Sport: ‘Football fever’ peaks on match day
The mean stress level of fans of the football club Arminia Bielefeld was 41% higher on the day of the German Football Association’s (DFB-Pokal) 2025 Cup final compared to non-match days, according to a study published in Scientific Reports. The authors suggest that this reaction, known as ‘football fever’, may be driven by the intensity of fans’ emotions towards their team, each other, and the sport.
Football — also known as soccer — is the world’s most popular sport and can evoke strong physiological and emotional reactions in fans. The 2025 DFB-Pokal Cup final took place on the 24th May 2025 in the Berlin Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion) and was the first time that Arminia Bielefeld reached this stage. The opposing team, VfB Stuttgart — who reached the final for the seventh time — beat Arminia Bielefeld 4-2 and won the Cup final for the fourth time.
Christian Deutscher, Christiane Fuchs, and colleagues analysed smartwatch data from 229 adult Arminia Bielefeld fans over a 12-week period, beginning ten days prior to the cup final and concluding ten weeks afterwards. They analysed changes in participants’ heart rates and stress levels — inferred from a combination of heart rate and heart-rate variability — and investigated the factors influencing these using survey data from a subset of 37 participants, who were 54% male and had a mean age of 39 years. The authors found that the mean stress level of participants was 41% higher on the day of the cup final compared to non-match days. Stress levels rose in the hours prior to the match, peaked just as it began, and remained elevated after it ended. Participants’ mean heart rate increased from 71 beats per minute on a non-match day to 79 beats per minute on the Cup final day. When the authors compared the smartwatch and survey data, they found that the mean heart rate was 23% higher among participants watching the match in the Olympiastadion than among those watching on television or at public gatherings. It was also 5% higher among those who had consumed alcohol, compared to those who had not.
The findings highlight the strong physical reactions of football fans to major matches. The authors note that elevated heart rates in combination with alcohol can increase the risk of adverse cardiac events such as arrhythmias. They suggest that future studies should investigate physical responses to intense events in greater detail across different types of high-stress situations.
Journal
Scientific Reports
Article Title
Measuring football fever through wearable technology
Article Publication Date
5-Feb-2026
Stadium fever measured—why live football raises the pulse
Study on fan responses during German cup final compares viewing locations
image:
The ‘Football Fever Study’ conducted by researchers at Bielefeld University shows how differently the football experience strains fans’ bodies.
view moreCredit: Wissenswerkstadt Bielefeld/Sarah Jonek
Fans of DSC Arminia Bielefeld experience matchday excitement far more intensely in the stadium than in front of the television when watching football (soccer). A study from Bielefeld University demonstrates clear differences in heart rate and stress levels during the 2025 cup final of the German Football Association (DFB). According to the study, being physically present in the stadium significantly amplifies reactions to goals and match events. Researchers recorded vital signs from 229 fans over a twelve-week period using smartwatches. The study was published in Scientific Reports, a peer‑reviewed journal of the Nature Publishing Group.
Key facts at a glance:
- Football fans in the stadium recorded an average heart rate of 94 beats per minute—compared with 79 for TV viewers and 74 at public viewing events.
- Supporters on site reacted to goals with heart‑rate increases of up to 36 per cent.
- Saturdays are the most stressful days for fans even without a match. The cup final pushed stress levels up significantly further.
The atmosphere inside the stadium drives the pulse upwards. Arminia Bielefeld fans who followed the German cup final on 24 May 2025 at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium showed an average heart rate of 94 beats per minute. Fans watching on television reached only 79 beats per minute, while those attending public‑viewing events recorded just 74.
The difference becomes even more pronounced during emotional highlights. After Arminia Bielefeld scored their first goal, the heart rate of fans in the stadium surged to an average of 108 beats per minute—36 per cent higher than that of TV viewers. ‘Being physically present appears to amplify the body’s reaction considerably,’ says Professor Dr Christiane Fuchs, co‑author of the study and head of the Data Science Group at the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics at Bielefeld University. The research team recorded where participants watched the final using a questionnaire administered after the match.
The available data do not allow the causes of stadium fever to be clearly identified. According to the authors, close proximity to the action may increase cardiovascular strain. High stimulus density, emotional contagion and anticipatory tension may be more intense in the stadium than at home, while these effects appear to be attenuated at public‑viewing events despite the shared atmosphere.
Saturday is stress day
Even on ordinary Saturdays, Arminia fans experience higher stress levels. The data show significantly elevated values compared with weekdays. The study’s authors attribute this to generally increased activity on Saturdays. On the day of the final, however, measurements rose dramatically. Average stress levels reached 45.3 points on a scale from 0 to 100—compared with just 31.9 on regular days. The daily pattern is particularly striking.
As early as six o’clock in the morning—14 hours before kick‑off—values were already above the normal range. Tension increased steadily, peaking shortly before kick‑off at 8 p.m. ‘We can see the excitement long before the match begins,’ explains Professor Dr Christian Deutscher from the Faculty of Psychology and Sports Science. Even after midnight, stress levels remained elevated.
The study also shows that alcohol increases cardiovascular strain. Half of the surveyed fans consumed alcohol during the match—among stadium spectators, the figure was 65 per cent. Alcohol consumption raised heart rate by an average of 5.3 per cent. During emotional moments such as goals, this effect increased to 11.7 per cent. The combination of excitement, stadium atmosphere and alcohol can place additional strain on the cardiovascular system, the researchers warn. Previous studies have shown an increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias during major sporting events.
Assessment by Professor Dr Christian Deutscher on the topic
‘Our football study is the first to continuously monitor more than 200 fans over several weeks and to demonstrate how strongly the viewing location affects physiological responses. The stadium is a completely different world from the living room.’
Further information
- News release by Scientific Reports
- Press release announcing the launch of the study (in German)
- Press release on the first data analysis (in German)
The pulse of football fans varies markedly depending on where they follow the match. The graphic shows average heart rate during the German cup final in the stadium, at public‑viewing events and in front of the television. Half‑time and goals are marked.
Credit
Scientific Reports, Bielefeld University
Journal
Scientific Reports
Method of Research
Case study
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Measuring football fever through wearable technology
Article Publication Date
5-Feb-2026
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