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An argument as old as time: what is the world’s most popular sport?

An argument as old as time: what is the world’s most popular sport?
08 Oct
2021
Not in Hall of Fame

Depending on where you are in the world, certain sports will be incredibly popular, whereas others are barely acknowledged and hardly watched. This can be down to a multitude of factors, such as if a particular sport is taught at schools, if the sport has a thriving, successful or wealthy league in a particular nation, or if there is a particular star player from that country, who is so popular that people who never previously watched that sport decide to start tuning in, just to lend their support to their famous star.

For instance, in the world of Formula 1, it is likely that the people of the Netherlands never paid much attention to the sport for great periods of time. There wasn’t a race held there, and while there were odd seasons when a Dutch driver was participating, it never seemed to be for more than a season at a time. This all changed in 2015 when Max Verstappen entered the sport and was soon driving for one of the top teams, Red Bull. In addition, for the first time in 36 years, a race was held in the Netherlands this year, with Verstappen thankfully winning it with relative ease, which lead to the crowd going absolutely wild for him.

Formula 1 is a very popular sport, with an estimated 87.4 million people watching each race in 2020. These numbers have certainly been increased since the Netflix series ‘Drive to Survive’ was first broadcast in 2019, as the show has introduced the sport to millions of people who would never previously have been interested in it. However, it is still not estimated to be in the top ten most popular sports in the world. Which sports do make it into this exclusive list? Read on to find out.

Big in the U.S. but not elsewhere

If you have ever travelled to the United States of America, you’d easily assume that because American football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey are so popular there, that they must be all around the world. In fact, three of the four are relatively low down the list. American football is certainly the most popular sport in the U.S, with millions each week sitting down to watch the games, looking through their sports betting apps to find the best NFL picks for each game. But most of the viewers are located in North America, with not that many watching elsewhere in the world. In total, it is estimated around 425 million people regularly watch American football.

Baseball is in eighth position (golf is in ninth) which may come as a surprise to many. It is hugely popular in the US, but also parts of Central America, and most importantly Japan. In total, around 510 million people would call themselves fans of the sport.

Basketball is in seventh. Another sport popular in the U.S., it also attracts fans and viewers in parts of Eastern Europe and the Pacific.

A few surprises higher up the table

Seeing Table Tennis in sixth and Volleyball in fifth will certainly come as a surprise to many people. Table Tennis picks up a lot of its viewers in Asia, specifically China, which makes sense given some of the most famous table tennis players come from there.

Volleyball is estimated to have 900 million followers, and spread evenly around the world, in places such as Asia, Europe, the Americas and Australia.

Tennis places in fourth, with around 1 billion fans worldwide. Considering major events are held in North America, Europe and Oceania, it makes sense that there is a split across these continents for where the bulk of tennis fans are from.

We were very surprised to see hockey quite so high in fourth place, even if it encompasses both field hockey and ice hockey. It certainly appeals to a wide range of people, with an approximate 2.2 billion people tuning in in Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia.

Who comes out on top?

For readers outside of Europe, Oceania or parts of Asia, you will be surprised to see Cricket quite so high on the list. It cannot be overstated just how popular the sport is. Yes, many people watch it in England, Australia and New Zealand, but the majority of fans come from Asia, specifically Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. The people of India adore the sport, with the players worshipped like they are gods. The captain of the men’s cricket team, Virat Kolhi, has 150 million Instagram followers, which truly emphasises just how popular Cricket is.

Out on top is soccer. According to some statistics, there are nearly 4 billion fans across the globe, which is more than half of the world population. It is played in every country, doesn’t require much equipment, and is very easy to watch on television. Therefore, it is no surprise to see it at number one.

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Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .

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