World Cup fever – a study by Bielefeld University

World Cup fever – objectives of the study

We analyse the physiological responses of football fans during the 2026 World Cup. Among other things, we are interested in:

• the physical response to relevant match events
• differences between fans of different nationalities

By sharing your data, you support our efforts to measure World Cup fever scientifically! It does not matter whether you are watching on TV, following the live ticker, or at a public viewing.

This study is a follow-up project of the "Football Fever Study" – see also our scientific publication on this.

Participation

To participate in the study, you must be of legal age and use a smartwatch (e.g. Amazfit, Apple, Coros, Fitbit, Garmin, Google, Oura, Polar, Samsung, Wahoo, Whitings, Whoop, Xiamo Mi).

Using your watch’s app, we automatically and securely retrieve your physiological data in compliance with data protection regulations. All data will be anonymised and treated with strict confidentiality. For further information on data protection, please click here.

Please use the form below to express your interest in participating in the study – simply click "Next" and answer a few questions, and we will measure your World Cup fever too!

At the end of the tournament, we will give away 3 x 1 World Cup jerseys of your choice, each worth up to € 100. You will receive one entry into the draw for every completed questionnaire.

Preliminary results

Initial results and media coverage of the study can be found here.

Prof. Dr. Christian Deutscher
Chair for Sports Economics
christian.deutscher@uni-bielefeld.de
Website

Prof. Dr. Christiane Fuchs
Chair for Data Science
christiane.fuchs@uni-bielefeld.de
Website