The only place in the US where soccer is more popular than football!
- California is the only state where people register more searches for soccer video game FIFA than for NFL game Madden
- Wyoming is at the other end of the scale, with the nation’s highest level of searches for Madden
New research has revealed the state that loves soccer more than NFL – at least when it comes to video games.
The study by online gaming information site Indivisible Game analysed Google data on searches for two of the biggest video game franchises in the world – Madden and FIFA/FC – which are both made by EA Sports. The investigation looked at searches for the two most recent versions of the games – Madden NFL 24 and Madden NFL 23, and FIFA 23 and EA Sports FC 24 – in each state, to see which sport’s video game received the larger share of interest.
California emerged as the only state more interested in FIFA than Madden, with 52% of searches for the four games going to the soccer simulator’s two most recent titles, and 48% to Madden 23 and 24. In the real world, California’s MLS and NFL teams have seen similar levels of success in recent years, with LAFC and LA Chargers each winning their respective Championships in 2022. LAFC defeated Philadelphia Union in the MLS Cup and narrowly lost the 2023 final this month, while the LA Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
New York had the second highest levels of interest in soccer games, with 47% for FIFA compared to 53% for Madden, while it was followed in third place by neighboring New Jersey, where 46% of searches went to the soccer titles and 54% to the NFL game. Also featuring in the top ten are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon, Utah and Florida.
At the other end of the scale, Wyoming is the most interested in NFL action, with 88% of searches for Madden games, and just 12% for the soccer equivalent. North Dakota and Mississippi both dedicated 85% of searches to the NFL video games, while Alaska (84%), South Dakota and West Virginia (both 83%) all had similarly high levels of interest.
Commenting on the study, a spokesperson for Indivisible Game said:
“Madden and FIFA are two of the biggest video games in the world, both generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue every year, so it’s interesting to see how popular they are across America. Madden dominates across most of the US as we might expect, but it’s fascinating to see California stand alone as the state with higher search levels for EA Sports’ soccer franchise – and several other states are not far behind.”
The Top Ten States Most Interested in FIFA compared to Madden
| Region | EA Sports FC 24 | EA SPORTS FIFA 23 | Madden NFL 24 | Madden NFL 23 | Combined search share for FIFA/FC | Combined search share for Madden |
| California | 27% | 25% | 23% | 25% | 52% | 48% |
| New York | 25% | 22% | 26% | 27% | 47% | 53% |
| New Jersey | 25% | 21% | 26% | 28% | 46% | 54% |
| Massachusetts | 25% | 21% | 26% | 28% | 46% | 54% |
| Connecticut | 24% | 19% | 27% | 30% | 43% | 57% |
| Oregon | 23% | 19% | 27% | 31% | 42% | 58% |
| Utah | 22% | 19% | 30% | 29% | 41% | 59% |
| Florida | 22% | 18% | 30% | 30% | 40% | 60% |
| Washington | 21% | 19% | 27% | 33% | 40% | 60% |
The Top Ten States Most Interested in Madden compared to FIFA
| Region | EA Sports FC 24 | EA SPORTS FIFA 23 | Madden NFL 24 | Madden NFL 23 | Combined search share for FIFA/FC | Combined search share for Madden |
| Wyoming | 12% | 43% | 45% | 12% | 88% | |
| Mississippi | 8% | 7% | 40% | 45% | 15% | 85% |
| North Dakota | 8% | 7% | 46% | 39% | 15% | 85% |
| Alaska | 16% | 42% | 42% | 16% | 84% | |
| West Virginia | 10% | 7% | 40% | 43% | 17% | 83% |
| South Dakota | 9% | 8% | 39% | 44% | 17% | 83% |
| Montana | 9% | 9% | 39% | 43% | 18% | 82% |
| Ohio | 10% | 9% | 39% | 42% | 19% | 81% |
| Louisiana | 10% | 9% | 40% | 41% | 19% | 81% |
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
