Brits sit on fence despite growing Qatar World Cup row

Qatar2With just three days until the FIFA World Cup kicks off in Qatar, fears that brands could face a UK backlash for supporting the event have seemingly been quashed, with most Brits ignoring calls for a mass boycott and relishing the start of the tournament.

Many major cities, including London and Paris, have already turned off, saying they will not host fan zones or public screenings of matches, with the Mayor of Lille describing the event as “nonsense in terms of human rights, the environment and sport”.

Meanwhile, there has been a growing “Boycott Qatar 2022” movement in Germany, with giant banners a familiar sight at many Bundesliga matches, designed to highlight human rights and environmental concerns in the host nation.

So far, only BrewDog has spoken out over the event, launching a major push proclaiming itself as the “anti-sponsor”. Earlier this month it launched an OOH campaign with one execution stating: “Football’s been dragged through the mud, before a single ball’s been kicked in. Let’s be honest: Qatar won it through bribery. On an industrial scale.”

However, this was soon dismissed as a crass publicity stunt as the brand is sold in Qatar through a third-party distributor and the brewer is still planning to screen the tournament in its bars.

But a new IPA study of 2,000 UK consumers, carried out by Opinium, reveals UK public opinion against the host nation is not as strong as elsewhere, with many people sitting on the fence. In fact, just half (49%) of all adults stated they would simply “respect brands more” for speaking out around the Qatar World Cup, although this did rise to 63% of 18 to 34s. However, there was no mention of shunning the brands that did not.

And Brits are divided when it comes to whether the competition will provide a much-needed distraction from the challenges faced this year. One third (34%) believe it will – higher among men (40%) than women (29%) – but one third (34%) believe it won’t.

Some 38% of 18 to 34s, however, reckon that having the World Cup during the Christmas build-up makes it all the more exciting – compared with 20% of all adults and just 8% of over 55s.

And nearly half of young adults (47%) will prioritise Qatar World Cup viewing this year over major seasonal TV shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.

Nearly two-fifths (39%) of 18 to 34s are more excited than ever for the World Cup as a result of the success of England Women’s football team this summer; significantly higher among men (42%) than women (18%) of all ages.

The survey also reveals attitudes to Black Friday 2022, which falls on an England and Wales match day, showing that women (56%) are more likely than men (45%) to restrict spending to brands they trust and that younger generations (42% of 18 to 34s) are more interested in shopping in-store than over 55s (8%) on Black Friday.

IPA head of insight Damian Lord said: “How to manage activity during the Qatar World Cup is a significant problem and potential opportunity for brands to solve, both in terms of whether to comment on human rights issues and how to manage the disruption to the festive period.

“These findings will provide significant insight into how to best engage with football fans and people going about their Christmas shopping over the coming weeks and what issues matter most to their audience.”

Meanwhile, separate research from audience insights company GWI, reveals that despite the controversy surrounding the tournament, nearly two-thirds (64%) of Brits still plan on watching the matches in some capacity. This figure jumps to 91% when you look at football fans specifically.

During the first two rounds of group games, the matches will take place at 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm UK time but any pub chains hoping to cash in could be disappointed as only 11% say they will be watching in a boozer or restaurant while 42% be watching the matches at home.

This year might be a considerably lonelier affair than previous tournaments, with 25% of Brits planning to watch the games alone and only 15% planning to watch matches with friends.

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