Hungarians are one of the most dedicated nations when it comes to soccer

Among the nine nations surveyed, Italians watch football most regularly (65 percent), and they also have the highest percentage of female football fans (37 percent).

According to the survey, 69 percent of European football fans have some ritual related to match-watching. During the football European Championship, fans plan to perform these five main rituals:

• 26 percent always watch the game with a specific group of people
• 23 percent tend to cross their fingers while watching
• 20 percent sing the national anthem
• 18 percent wear some lucky piece of clothing
• 17 percent watch the game from a specific place or piece of furniture.

The survey indicates fans are willing to perform a variety of rituals if it could help their team win. For instance, 38 percent would cross their fingers; 30 percent would wear their clothes inside out, and 19 percent would watch the match in mismatched shoes.

Overall, football fans are so dedicated to their teams that if asked to perform a certain ritual, 47 percent would do it without question. This rate is highest among Slovenians, with 57 percent saying they would do anything if their team asked.

In Hungary, the rate of regular football viewers is slightly below average (34 percent), but dedication is not lacking: 53 percent of respondents said they would be willing to perform any ritual to help their team win, such as 48 percent who would wear their clothes inside out during the match. Hungary ranks high in terms of those who regularly sing the anthem before the match: 25 percent do so (only Italians and Slovenians do it more, at 27 percent).

Coca-Cola encourages football fans to share their rituals on social media using #TheRitualCup hashtag in connection with UEFA EURO 2024™, so they might even appear on the fan screen (‘Believerboard’) installed in the stadium.

“In Hungary, we are also excitedly preparing for UEFA EURO 2024™, which promises to be one of the year’s most thrilling sporting events. The summer promotion launched in the Coca-Cola App is largely about this, as the lucky winners will have the chance to attend the Germany-Hungary match or even the championship final,”

– said Annamária Vida, senior brand manager of Coca-Cola Hungary, who added: the company is preparing several local activities for the event. In collaboration with Street Kitchen, for example, they produced a film showcasing the best Budapest venues where football fans can watch their favorite team’s matches together over dinner.

The study was conducted by Kantar Profiles Division of Kantar in May 2024 for Coca-Cola. It surveyed 16,804 people across nine markets. The nine European markets include: Belgium (2001), Croatia (2001), Denmark (2000), Germany (2001), Hungary (2000), Italy (2000), Spain (2000), England (2000), and Slovenia (801).

The #TheRitualCup campaign was developed by WPP Open X led by David Madrid, supported by Design Bridge & Partners, VML, Ogilvy, EssenceMediacom, and Hogarth.