Two in three Americans "do not plan to follow" the '14 FIFA World Cup, and only 7% said that they "anticipated following it closely," according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll cited by Lindsay Dunsmuir of REUTERS. Eighty-six percent of Americans said that they "either know nothing or only a little bit about the World Cup, and more than two-thirds did not know Brazil is the 2014 host nation." However, the poll "does show that one-third of Hispanic Americans will be following the tournament or some teams closely, double the percentage for respondents overall." The results "include the responses of 1,416 adult Americans from April 7-11." The credibility interval "is plus or minus 3 percentage points" (REUTERS, 4/14). But SPORTING NEWS' Mike DeCourcy wrote under the header, "Soccer Is Becoming A Major Draw In U.S. Despite Poll Suggesting Otherwise." The '10 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands "drew an American audience of 15.5 million for ABC and another 8.8 million on Univision." That combined audience of 24.3 million "far surpassed the combined 19.5 million Fox and Fox Deportes drew for the Game 6 victory" by the Red Sox over the Cardinals to clinch the '13 World Series. Soccer has "continued to advance its audience in the U.S. at a time when other sports are stagnant or declining" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 4/14).
