There are undoubtedly some similarities between the World Cup and the Olympics. They’re both held every four years, and they both showcase the most talented athletes in the world.
If you ask pretty much any soccer fan, they will tell you that the World Cup is so much bigger than the Olympics. But it’s not quite as simple as that.
Here, we take a look at both competitions and answer once and for all the burning question – is the World Cup bigger than the Olympics?
So, is the World Cup bigger than the Olympics?
In terms of general appeal, the Olympics is bigger than the World Cup. After all, there are 33 sports in the Olympic Games, including soccer. But if you were to ask a soccer player or fan which is bigger, they would almost certainly say the World Cup.
Why? Well, it’s down to a number of reasons. The World Cup is the most prestigious trophy in soccer and the pinnacle of achievement in the game. What’s more, Olympic teams are made up predominantly of players under the age of 23, and the level is nowhere near as competitive as it is in the World Cup.
So, with that in mind, let’s take a closer look at why the World Cup is so much bigger and more important than Olympic soccer in the eyes of the majority of soccer players and fans.
The World Cup matters more to players than the Olympics
It’s fair to say that soccer is a sport like no other. In terms of mass appeal, it’s the biggest sport in the world, with more than 240 million registered players and billions of supporters around the world.
In other words, soccer is undoubtedly the biggest sport on the planet, and the World Cup is soccer’s most prestigious event. Every four years, the 32 best nations in the world come together to compete for the World Cup trophy.
Regardless of a player’s achievements at the club level, what happens in the World Cup matters more than anything. It’s that simple. This quote from Pele sums up the nature of the World Cup beautifully:
“The World Cup is a very important way to measure the good players and the great ones. It is a test of a great player.”
As Pele said, the World Cup is the stage upon which the best players in the world prove to the world that they’ve earned their place at the top of the tree. It’s the pinnacle of the sport, and no other trophy in soccer comes close to its prestige.
However, that’s not to say the Olympics isn’t important; of course it is. But when it comes to soccer, the World Cup matters so much more.
The Olympic squads are made up of U-23 players
This is primarily because there are specific rules associated with soccer at the Olympics that are not present for teams wishing to compete in the World Cup.
For instance, all Olympic squads must name all but three players under the age of 23. As such, only three players in the entire squad can be 23 or over, limiting the player pool significantly.
The result is that soccer at the Olympics is not a representation of the finest players on the planet. Nations are not permitted to field their strongest players, which is the main reason why Olympic soccer cannot be in any way compared to the quality of soccer on display in the World Cup.
True, there’s no doubt that soccer players would like to have an Olympic gold medal at the end of their careers. But we can almost guarantee that 99 out of 100 soccer players would prefer to win the World Cup.
What about the fans?
World Cup tickets are extremely hard to come by and are among the most prized tickets in all of soccer. In contrast, tickets for Olympic soccer are much easier to pick up.
For instance, when the Olympics were in the UK, I attended two soccer matches, and the stadiums were half full on both occasions.
In stark contrast, World Cup matches are played in front of packed crowds, and the scramble for tickets for the big games is unrivaled. So, from a spectator’s standpoint, attending the World Cup is much more attractive than watching Olympic soccer.
In terms of viewing figures, the World Cup is also huge. In fact, approximately 3.5 billion people watched the 2018 World Cup in Russia. This figure is expected to rise to 5 billion for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, more than half of the world’s entire population.
Interested to learn about how Qatar managed to host the 2022 World Cup? Check out our recent article that explains how a country gets to host the World Cup.
Approximately three billion people watched the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which is still an impressive number. But it’s significantly short of the number of people who tuned into the World Cup, highlighting just how popular soccer is all around the world.
Also, that figure is for the entire Olympic event, not just for the soccer matches. It indicates that soccer fans are much more interested in the World Cup rather than the Olympic soccer competition.
Is the World Cup the biggest sporting event in the world?
We would argue that, yes, the World Cup is the biggest sporting event. Primarily, we base this on the number of people all around the world who regularly tune into the biggest soccer tournament on the planet. But how do viewing figures compare to other huge sporting events?
We know that at least 3.5 billion people watched the 2019 World Cup and 3 billion people watched the 2020 Olympics. Let’s check out some other of our best-loved sports for comparison:
- The Superbowl (NFL) – 112 million.
- The Masters (Golf) – 13.16 million.
- The NBA Finals (NBA) – 12.4 million.
- The World Series (MLB) – 11.75 million.
- The Stanley Cup (NHL) – 4.59 million.
Granted, the above sports are annual occurrences and are most popular in America. But the figures go to show just how many people watch the soccer World Cup when it comes around. It really is the biggest sporting event on the planet in terms of viewership.
The fact that it’s only held every four years also adds to its appeal, and it makes it that little more special, particularly for players. Most players will only be able to play in three World Cups in their entire careers, so they need to make it count!
The verdict: Is the World Cup bigger than the Olympics?
We think that the World Cup is bigger than the Olympics, as it attracts more viewers from all around the world. Specifically, in regards to soccer, the World Cup is undoubtedly bigger than the soccer event at the Olympics, and the gulf in class is significant.
However, we’re not trying to disparage the Olympics! We love the Olympics, and the show of talent and hard work is totally inspiring.
But it just falls short of the World Cup in terms of popularity with fans, which is why we have to say that the World Cup is more popular than the Olympic games.