Football is still the sport Americans most like to watch, but its lead is the slimmest Gallup has recorded in a generation, and soccer has climbed to a record high.
In an Aug. 3–24 telephone survey of 1,200 U.S. adults, 31% named football their favorite sport to watch, Gallup reported. That is the lowest share since 2001 and well below the 43% peaks in 2006 and 2007. Football has finished first in all 23 Gallup measurements since it passed baseball in 1972.
Soccer was named by 9%, two points above Gallup’s previous high and close to basketball (11%) and baseball (10%). Gallup noted the poll was taken in the weeks after the United States, Canada, and Mexico hosted the 2026 World Cup. Before 2005, soccer never topped 2% in the series. It has been at least 5% in each of the last three surveys.
Football remains Americans’ favorite sport to watch, by a wide margin, although the 31% who name it as their favorite is the lowest since 2001.
— Gallup (@Gallup) September 9, 2026
Meanwhile, 9% of Americans identify soccer as their favorite sport, the highest Gallup has measured by two percentage points. Soccer… pic.twitter.com/BKLLgRAECn
Twenty percent of adults said they have no favorite sport, also a high for the trend. Ice hockey, volleyball, auto racing, and MMA each drew 2% to 4%.
Age is the sharpest split. Only 20% of adults 18 to 34 picked football, compared with 30% of those 35 to 54 and 38% of those 55 and older, Gallup said. Among young adults, basketball, baseball, and soccer each drew about 10%.
The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points. Gallup historically finds football a few points higher when the question is asked in season. Even allowing for that, Jeffrey M. Jones wrote that this year’s 31% sits on the low end of a 50-year trend as the 2026 NFL season begins.
North Texas remains a football market — the Cowboys, college programs, and Friday night lights — but the national numbers show younger viewers spreading their attention.
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