Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had requested to appear in a video to share a message of world peace ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final match between Argentina and France. FIFA turning it down made waves in the public forum.

Real Research, an online survey app, launched a survey on the public opinion on Ukraine President, Volodymyr Zelensky Peace Message at FIFA 2022.

Ukraine President’s Request Peace in FIFA 2022

We asked Real Research respondents if they were aware of Ukraine President’s request for peace message in FIFA World Cup 2022 finals. 63.28% were aware, 25.28% were partially aware, and 11.45% were unaware.

We further asked them what their stand was on FIFA denying the request. 66.85% supported it, 22.79% were against it, and 10.36% were undecided about it. The survey on Public Opinion on Ukraine President’s Request to Share Peace Message at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 further highlights the following:

Highlights

  • 66.85% support FIFA’s decision to deny broadcasting the peace message
  • 65.22% feel President Zelensky’s peace messagge would raise public awareness of Ukraine’s political situation
  • 40.3% strongly agree that FIFA’s fame and forum could be used to promote global issues such as World Peace, global warming, LGBTQ+ issues, etc.

The Impact Of The Peace Message

We asked our respondents if they believed the peace message would have been helpful given the unrest in Ukraine caused by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The responses were as follows; somewhat helpful (32.91%), extremely helpful (29.09%), average impact (25.63%), somewhat unhelpful (5.64%), and undecided (4.9%).

Ukraine repeatedly attempted to use major world events, regardless of their theme, to keep the global spotlight on Russia’s invasion. We asked our respondents how they think the Ukraine President’s Request Peace in FIFA 2022 would impact the country’s agenda if FIFA had agreed to broadcast Volodymyr Zelensky’s message.

Figure 1 Responses to the impact of the peace message on the country's agenda
Figure 1: Responses to the impact of the peace message on the country’s agenda

To this, 65.22% feel it would raise public awareness of Ukraine’s political situation, 20.12% feel it would inspire more people to work for global peace, 5% are uncertain how this will impact Ukraine, 3.68% feel it would lift the spirits of Ukrainians all over the world, 2.85% feels it will inadvertently encourage other countries to come forward and seek attention for their political squabbles.

When Ukraine President’s Request Peace In FIFA 2022 Was Denied

We asked our respondents why Volodymyr Zelensky peace message at  FIFA 2022 was denied. 31.27% claimed that it was FIFA’s reluctance to dampen the spirit of the game with a sympathetic message. 24.94% thinks it was due to FIFA’s fear of Putin, 21.86% say it was FIFA’s unwillingness to reduce the game’s entertainment aspect.

Figure 2 Responses to possible reasons for FIFA's refusal to deliver Zelensky's peace message
Figure 2: Responses to possible reasons for FIFA’s refusal to deliver Zelensky’s peace message

11.3% however, thinks its FIFA’s aversion to getting involved in politics. Finally, 7.77% replied that FIFA felt the message was overly political.

The Zelensky Approach

Earlier, Zelensky made video appearances to promote peace at various events (the G20 Summit, the Grammy Awards, and the Cannes Film Festival). However, FIFA regarded it as “too political”. We wanted to know if our respondents agreed with promoting political peace through non-political entertainment platforms.

42.42% strongly agree, 27.42% somewhat agree, 18.73% neither agree nor disagree, 4.92% somewhat disagree, and 3.94% have undecided feelings.

Figure 3 Responses to Zelensky’s approach  
Figure 3: Responses to Zelensky’s approach  

Zelensky tweeted, “No matter who wins today, FIFA has lost already” revealing his disappointment on the day of the World Cup final match. We asked if his disappointment was justified. 37.49% feels it is highly justified, 25.97% thinks it is somewhat justified, 24.65% feels it is neither justified nor unjustified, 7.54% feels it is somewhat unjustified, and 4.36% feels it is highly unjustified. 

In Conclusion

As Ukraine President’s request peace in FIFA 2022 was denied, a Ukrainian official statement said, “We thought FIFA wanted to use its platform for a greater good”. Accordingly, we asked if our respondents agree that FIFA’s fame and forum could be used to promote global issues such as World Peace, global warming, LGBTQ+ issues, etc.

To this 40.30% strongly agree, 30.16% somewhat agree, 21.80% neither agree nor disagree, and 4.88% somewhat disagree.

Methodology

 
Survey TitleSurvey on Public Opinion on Ukraine President’s Request to Share Peace Message at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
DurationDecember 23, 2022 —December 29, 2022
Number of Participants20,000
DemographicsMales and females, aged 21 to 99
Participating Countries Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia,… Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong) China (Macao), China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Greanada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Maluritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar [Burma], Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.