Football podcast consumption is rising rapidly across Sub-Saharan Africa, with new data from Spotify showing significant growth in listener engagement across multiple countries during June 2026.
The streaming platform said the increase reflects a growing appetite among football fans for longer-form discussions, match analysis, player stories, club debates, and fan-led conversations beyond live broadcasts and short-form content.
Okay News reports that the growth was recorded across countries in West Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and Central Africa, indicating a broad regional shift towards sports audio content.
According to Spotify, Eswatini recorded the highest increase in football podcast listening, with consumption rising by 160.2 percent compared with the average recorded between January and May 2026.
Other markets posting significant growth included Angola at 144.7 percent, Madagascar at 137.2 percent, Mozambique at 136 percent, Togo at 121 percent, and Benin at 120 percent.
The platform also recorded strong increases in Cabo Verde (113.6 percent), Côte d’Ivoire (110.4 percent), Namibia (103.3 percent), and Rwanda (98 percent).
Additional growth was observed in Guinea (94.3 percent), Mauritius (88.6 percent), Cameroon (86.8 percent), Burundi (82.9 percent), Burkina Faso (81.3 percent), and South Africa (80.3 percent).
Spotify said the trend highlights the increasing role of podcasts as a companion platform for football supporters seeking deeper engagement with the sport.
Rather than relying solely on match broadcasts and social media highlights, listeners are increasingly turning to creator-led discussions and local football perspectives that provide additional context and analysis.
The streaming platform said the findings are based on football-related podcast listening between June 1 and June 20, 2026, compared with average daily streams recorded between January and May 2026.
