Can the RWC 2023 Match the FIFA Alternative?

This September will see the 10^th iteration of the men’s Rugby World Cup get underway in France, with the hosts currently the bookmakers’ favourites to win this title for the first ever time.

Once again, this quadrennial world championship will follow hot on the heels of football’s FIFA alternative, the last iteration of which only concluded in December 2022 after a thrilling finale between winners Argentina and France.

Historically, of course, this tournament has overshadowed the Rugby World Cup, both in terms of longevity and average viewership figures. But how is the RWC23 shaping up, and can it help Rugby Union to become as popular as football across the globe?

Football vs Rugby Viewership – What Do the Numbers Say?

The 2022 FIFA World Cup achieved a number of striking firsts, not least because it was the first tournament finals to be held in the Middle East.

Due to concerns about the summer climate and humidity, the tournament also earned the distinction of being held in the winter, which was another first for the FIFA World Cup franchise.

With these facts in mind, it’s unsurprising that the 2022 finals were among the most watched in the tournament’s history, with viewership up by 30% when compared to the 2018 iteration. To this end, a staggering 26 million viewers watched the showpiece final in the US alone, with the global audience measuring approximately 1.5 billion in total.

But how does this stack up against the rugby alternative? Well, the 2019 tournament in Japan broke new ground in terms of viewership records for the sport, with the final clash between England and eventual winners South Africa drawing a live audience of 44.9 million. However, there’s clearly a marked difference between these two audiences, and this highlights the chasm that exists in terms of global popularity.

Even in the UK, there’s a relatively large difference in average viewership figures when watching the English football and rugby national teams. For example, England’s gut-wrenching quarterfinal defeat to France in Qatar was watched by a peak British audience of 19.4 million viewers, as the Three Lions were eliminated by Olivier Giroud’s late goal.

Conversely, England’s defeat to South Africa in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final drew a peak audience of just 12.8 million viewers, with this quite a significant chasm given the relative size of the UK.

How Can Rugby Evolve to Match Football’s Popularity?

The obvious takeaway here is the rugby is more popular than football, but it’s probably more accurate to say that the former holds a much larger global appeal.

This is also reflected by the nature of each sport’s respective world cups. After all, the most recent FIFA World Cup saw 32 compete from five different continents, while the 2026 iteration in North America will feature 48 participating nations from six confederations.

Conversely, just 20 teams will compete in the RWC23 in France, although this tournament will at least see representation from five continents (namely Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania and South America). However, while the 2023 tournament will see three teams from South America participate for the first time, the sports remains disproportionately popular Southern Hemisphere nations including New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

So, if Rugby Union is to evolve and gain the global popularity of football, efforts must be made to popularise it further through the Americas and the Northern Hemisphere, especially in parts of Central Europe where the sport is scarcely played.

Even in regions like the UK where Rugby Union has a rich heritage, fewer boys are playing the sport than ever before at school level. This is another area that will have to be address, with the opportunity to play football more readily available and arguably appealing to students.

The Bottom Line

The 2023 Rugby World Cup fixtures feature some spectacular matches during the pool stage, including the mouth-watering tournament opener between host France and New Zealand.

What’s more, organisers are redoubling their efforts to drive spectator engagement and create a more immersive viewing experience for fans, and these two reasons explain why the 2023 tournament is expected to smash all previous tournament viewership records (both in terms of in-person attendance and live TV broadcasts).

While the tournament will break new ground and potentially increase Rugby Union’s global popularity, however, the sport has a long way to go before it can match the appeal of football worldwide.

Make no mistake; such an evolution would take time, effort and engagement, while it would also start with a grassroots movement in individual countries.