Neuroscience Says Watching The World Cup Is Good For Your Brain. Bosses Should Pay Attention.

This article by Jessica Stillman was originally published on Inc.com.

The World Cup has kicked off. In normal times I’d be bracing for four weeks as a “football widow” as my soccer-mad husband somehow manages to watch multiple games a day. But the mood around this year’s tournament—hosted by the USA, Mexico, and Canada —is far more subdued than usual, at least over here in Europe where I live. 

There are lots of good reasons for that, from sky high ticket prices to a host that’s at war with a participating country. (That’s despite having been awarded the “FIFA peace prize” just last year.) If you want a full rundown of every controversy and vibe killer around World Cup 2026, the UK Independent has a helpful if grim roundup. 

That’s a bummer for diehard soccer fans or anyone who likes to get hyped up and follow their favorite team every four years. But there’s reason to resist the cloud of gloom hanging over this year’s tournament. According to neuroscience, watching sporting events like the World Cup is great for our mood, our brains, and our all around well-being. 

How I learned to love the World Cup 

I have to confess, as an American with little to no youthful connection to soccer, I haven’t always experienced the World Cup as four weeks of joy. In fact, when I first moved to Europe I was more baffled as to why my house was suddenly full of rowdy Greeks watching the likes of Tunisia vs. Australia for 12 hours a day. 

But having seen otherwise sensible adults be overcome with childlike joy every four years for the past couple of decades, I am now something of a covert. (My 40-something husband and his friends and his father still trade Panini stickers.)

Not because I suddenly started deeply caring about whether Tunisia will make it out of the group stages. (Sorry, Tunisia.) But because I’ve seen how the tournament suspends everyday life and brings people together in a shared bubble of happy obsession. 

It turns out, science shows that collective soccer mania has very real, very positive effects on our brains and our well-being.

What watching soccer does to our brains 

Writing in The Conversation recently, a trio of psychologists laid out the research on the mental and physical benefits of team sports fandom. Their recent study of more than 7,000 Brits found “that people in the UK who attended a live sporting event in the last year are more satisfied with their lives, feel their lives are more worthwhile, and are less lonely than people who have not,” they share. Other studies have come to similar conclusions. 

Given the eye-watering ticket prices to actually attend a World Cup 2026, it’s worth stressing that you don’t have to be in the stadium to experience benefits. Research has also found that just watching sports on TV reduces your likelihood of depression and increases feelings of life fulfillment.   

Avoiding depression is obviously great in itself. But the trio of psychologists points out that better mental health is also linked to better physical health. “People with higher wellbeing tend to have better physical health and live longer than people with lower wellbeing,” they write. 

The magic is the community 

Why is sitting on your couch yelling at the referee likely to improve not just your mood, but your health too? The simple answer is community. Rooting for a team provides an instant sense of togetherness—and an instant way to connect effortlessly with strangers. 

Japanese researchers saw this effect firsthand. They used brain imagining technology to compare the effects of watching team sports like soccer versus individual sports like golf. Games that prompted a feeling of communal belonging produced greater activation of the brain’s reward centers. 

An absolute mountain of science links a greater sense of social connection to just about every positive health outcome you can think of, including longer life. 

Why bosses (and everyone else) should embrace the World Cup

It might be tempting to feel down about a World Cup tournament only the well off can attend. Or one where immigration restrictions kept a widely celebrated African referee from being able to officiate the final. 

Or, more immediately for entrepreneurs and other business leaders, because of the distraction. Some estimates suggest employees’ sneakily watched games, soccer banter, and fake sick days could add up to $11.7 billion in lost productivity in the US alone.  

But let’s not forget the other side of the equation. Yes, this year’s tournament is a pageant of inequality and a giant attention suck. But it’s also a rare chance to connect and bond together across all sorts of difference. In a world conspicuously lacking in fun and togetherness, the World Cup is an opportunity for both. 

That’s not just joyful and life affirming. That’s great for our brains, our health, and down the line our energy and work performance. So remember these neuroscience-backed benefits before you become a World Cup grinch.