“Profit-Driven Approach Takes Center Stage…” “Declining Popularity of the National Team and FIFA’s Money-Grubbing” Plague Sponsors and the Media

Half-hearted marketing

In the fiercely contested CONCACAF World Cup group stage, the Japanese national team secured a spot in the knockout round with one win and two draws. The match against Tunisia on June 21, broadcast on the Nippon TV network, achieved an astonishing peak viewership rating of 37%.

While the whole of Japan was swept up in the excitement, soccer-specialized media outlets have been troubled by a certain waning in the national team’s popularity. An editor at a soccer magazine explains it this way:

“As touted as the ‘strongest team in history,’ many members of this national team play in Europe’s top leagues. That’s precisely why even advancing to the top of the group stage is no longer a surprise.I feel that the national team’s popularity has been steadily declining since its peak at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when players like Keisuke Honda (40) and Shinji Kagawa (37) were the core of the team. The reasons are the lack of national stars and the younger generation’s disengagement from soccer.The fact that DAZN handled the main broadcasts for this World Cup qualifying campaign has also had a significant impact. After all, terrestrial TV is still effective at attracting casual fans.”

Viewership of World Cup-related articles is also declining. A sports newspaper reporter explains:

“The numbers are staying well below expectations. Even articles from on-site coverage aren’t getting the traffic we’d hoped for. The most consistently strong numbers are coming from articles about Honda’s commentary. I can really feel the difference compared to the World Baseball Classic (WBC), which has a star like Shohei Ohtani (31). I hope the numbers will pick up once we enter the knockout stage…”

The decline in soccer’s popularity is also affecting sponsors and companies involved in advertising. An employee at a major advertising agency reveals:

“The demographic watching soccer is getting older than before. It’s now centered on men in their 30s to 50s. The younger generation, who are accustomed to short videos on YouTube and TikTok, find it difficult to sit through a full 90-minute match. I get the sense that even the World Cup sponsors aren’t prioritizing the younger demographic from the start.There have been PR campaigns featuring members of idol groups popular with young people, but I don’t think they’ve yielded any results.

You can see this reflected in DAZN’s programming as well. A clear example is the commentary team. The lineup—featuring former J.League players and JFA-certified coaches—is clearly tailored to core soccer fans. On the other hand, highlight shows feature comedians and members of idol groups. I feel this has resulted in a half-hearted, half-baked marketing strategy.”

FIFA’s Profit-Driven Approach

Broadcasting rights fees for international soccer tournaments, such as the World Cup and the Champions League, are skyrocketing year after year.For the previous tournament in Qatar, FIFA reportedly offered just over 20 billion yen, while for this one, the figure appears to be between 30 and 35 billion yen. This amount is being split among television networks such as NHK, Fuji TV, and Nippon TV, as well as streaming services like DAZN. It is also interesting to note that TV Asahi, which has traditionally focused on soccer broadcasts, has pulled out. A TV Asahi employee explains:

“It’s impossible to turn a profit from match broadcasts alone, so they probably decided it wasn’t worth the effort. During the last tournament, ABEMA broadcast all matches for free. As a result, weekly viewership exceeded 30 million, membership numbers grew significantly, and this contributed greatly to the service turning a profit for the first time.I think it was the right investment decision, but today’s TV networks simply can’t take that risk. This time, ‘DAZN’ has secured the rights to stream all matches, but the key will be how well they can retain their existing paid subscribers.”

This tournament features a record 48 participating nations. The number of matches has also increased.The top 32 teams will advance to the knockout stage, and the tournament will last about a month and a half. Overseas media, primarily in Europe and the U.S., have been actively publishing articles even before the tournament began, criticizing FIFA’s profit-driven approach, its cozy relationship with the Trump administration, and the decline in the level of play resulting from the increase in the number of participating nations. The soccer magazine editor mentioned earlier laments:

“The current state of the soccer world is one where the number of matches has increased to the point where it’s derided as the ‘FIFA virus,’ and the profit-driven nature of the sport—with soaring broadcast rights fees and ticket prices—is front and center. However, I hardly see any articles in Japan criticizing this structure. Watching this World Cup, I felt that this is the difference between Japan and soccer-leading nations.”

This global festival, held once every four years, is losing its original appeal.