By Sehr Khosla
Research shows domestic abuse reports can rise during major football tournaments, regardless of whether England wins or loses.
Spectators at a 2026 FIFA World Cup group-stage match between Belgium and Egypt at Lumen Field in Seattle. SounderBruce. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Millions of people will celebrate the FIFA World Cup over the coming weeks. In England and Wales, however, prosecutors are preparing for something far less visible.
The Crown Prosecution Service has warned that reports of domestic abuse typically rise during major football tournaments, prompting a renewed campaign urging victims to come forward and reminding perpetrators that they will be prosecuted. The warning comes before England’s World Cup campaign has even reached its decisive stages, reflecting growing recognition that some of football’s biggest moments can also be among the most dangerous for those experiencing abuse.
Research spanning multiple World Cups and European Championships has consistently found that domestic abuse incidents increase when England plays, regardless of the result. A widely cited 2014 Lancaster University study found that reports rose by 26% following an England win or draw and by 38% after a defeat. Even the day after a match, incidents remained elevated at an 11% rise.
Importantly, campaigners emphasise that football itself is not the cause.
"Football matches do not cause domestic abuse," Veronica Oakeshott, head of external affairs at Women's Aid, told The Athletic. "But factors associated with big matches, such as increased alcohol consumption and emotions running high, can make existing domestic abuse increase in frequency and severity."
That distinction matters. Abuse does not begin with a missed penalty or a last-minute goal. Rather, researchers say major tournaments can intensify patterns of coercive and violent behaviour that already exist behind closed doors.
“It wasn’t the football. And it wasn’t the drink. It was him,” Katy Longhurst, a survivor of domestic violence at the hands of her partner, told Al Jazeera.
Following comments suggesting England simply needed to keep winning to reduce abuse, domestic violence charities were quick to push back, arguing that framing violence as dependent on football results risks excusing offenders rather than confronting them.
For many victims, kick-off carries an entirely different meaning.
Women’s Aid has launched The Other Kick Off campaign to highlight what it describes as the “11:37 p.m. kick-off,” the moment after the match when some survivors fear violence most.
"For those living with abuse," Women's Aid chief executive Farah Nazeer said, "the final whistle of the game signals the beginning of something frightening and potentially life-threatening."
Police forces, prosecutors and charities across the UK have spent recent weeks preparing accordingly. Domestic abuse specialists are being deployed in police control rooms, licensed venues are being urged to recognise warning signs and campaigns are encouraging friends, neighbours and football supporters to intervene safely if they suspect someone is at risk.
The concern extends beyond Britain. Shelter networks across Canada, Mexico and the United States, the three 2026 World Cup hosts, have jointly warned that large sporting tournaments can coincide with increases in gender-based violence, particularly where alcohol consumption, heightened emotions and crowded public celebrations overlap.
What worries experts most is not simply the spike in reported incidents, but how predictable they have become.
"There appears to be a kind of correlation there about people not being able to deal with it and taking it out on a partner when England gets knocked out," Mark Roberts, the National Police Chiefs' Council's lead for football policing, told The Athletic, whilst stressing that responsibility rests solely with perpetrators.
The World Cup will, for most supporters, remain a month of celebration. But for thousands of women and children, campaigners warn, the tournament represents something else entirely: a reminder that some of the game’s most significant consequences are never recorded on the scoreboard.
GET INVOLVED:
The Other Kick Off: Women’s Aid’s The Other Kick Off is a UK-based campaign encouraging football fans to use the power of the game and sign their name to challenge domestic abuse and support survivors.
DomesticShelters.org: DomesticShelters.org is an online directory that helps people find domestic violence shelters, hotlines and support services across the United States and internationally. It also offers informational resources for survivors, advocates and anyone looking to understand abuse and access help.
Sehr Khosla
Sehr is a student at Georgetown University studying Classics and Government with a minor in Journalism. In the future, she hopes to combine her passion for social justice with communications to advocate for change. Outside of writing, she enjoys travelling and reading murder mysteries.