireland loves football more than any other country on Earth, a 2026 report finds. With the World Cup now underway, soccer predictions platform The Daily Punt reveals the top 10 countries where people are most passionate about football.

No one searches online for the World Cup results and upcoming matches more often than the Irish.
Brazil is home to the largest fan base in the world, with over 171 million people following football.
Almost everyone in Uruguay watches soccer, with 9 out of 10 residents calling themselves football fans.

The research examined up to 70 countries around the world to see how big a part football plays in everyday life. It measured what share of each country's population calls themselves soccer fans, plus how often residents search online for football and World Cup news. The study also looked at how many football stadiums each country has relative to its population and identified its largest venues. All three numbers were combined into a single Football Obsession Score, ranking countries by how closely people actually follow the game.

Here's a look at the top 10 most football-obsessed countries in the world:

Country	Football & World Cup Search Interest per 1M People	Percentage of Soccer Fans	Estimated Number of Soccer Fans (Millions)	Football Stadiums per 1M People	Largest Stadium	Football Obsession Score
Ireland	1,720,156	60%	3	6.97	Aviva Stadium	100.0
United Kingdom	1,715,908	70%	47	2.57	Wembley Stadium	97.0
Uruguay	313,945	90%	3	4.67	Estadio Centenario	95.2
Brazil	163,602	90%	171	4.16	Estádio do Maracanã	93.7
Portugal	461,727	75%	8	3.90	Estádio da Luz	92.3
Spain	460,452	80%	38	2.36	Camp Nou	91.3
Argentina	162,744	85%	39	1.78	Estadio Más Monumental	89.5
Sweden	573,158	60%	6	3.57	Friends Arena	89.4
Chile	286,755	80%	15	1.30	Estadio Nacional	88.6
The Netherlands	456,435	70%	12	1.68	Johan Cruijff ArenA	88.0

You can access the complete research findings here.

1. Ireland

Soccer fans: 60% of the population
Football searches: about 1.72M per 1M people, the highest rate in the world
Stadiums: nearly 7 per million residents
Largest stadium: Aviva Stadium

Ireland is the most football-obsessed country in the world, with 3 million people out of a population of 5M calling themselves soccer fans. The Irish supporters have looked up the World Cup fixtures and results more than 9 million times already, even though their country isn’t featuring in the 2026 tournament at all. Despite its small size, Ireland is also home to 37 stadiums, including the famous 51,000-seat Aviva Stadium.

2. The United Kingdom

Brits are almost as obsessed with football as their Irish neighbors. Seven out of 10 people in the UK say they follow football actively, making them one of the largest fanbases in the world (47 million supporters). Brits seem to be actively watching this 2026 World Cup, too, having looked up the tournament nearly 120 million times already. With both England and Scotland competing this year, the whole country is set for a month of nonstop football talk.

3. Uruguay

Uruguay comes in third, as almost the entire country watches football. 9 out of 10 Uruguayans call themselves soccer fans, tied with Brazil for the highest following. There's no shortage of places to watch it live, either, with more than 15 stadiums in a country of just 3.5 million people. Uruguay also landed an easy-looking group this World Cup, and with about 1 in 3 residents actively watching the results, fans are liking their odds of reaching the playoffs.

4. Brazil

Brazil ranks fourth, home to the largest football fanbase in the world. 9 out of 10 people there actively follow soccer, adding up to more than 171 million fans. The country also has more stadiums than anywhere else in the world, almost 900 of them, including the legendary Maracanã. And with Neymar called up for the World Cup, Brazilians have their hopes up, having looked up the fixtures more than 34 million times already.

5. Portugal

Portugal rounds out the top five countries most obsessed with football. Three in 4 residents there call themselves soccer fans, a bigger share than even the UK, where the modern game got its start. That's about 8 million Portuguese out of a population of 10 million actively following the sport. Plus, with this likely being Ronaldo's last World Cup, interest has spiked even further, with almost half the country searching for live streams and fixtures.