Mastercard Releases Fan Passion Report
MasterCard has released its Fan Passion Report, a study into the passions of over 5,000 European football fans, ahead of the UEFA Champions League final between Juventus and FC Barcelona on Saturday 6th June.
According to the report, European fans rank England as their favourite country to visit for an away match. England received 23% of the vote with Spain just behind with 22%, whilst Italy (12%) and Germany (10%) followed as the third and fourth countries that fans like to visit.
The survey found that fans in Italy (73%) have more superstitions relating to football than other nationalities in Europe, just ahead of Spanish fans. Nearly half (47%) of Italians wear a item of lucky clothing during a match, 20% insist on sitting in the same seat every game and 13% eat or drink a specific food item or beverage. Over 40% of Spaniards also admitted to wearing lucky clothes, but the least superstitious fans in Europe are those from Portugal, where only 23% have any superstitions, followed by Sweden (24%) and the Netherlands (29%).
69% of fans in Italy claimed that they have chosen to miss an important family event to attend a football match, with the Spanish following closely behind with 60% choosing football over family.
The Fan Passion Report from MasterCard, the official player mascot provider for the UEFA Champions League, also asked fans from 11 different countries to vote for who they thought was the best player in the history of the competition. In the MasterCard poll of more than 5,000 fans, Lionel Messi came out on top as the greatest player to feature in the competition with a huge 27% of the vote.
The FC Barcelona forward was followed by former Real Madrid CF star Zinedine Zidane (12%), with Cristiano Ronaldo (11%) coming third. Brazilian striker Ronaldo (7%) was fourth and David Beckham (4%) came fifth.
The highest number of votes for Messi came from the over 55 age group (33%) rather than the younger generation. The Argentine superstar was top of the MasterCard fan poll in England, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, Russia and Hungary. Zidane topped the poll in his home country of France, as did Ronaldo in his home of Portugal.
Michael Ballack, MasterCard player mascot manager for the UEFA Champions League final in Berlin, commented: “Football without fans just wouldn’t be the same.
“They are the heartbeat of the game and their passion for football is unbelievable.
“When you walk out of the tunnel, the wall of noise they create hits you and gives the players a huge boost.”
Ann Cairns, president, international markets, MasterCard, said: “Football fans love their team and watching the game that means so much to them.
“They go to all lengths to support their team, spending money to travel abroad, missing family events, wearing lucky clothes and adhering to superstitions.
“The Fan Passion Report highlights that while there are many differences in how we support our teams, a shared love of the beautiful game can really unite us and create priceless moments and memories.”
