TEL AVIV—On the eve of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, a major new survey shows that the interest in women’s soccer has seen a massive spike since the 2019 World Cup. The WSC Sports survey of 14,000 people in seven countries and five continents found that avid followers of the Women’s World Cup set to increase by 57% from 929 million in 2019 to 1.472 billion in 2023 and that awareness of the tournament is also much higher.

That amounts to 543 million new fans for the tournament, which kicks-off on Thursday July 20.

WSC reported that the tournament registered 46% awareness globally with England (66%) ranking highest, followed by Brazil (59%), co-hosts Australia (58%), United States (43%), Germany (40%), France (33%) and Japan (21%).

“Our research shows conclusively the rate at which interest and awareness of women’s sport is growing globally. It also underlines the role of digital platforms and short-format content in driving a bigger audience for the Women’s World Cup,” says Daniel Shichman, CEO at WSC Sports.