Post#19 » by SashAlex » Sat Feb 23, 2008 1:23 pm
All types of sports are popular globally, but what sports can we call THE most popular in the world? Some of the answers may surprise you.
It's no surprise that football, or what Americans call "soccer" is the world's most popular sport to play and to watch. An estimated 3.5 billion people either watch or play football. The World Cup is the global championship of the sport and this tournament is played every four years. The World Cup itself is one of the highest rated sports on television, with many countries tuning in en masse to watch their country's team play. Football is popular in all of the UK, Europe, Asia as well as South America. However, with so many other sports being popular, the Unites States still lags behind in their interest in "soccer".
Next, we have cricket. This sport which consists of a bat and a ball, has been around for hundreds of years and originated in England. The sport is popular in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, some African countries, some Caribbean countries and it is the most popular sport in the countries of India and Pakistan. An estimated 3 billion people watch or play cricket each year.
The next most popular sport is a sure surprise, and that is field hockey, with an estimated 2 billion players or watchers, mostly in Asian countries, European countries, Australia and around Africa. This sport tends to be played in high schools in the United States, usually by girls only.
Coming up next is tennis. Not so surprising, but there are an estimated 1 billion players and watchers of tennis around the world. Tennis tends to be popular in richer countries, including the United States, Asian countries, Australia and Europe. There are four main tournaments in tennis, called "Grand Slams" at which players from many countries play. The first is the Australian Open, then the French Open, Wimbledon and then the US Open in late August. The Grand Slam tournaments tend to get the most attention during the tennis season.
Next we have volleyball. Yet another surprise, with an estimated 900 million viewers or players around the world. Volleyball is popular in the United States, where the sport originated, as well as in Brazil, all over Europe, Russia, China and Japan. Volleyball is a popular high school sport in many countries due to it's team centered play and lack of specialized equipment requirements.
Also popular is table tennis, otherwise known as Ping Pong. This is another surprisingly popular sport around the world, with an estimated 900 million watchers or players. Table tennis originated in England as an after dinner activity for Victorians in the late 19th century. Table tennis as a competitive sport is popular in many countries but is especially popular in China, Korea and Singapore.
After these sports, we have a triumvirate of more mainstream American sports including baseball, golf, American football and basketball, with each sport attracting between 400 and 500 million players or watchers worldwide.
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Most Popular Sports
Soccer easily with cricket a close second. id say rugby would be a close third due to the international nature of the game.
Soccer (football to most of the world) is by nearly any standard the most popular sport in the world.
However, "most popular" could mean "most watched" or "most played" or even "most revenue-generating." You might wish to ask a more specific question.
Here is more input:
The biggest sport in the world is, easily, FOOTBALL. (This is what the world calls football and Americans call soccer, not American NFL football.)
When you look at the stadiums around the world, when you see the people in many countries the wear football shirts a lot, and also many people know about football. The WORLD CUP, UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, THE SOUTH AMERICAN CUP, THE AMERICAN CUP, THE ASIAN CUP and many others. And each country has 40 football teams, England has about 70, Italy 40, Spain 40. Others probubly have the same number of team. Most asian, some African, A lot of European and South American people love football. And a bit of American. Most countries like the football more than other sports.
I'm pretty sure rugby ranks up there, too. Second place, at least. Soccer has one-up on rugby, and that's the fact that soccer is very popular in the United States, and rugby isn't.
Football, Basketball, Tennis, Rugby, Boxing
Football (Soccer) is the most popular participant and spectator sport in South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. Basketball is gaining prominence specifically in china, however Football still is the predominant sport.
According to johann-sandra.com volleyball is the most popular sport in the world followed by basketball, table tennis, and soccer. Rugby is way down the list.
Here is another ranked list:
Soccer
Basketball
Tennis
Gymnastics
Swimming
Cycling
Karate
Cricket
Baseball
Field Hockey
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