FIFA women’s World Cup: Canadian interest higher than for men’s tournament, poll shows

Team Canada is making its eighth appearance at the FIFA women's World Cup starting Thursday, but has yet to lift the trophy. What are their chances this year?

As the Canadian women’s soccer team prepares for the start of the FIFA World Cup, there appears to be more interest and greater expectations placed on them prior to the event than were on the men last year, new polling shows.

Team Canada, ranked seventh in the world, will play its first Group B match against Nigeria Thursday night in Melbourne. The month-long tournament is being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Despite the distance and 14-hour time difference, 41 per cent of Canadians say they will be “paying close attention” to the matches, according to an Ipsos poll done exclusively for Global News.

Canadian interest in the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year was lower when Ipsos did a similar survey, with only 34 per cent saying they would watch the event closely.

The success and standing of the women’s team on the world stage are drawing more Canadians in, said Sanyam Sethi, vice president of Ipsos Canada Public Affairs.

“We can pin it down to the performance,” Sethi said in an interview with Global News.

“Not only is the pride higher, but the expectations with the women are also higher, and that’s to do with the current performance and the rankings.”

For about one-third of the respondents, the women’s soccer World Cup is more important than the Olympics, which are also held once in four years.