TNS World Cup Study 2002

The battle for the coveted position of Asia's favourite World Cup football player is apparently being fought between GB's Beckham (21 percent) and Brazil's Ronaldo (19 percent). This is according to findings from a new pre-World Cup study of Asia by Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS).

The study, which polled over 10,000 people from 10 Asian countries, revealed that, with just weeks to go before the big day, the current level of interest across the region stands at 52 percent. This should inspire advertisers with considerable confidence. Additionally, the research found that four fifths (81 percent) of those who expressed interest expect to watch it on television.

However, respondents agreed that Ronaldo and his Brazilian teammates will not be coming face to face with England for the final in Japan on 30th June. Instead, a third (38 percent) predict that Brazil will confront reigning champions, France.

As for who will actually take home the Cup, perennial favourites Brazil (22 percent), and current holders France (20 percent) were repeatedly cited as most likely to win. Brazil gained the majority vote in India (35 percent), Malaysia (34 percent), China (27 percent), Taiwan (24 percent), Hong Kong (20 percent) and Australia (20 percent). The only exception was Thailand where 26 percent of those interested in the World Cup said they thought England would win.

Perhaps not surprisingly, when asked which team they would like to see win the World Cup, (as opposed to which team they expect to win) respondents invariably chose their own national team if competing, i.e.- South Korea (79 percent), Japan (82 percent), China (49 percent) and Hong Kong [for China] (36 percent). Among countries not competing, Brazil is the team most people expect to win (18 percent) followed by England (14 percent).

One interesting - and rather surprising - outcome of the research is the contrast in the levels of interest in the World Cup expressed by the people in the joint host nations, South Korea and Japan. Almost nine out of ten (89 percent) people in South Korea expressed an interest compared with only a third (33 percent) in Japan. However, Japan's lack of interest in the World Cup - second to Taiwan where just 25 percent of people surveyed reported interest - may be explained by the apparent popularity of baseball in Japan where, according to the results of the study, the game ranks as the nation's favourite sport.

Andrew Davison, TNS project director said, 'The survey shows a clear correlation between the popularity of individual players and the popularity of their corresponding team, especially for the Brazil and England teams which enjoy widespread support in Asia. However, although 14 percent would like to see Beckham hold up the World Cup, the feeling throughout the region is that England are not actually capable of winning and most people still expect Brazil to emerge as winners despite the recent challenges they faced in qualifying.'

The TNS World Cup 2002 study was conducted in 10 countries across Asia during April 2002 on a sample of over 10,000 respondents. Fieldwork was conducted by telephone in all countries except India, Thailand, and Japan (where interviews were conducted face to face).

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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