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.

What data do we collect?

If you participate, you will provide us in particular with the following information:

• heart rate, activity and sleep data
• ideally, additional information about how you followed the matches

All data will be anonymised and treated with strict confidentiality. For further information on data protection, please click here.

Participation

To participate in the study, you must be of legal age and use a smartwatch (e.g. Amazfit, Apple Watch, Coros, Fitbit, Garmin, Google Pixel Watch, Oura, Polar, Samsung Galaxy Watch, Wahoo, Whitings, Whoop, Xiamo Mi), which you should wear as regularly as possible. Using your watch’s app, we automatically and securely retrieve your physiological data in compliance with data protection regulations.

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!

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

Media coverage

• "Wie sehr leiden Puls und Schlaf unter den späten WM-Spielen?" (RTL)
• "Wie stressig ist Fußballschauen fürs Herz?" (WDR 5 Neugier genügt)
• "Studie untersucht Fußballfieber zur WM" (WDR Lokalzeit)
• "Welches Land fiebert bei der WM am meisten mit?" (ARD Sportschau)
• "Uni Bielefeld untersucht internationales Fußballfieber" (WDR Online)
• "Toooor! Was macht Mitfiebern beim Fußball mit unserem Körper?" (SWR Kultur)
• "Smartwatch-Studie zur WM: Bielefelder Forscher messen das Fußballfieber" (Neue Westfälische)
• "Mitmachen bei WM-Studie: Wie stressig sind die Spiele?" (Westfalen-Blatt)
• "Studie untersucht Fußballfieber zur Weltmeisterschaft 2026" (Aktuell Uni Bielefeld)

This study is conducted in cooperation between Bielefeld University and Wissenswerkstadt Bielefeld.