The first day of one of the most watched sports events in the world is celebrated on June 14. The desire for the best team to rise to the top of the UEFA European Championship has already captured the imagination of Central European football fans. According to a public opinion survey conducted by CEPER, an average of 60% of Central European citizens from 10 surveyed countries answered that they plan to pay at least some attention to and follow the upcoming European Championship. Just a few weeks before the start, only 37% (on average) of regional respondents remained uninterested in the tournament.
As 81% of Croatian respondents plan to follow at least some of the football matches, Croats are undoubtedly the most excited about the upcoming championship in the region.
In four countries (Austria, Poland, Romania and Slovenia) about 64-69%, while in Serbia, Slovakia and Bulgaria between 53 and 57% of respondents plan to be informed about the UEFA European Championship during June and July.
Hungary and the Czech Republic were the only two countries where less than half of respondents planned to at least partially follow the tournament – only 47% and 46% respectively said they would be informed about the sporting event.
Who are you betting on?
Many Central European citizens not only can't wait to watch the performance of the 24 competing countries, but have firm beliefs about the most likely winner. In a poll, CEPER asked those who follow the European Championship to name the team they think has the best chance of winning the title.
In six countries, the largest percentage of respondents declared Germany the most likely champion, while the largest percentage of Austrians, Poles and Romanians predicted France's victory in the final.
The largest percentage of Bulgarians, Czechs, Serbs, Slovaks, Slovenians and Hungarians named Germany and France as the most likely winners. Of Poles who will follow the European Championship, 24% of them see France as the winner, while 13% predicted that Spain will become this year's champion. After France, the team Romanians predicted to win the tournament was England. Italy, which wants to defend its UEFA EURO 2020 title, was not chosen by more than 8% of respondents in any of the 10 Central European countries as a likely champion in 2024.
It can be concluded that respondents from the region have high expectations that France or Germany will be at the top – on average (in 10 regional countries) 18% (of those who follow sports events) predict France, while 17% predict that Germany will become this year's champion.
Respondents can't wait to see how their national teams play.
Croats and Austrians were the most confident in their teams - 46% of Croats who will follow the championship believe that their team will emerge as the final winner. Austrian fans of the football event, 23% of them, see France as the winner, while 16% cite Austria as the most likely winner of this year's sporting event.
No less than 10% of Hungarians and Serbs also named their country as the favorite to win. In the Czech Republic and Poland, about 8% of respondents who will at least partially follow the tournament predicted the victory of their own country, while in Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, less than 5% did so.
Methodology
The public opinion survey was conducted in 10 countries of the Central European region: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Poland. The data was collected between May 6 and June 4, 2024. The survey was conducted by telephone with a thousand respondents per country (in person in Serbia). The sample per country is representative according to gender, age and type of settlement.
CEPER is a trademark of CEPER Group GmbH. The acronym CEPER stands for the Central European Perspective. CEPER's area of expertise is Central European affairs, the company offers its clients media monitoring, market research and surveys from the region.
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