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Global Digital Ranking of National Football Teams

Special Global Edition – Post FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw

• The Global Digital Ranking highlights France, England, Brazil, Portugal and Argentina as the national teams with the largest digital fan bases worldwide.
  
• Portugal and Indonesia led digital growth and, alongside Spain, France and Argentina, accounted for nearly 50% of all new global subscriptions among national teams over the past year.
  
• European national teams (UEFA) concentrate the largest total follower volume globally, while South America posts the highest average follower base among members of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).

São Paulo, December 10th, 2025 – The FIFA World Cup 2026 draw has concluded, and all group compositions for the world’s biggest sporting event are now set. But off the pitch, which national teams are leading the global race for digital attention?

IBOPE Repucom, Kantar Media Group’s sports marketing research division, has released the latest edition of the Global Digital Ranking of National Football Teams, analyzing the follower volume of 60 national teams. The study includes the 42 teams already qualified for the 2026 World Cup and the 18 with the largest digital fan bases that have previously participated in at least one FIFA World Cup.

Since July 2024, the date of the previous edition, the 60 national teams analyzed have added a total of 40 million new subscriptions across their official profiles, with 56% originating from TikTok accounts worldwide.

France and England lead in total followers, with 48.8 million and 43 million, respectively, when combining their official profiles across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Brazil completes the podium in third place with 38.4 million followers.

The national teams that grew the most over the past year were Portugal, Indonesia, Spain, France and Argentina, which in aggregate accounted for more than half (51%, or 20 million) of all new subscriptions among all national teams during the period.

Portugal delivered the strongest performance among all teams analyzed. The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) gained 7.3 million new followers across its official platforms, with 51% of that growth coming from TikTok, where the federation doubled its follower base — the best result among all national teams. Among the top 30 teams, the Portuguese national team recorded the highest growth rate over the period, with a 24% increase in its digital base.

Indonesia, despite failing to qualify for the upcoming World Cup, recorded the second-highest digital growth among all national teams. The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) added more than 3.7 million new followers, 75% of which (2.8 million) came from its TikTok account.

Spain ranked third in digital growth, with approximately 3.3 million new followers, representing a 20% increase in its base since 2024. The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) posted strong gains on TikTok, adding 2.1 million new subscriptions.

France, the overall ranking leader, recorded the fourth-highest growth, adding 3.2 million new followers across its platforms. About 60% of this increase came from TikTok, which alone accounted for 1.9 million new subscribers. With this performance, the French Football Federation (FFF) remains at the top of the overall ranking, maintaining a lead of approximately 6 million followers over England, which ranks second.

Argentina, the reigning FIFA World Cup champion, rounds out the Top 5 fastest-growing national teams in digital terms. In total, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) gained 2.9 million new followers, with 87% of that growth originating from its TikTok profile.

Europe

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) remains the leading confederation in total follower volume, totaling 228 million subscriptions across the digital platforms of the 22 national teams analyzed. Since July 2024, UEFA has added more than 19 million new followers, driven primarily by Portugal (+7.3 million), Spain (+3.3 million) and France (+3.2 million), which combined accounted for 71% of Europe’s net digital growth over the period.

South America

The national teams affiliated with the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) represent the second-largest total volume, with 110 million subscriptions across the nine teams included in the ranking. Brazil (38.5 million followers) remains South America’s strongest digital force, ahead of Argentina (29.9 million) and Colombia (17.5 million). Combined, these three teams account for approximately 80% of CONMEBOL’s total digital volume.”

North America, Central America and the Caribbean

The national teams of Mexico (29 million), the United States (9 million) and Canada (1.2 million) — the host countries of the FIFA World Cup 2026 — lead follower volume within the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). Combined, they account for 39 million followers, representing 91% of the 43.3 million total subscriptions recorded across the eight CONCACAF teams included in the ranking. This positions the confederation as the third-largest globally in total follower volume.

Asia

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) concentrates 41 million subscriptions across the digital platforms of the ten national teams analyzed. Indonesia emerges as a clear outlier in the region: despite failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, it recorded the second-highest digital growth among all 60 national teams, ranks seventh globally (as the only Asian team in the global Top 15), and nearly accounts for half of the AFC’s total follower base (48%).

Uzbekistan is another noteworthy case. While positioned 54th in the overall ranking, the national team surpasses digital powerhouses such as Portugal (4th) and Argentina (5th) in YouTube subscribers, highlighting the platform-specific dynamics shaping digital fandom across markets.

Africa

The ten African national teams analyzed account for 36 million subscriptions across social media platforms. Morocco leads the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in global digital presence with 8.4 million followers, ranking ahead of Algeria (6.7 million) and Egypt (5.4 million). Taken together, these three teams represent 52% of CAF’s total digital subscriptions.

Oceania

This edition marks the first-ever direct qualification of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the FIFA World Cup, with New Zealand set to represent the region in its third World Cup appearance. The New Zealand national team totals 415,000 followers across its official digital platforms and ranks ahead of Switzerland, as well as first-time World Cup entrants Cape Verde and Curaçao.

Additional Highlights

• Brazil has the largest Facebook page, with 12 million followers.
• Uzbekistan (54th overall) has more YouTube subscribers than Portugal (4th) and Argentina (5th).
• Norway (39th overall) has more TikTok followers than Brazil (3rd).
• Poland (20th overall) has the fourth-largest YouTube channel, with more than 1 million subscribers.
• Indonesia has the third-largest TikTok page, with more than 8 million followers.
• TikTok accounted for more than half (56%, or 22 million) of all new subscriptions among the 60 national teams over the past year.
• By contrast, X was the worst-performing platform, posting a net loss of 3.6 million followers across national teams.
• Despite failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, Chile matches the United States, one of the tournament’s host nations, in total Facebook followers.
• Egypt (22nd overall) has more followers on X than Portugal (4th).

Danilo Amâncio, Marketing Coordinator at IBOPE Repucom and lead author of the global study, comments: “Social media has become the digital stadium of global football. It is where national teams interact with their fans on a daily basis, even off the pitch. For both traditional powerhouses and emerging teams, this environment serves as a powerful gateway to building genuine connections and highly engaged fan bases. For brands and federations, the opportunity to activate these digital assets is substantial: through advanced targeting and real-time smart activations, every like, comment or share can be translated into experience, relationship and revenue.”

See the full updated ranking below: