Nielsen Report Claims Only 60% Of Brazilians Interested In Football

A report found Brazil ranks 13th in terms of percentage of population interested in football.GETTY IMAGES

Brazil's reputation as a football-mad country was "dented" by a report which found that "only" 60% of those interviewed said that they were "interested in the sport," according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. The UAE topped the list compiled by Nielsen Sports, which ranked 30 countries according to the percentage of the population "who described themselves as interested in football." The UAE, where the figure was 80%, was followed by Thailand (78%) and Chile, Portugal and Turkey (all 75%), while five-time world champion Brazil ranked "a modest 13th." The Brazilian figure dropped from 72% in '13, the year before the country hosted the World Cup. The report said that the figure for China increased from 27% in '13 to 32% in '17, in India from 30% to 45% and in the U.S. from 28% to 32%. The U.K., despite boasting the Premier League, "was a modest 17th in the rankings," with 51% (REUTERS, 6/12).