Sporting Superstitions

Many fans turn to match-day rituals as sporting superstitions. Almost two-thirds (60.9%) of Brits believe in superstitions to an extent when watching or playing sports, with over a third (39.1%) of those aged 25-24 firmly believing in sports superstitions, especially when betting for or against their team, with online bookmakers. To such an extent that if betting on their own team, they will only use free bets to do so; such is the fear of jinxing their weekend acca. 

With such widespread belief in sports superstitions, we wanted to uncover the most popular pre-game rituals and reveal which demographics are most likely to participate.

When you finish this article, why not take our sporting superstitions quiz?

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Over 9 in 10 Brits attribute game-day results to superstitions

While some believe pre-game rituals do not impact a match's result, almost a fifth (18.4%) of Brits always perform some kind of routine on match day. Nearly one-quarter (23.5%) often participate in pre-match activities like listening to certain songs or wearing lucky clothing.

Despite this, over two-fifths (41.1%) of survey respondents stated that they never perform pre-game rituals with the hope of improving their team’s performance. This divide suggests that game-day superstitions are more popular than you might think. Brits aged 25-34 are the most likely to perform a pre-game ritual every time their team plays, with over two-fifths (41.8%) admitting this.

While many Brits do not consistently participate in pre-game rituals, most that take part attribute their team’s wins and losses to sporting superstitions.

Over nine in 10 (91.3%) surveyed participants who follow superstitions believe their team’s match results are in some way related to sporting superstitions. Almost a third (29.3%) of them think this is rarely the case, over two-fifths (41.4%) believe it happens often, and over a fifth (20.6%) believe it every time. 

Those aged 65 and over are most likely (17.1%) to never attribute their team’s performance to superstitions.

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Almost one in two Brits wear a team kit for a winning edge

Of all the superstitious sporting rituals, the most common among survey participants is wearing team-specific clothing. Almost half (45.4%) of respondents who believe in sporting superstitions to some extent claim to wear team clothing, many with hopes of impacting their team’s performance. 

Superstitious fans aged 25-34 are most likely (48.6%) to wear team clothes, although this is popular across all age groups, with almost two-fifths (38.4%) of over 65s also participating in this superstitious act.

A further one-quarter (25.1%) who follow superstitions wear a specific colour, and over a fifth (21.4%) use music to help sway the match result in their team’s favour. Superstitious fans aged 18-24 are most likely to listen to a match-day playlist, at almost a third (32.8%) compared to just one in 10 (10.3%) of those aged 65 and over.

The rarest match-day rituals involve engaging with team social media posts (8.6%), from commenting on team posts to uploading on their story. Few people who believe in a pre-game ritual perform gestures or chants before or during the game (9.1%).

Women are more than twice as likely to perform a pre-game ritual before every game

Being superstitious about your favourite sports team can look very different for men and women. Our survey found that women (22.7%) are more likely to strongly believe in sports superstitions than men (18.0%). Whereas men (43.9%) are more likely to not believe in superstitious rituals than women (34.8%).

Women are more than twice as likely to perform a pre-match ritual before every game, with almost a quarter (24.8%) stating that they always participate in a superstitious act, like listening to specific songs or wearing lucky clothing pieces. Contrasting this, just over one in 10 (11.3%) men do the same.

Almost half (49.6%) of women who believe in sporting superstitions say they pose a moderate risk to their mental health compared to under a third (31.8%) of men. Despite this, men (18.3%) who believe in superstitions are more likely to say these rituals have a minor effect on their mental health compared to women (10.6%). This disparity demonstrates the effect pre-game routines and superstitions can have on men and women.

Men superstitious about sports are more than twice as likely to perform gestures or chants before or during a sports game as women. Almost a seventh (13.3%) of men who believe in a match-day ritual admit this sporting superstition, compared to just 5.9% of women.

Men are also almost two-thirds more likely to watch sports games from the exact location each time in hopes of improving their team’s score. Just under a sixth (15.1%) of superstitious women have a regular match-day spot, compared to almost a quarter (24.1%) of men.

Sports fans from Belfast, Bristol, and Glasgow are the most superstitious

Three-quarters (75.9%) of survey respondents from Belfast are superstitious to an extent. Almost two in five (37.0%) sports fans from Belfast strongly believe in sporting superstitions, and the remaining (38.9%) somewhat believe in them.

In Bristol, over two-thirds of people (69.7%) strongly follow sporting superstitions, with over a third (36.8%) somewhat believing in them. In Glasgow, two-thirds (66.7%) of people strongly follow superstitions, with almost one-fifth (18.1%) somewhat putting weight on them.

When it comes to participating in a match-day ritual, over half of the people from Belfast (61.1%) and Bristol (57.9%) do this often or always. Almost half (49.4%) of survey participants from Manchester often or always perform a ritual on game day. Over half of people from Liverpool (56.5%) and Southampton (56.5%) never participate in a ritual before their team plays.

Superstitious fans from Belfast (58.5%) are most likely to wear team clothing to improve their team’s results. Over half of superstitious fans from Glasgow (52.1%), Cardiff (51.6%), and Leeds (51.5%), and half of those from Sheffield (50.0%) also wear team clothing for good luck.

Superstitious sports fans from Sheffield are most likely (13.2%) to use social media in hopes of improving their team’s luck. In comparison, superstitious fans from Manchester (15.9%) and Liverpool (15.3%) are most likely to carry out gestures or sing chants before or during a game.

Residents of Norwich, Bristol, and Manchester are most interested in sports superstitions

1. Norwich - 34 searches for sporting rituals per 100,000 people

Norwich residents are the most interested in sporting rituals, with 34 searches per 100,000 people in the last year. Sports fans from Norwich searched for pre-game playlists, rituals, and food. Despite this interest, just under one in 10 (9.1%) of survey respondents from Norwich strongly believe in sports superstitions.

2. Bristol - 33 searches for sporting rituals per 100,000 people

Bristol sports fans are among the most interested in sporting rituals, with 33 searches per 100,000 people last year. Bristol residents most searched for match-day food, pre-game songs, and pre-game food. Sports superstitions are common in Bristol, with over two-thirds (69.7%) of survey participants believing in these rituals to some extent.

3. Manchester - 31 searches for sporting rituals per 100,000 people

Manchester is one of the cities most interested in sports rituals, with 31 searches per 100,000 residents in the last 12 months. The most popular superstitions were for a match-day or game-day outfit, a pre-game playlist, and match-day food. Our survey also found that almost two-thirds (63.7%) of Mancunians believe in sports superstitions.

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Methodology

We surveyed 2,000 people from the UK on their beliefs and participation in sporting superstitions. We asked the following questions. If respondents answered ‘Never’ to question two, they skipped questions three, four, and five:

1. How strongly do you believe in superstitions when participating in or watching sports? (2,000 UK respondents)

2. How often do you perform a ritual before your team plays (this could include listening to specific songs, wearing certain items of clothing, or going to the same pre-match venue)? (2,000 UK respondents)

3. How often do you attribute your team's wins or losses to your sporting superstitions? (1,217 UK respondents)

4. Do you think your sporting superstitions pose a risk to your mental or physical well-being? (1,217 UK respondents)

5. Which of the following sporting superstitions do you engage in? Select all that apply. (1,217 UK respondents)

We used Google Ads Keyword Planner to source the number of Google searches for common sporting superstitions in each UK city of our survey participants between 01 August 2023 and 31 July 2024. We normalised the number of Google searches to each city’s population using Nomis and the National Records of Scotland rounded to the nearest whole number.