Sport is such a thing that can unite people of different colors, races, and religions. You will hardly find someone who didn’t take part in any sports in his whole life. Interestingly, there are more than 8000 sports in the world. It is quite impossible to remember or take part in all of the sports. But there are some games that you must know about.
In today’s writes up, we will let you know about ten of the most popular sports in the world currently. They have been picked based on global popularity and the number of fans. Keep reading to know briefly about the dominating games.
Most Popular Sports In The World In 2021
let’s start the discussion about the most-watched sport in the world which will help you to know more about these games.
1. Football (Soccer)
By any means, association football is the most popular sport the world has ever seen. Though the game is called soccer in America, the whole world knows it as football. It is believed that almost half of the world populations consider them as a fan of football. The game is played by approximately 270 million people and an estimated 3.5 billion fans around the globe. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, more than 3.5 billion fans enjoyed the sports, the highest in any games.
Football is also the most dominant game when compared based on TV views. People all over the world sit in front of the TV to enjoy different football leagues, including Laliga, English Premier League, Serie-A, Bundesliga, and much more. It is also one of the highest-paid sports in the world, where the highest-paid player earns around $127 million. Though the game is influencing all over the world, it is most prevalent in Europe, Africa, Asia, etc. regions.
2. Cricket
Cricket, the so-called game of gentleman, is the second most popular sport in the world currently. The approximate fan base of the game is 2.5 billion. It is now the most popular game in the British commonwealth colonies, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, etc. and much more. Apart from Asia, the game is also popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, and New Zealand. The game is expanding on a large scale when compared with the other games.
The International Cricket Council or ICC is the global body of the game which operates different tournaments periodically. Some of the popular cricket tournament include ICC World Cup, ICC T20 World Cup, IPL, BPL, Big Bash, Championship Trophy, etc. Though one of the most popular games in the world, there are only 15 to 20 countries that actively take part in the game. Though its popularity, the game is not that high paying like other popular games.
3. Basketball
Basketball is one of the most famous sports in America. Though it is mostly America-based, it is also popular in some other countries, including China, Canada, the Philippines, etc. The estimated fan base size of the game is 2 to 3 billion in total. The game is played under the National Basketball Association or NBA, which operates the National Basket Ball League, the most prevalent alliance of the game. There are more than 70,000 professional basketball players in the world.
The NBA is one of the highest paying leagues in the world where the average salary is around 3 million USD. It is also played vastly in the United States as it is easy to play and can be played anywhere in a small space. Though the sport is highly famous, it is comparatively a new game, which is created during 1891. Recently, the games have been in the discussion as it supported the movement of the Hong Kong protesters.
4. Hockey
There are two forms of the game Hockey which are field hockey and ice hockey. Both of the game is referred to hockey and followed by two billions of people around the globe. The field hockey is played in a field like a soccer when ice hockey is an icy field. Field hockey is widely popular in a large number of countries all over the world. However, it is most famous in Holland, Germany, Australia, Argentina, India, New Zealand, USA, etc.
Ice hockey is most widespread in European countries like Canada, the USA, Sweden, Latvia, etc. Though the game is played all over the world in different countries, it is not that viewed through TV and electronic media. Though the game is very well-paid in European countries, the situation is very different in Asian countries. Some of the famous hockey leagues include NHL, KHL, AHL, SHL, IIHF, Liiga, etc.
5. Tennis
Tennis is pretty different when compared with the other variants of popular games. The game is played individually or a team of two players. It has a fan base of 1 billion people all over the world. The sport is mostly played in developed countries in America, Europe, and some countries in Asia. However, people from a large number of countries follow the game regularly. Some of the well-known Tennis stars are Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, etc.
There are a large number of international competitions in tennis all over the world. Amongst them, Wimbledon, French Open, US Open, Australian Open, etc. are most popular. The competitions are followed by more than 400 million people all over the world. One of the remarkable things about the game is the high numbers of female player’s participation in the game. The game is also one of the highest-paid games in the world.
6. Volleyball
The volleyball is a highly exciting game which has around 900 million fans around the globe. It is a game of two teams, and there are six players in every group. People enjoy playing the game than watching it on TV and other electronic media. The game volleyball was invented by W. G. Morgan, a member of the Young Men’s Christian Association. He formed the game in 1895 by combining several principals from tennis, basketball, baseball, and handball.
The volleyball game is most popular in North America and Western European countries. Though people almost all the countries play the game, there are not a lot of big competitions or TV presents. Two of the most popular tournament of the game is Olympic and FIVB Volleyball Championship. Though the game is not popular like the other top games, it has the highest never of the federation.
7. Table Tennis
The sport Table Tennis is also identified as Ping Pong in many countries. Apart from the name, there are some decent similarities in Table Tennis and the usual Tennis game. The table tennis game is played on a table where the other roles are almost the same as tennis. It can be played by either single players or a team of two players. The game is currently getting exposure as an indoor game and played in a lot of countries.
Table tennis is not that popular as a professional game, and it has a minimal TV present and major tournaments. That is because the game is not that high paying. Even the top players of the game cannot earn the average salary of a footballer or Basketball player. However, it is played by hobbyists in a large number of countries.
8. Baseball
Baseball is extremely popular in the United States. It also has a huge fan base in Japan, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and some other countries. Overall, the game has an estimated fan base of 500 million, and it is one of the top ten games in the world. The game is a bat-ball sport like cricket, but the rules of the game are totally different. The root of the game is in the US, and later it spread on the other regions.
The Baseball game has a huge TV presence in the United States and other mentioned countries. It is also played professionally only in these countries. In the United States, around 68.5 million fans show up in the Major League Baseball league during 2019. Though not that familiar worldwide, the game is very high paying, with an average salary of $4 million.
9. Rugby
The ninth popular game is Rugby in our list, which has an approximate fan base of 400 million people. The game is very popular in France and Spain. It is played and followed by a large number of peoples in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Polynesia, etc. countries. It is not that popular in other parts of the world.
The TV present of the game is pretty accountable in the mentioned countries. It is played professionally in these countries. The popularity of the game is at its peak during big tournaments like Rugby World Cup and Olympic Competition. As the game is considerably famous in developed countries, it is also pretty high paying. The average salary of a rugby player is around $60,000 at most.
10. Golf
The golf is a unique single-player game which is has a long history. As per some historian, there has been a similar game called Paganica during the times of Roman. However, the modern game of golf was created in Scotland during the 15th century. The game is called the “the Rich Man Game” because of the expensed associated with it.
There around 390 million fans of the game and most of the fans of the elders. Some of the well-known golf tournaments include PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, European Tour, PGA tour champion, etc. The game is also very well paying when compared with the other games. Tiger Wood is the most popular and most paid Golf player currently, earning around $50 million a year.
Football/Soccer is the most popular game in the world, and there is no doubt about that. However, some other games like Cricket, Basketball, Hockey, etc. also have considerable impacts in the sports world. Hopefully, the above write-ups on the most popular sports in the world will be insightful for you.
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