Sports are simple games of endurance and skill, which are acted as on training grounds as well as for competitions for the entertainment of the masses.The term most popular sports, means here is ‘most watched’, ‘most played’, and ‘most revenue-earning’ sports.
List of Most Popular Sports
Association Football
Soccer comes on the top of the list with 3.5 to 4 billion fans following all around the Europe, Africa, Asia, South America. Association football is popularly known as football or soccer. It is the worlds most popular sports which is played between two teams of eleven players and with a spherical ball. In this game there is a goal post at each end on a rectangular field. The aim of playing this game is to do goal by using any part of the body besides the arms and hands. The goalkeepers are the only players in this game who are allowed to touch the ball with their hands.
FIFA World Cup is the most iconic event of this sport. The most watched game is football in the sports world and no sport in the world can match Football’s popularity. Soccer is the biggest global sport as well as the dominant sport in South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Top International Teams are Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy.
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Cricket
The most popular sports in the world with 2-3 billion fans is Cricket which is played across India, Pakistan, Australia, England, South Africa, Srilanka, New Zealand, West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Cricket is said to be a gentleman game that was introduced in 20th century by Britishers.
This game is played between two teams of 11 players on a field with bat and ball at the center of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. Each team gets a turn to bat, and score runs, while the other team fields. Cricket is followed by three different formats i.e. Test, ODIs and T20. Popularity of cricket has been increased greatly after introduction of T20 format.
Basketball
The most popular sports in the USA and the most most popular sports in the world is Basketball. This game have about 2-3 billion fans following all over US, Canada, China and Philippine mainly. In the late 19th century Americans developed this game and they due to their intense interest dominate this game. This sport has one specialty that it requires generally tall and energetic players and it is considered as a rich man’s sport.
Basketball is a sport played by two teams of five players on a rectangular court. This game is played by shooting a ball into a hoop of 18 inches in diameter which is mounted to a backboard at each end and is 10 feet high. In the end the team who scores most points in the game wins.
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Tennis
The most loved sport in the world is Tennis and holds a strong position in world of sport and follows 2 billion fans across the world. Tennis is very popular in countries such as Spain, England, America, Russia, Europe, Asia, Australia. Generally people claims Tennis as a rich man sport and is very expensive sport to learn. Both males and females play this game and has many exciting grand slam occasions.
People usually play individually in this sport against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). The ball is played in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a good return, this is the aim of this game.
Hockey
The most popular sports on earth with 2.2 billion fans is Hockey which is played mostly in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and many more countries. There are two forms of hockey which is famous all over the world. They are : Field Hockey and Ice Hockey. The National game of India and Pakistan is Field Hockey. And Ice Hockey is Lot More Popular in Europe specially in Canada, USA, Latvia and Sweden .
Two teams play against each other in Field Hockey by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent’s goal using a hockey stick on ground. Ice hockey is a sport played which is played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent’s net to score points.
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Baseball
Baseball is also the most popular sports in the world and is very similar to Cricket that holds around 500 million fans in US, Japan, Cuba, Dominican Republic. Baseball is played between two teams of nine players with a bat and ball who take turns in batting and fielding. The sport was formed from a game of rounders.
Volleyball
Volleyball is the most popular sports and simplest sport in the world with around 900 million fans around Asia, Europe, America, Australia. Since 1964 Volleyball is played in the Summer Olympic Games. Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team’s court under organized rules. Mostly the sport is played on beaches and enhances enjoyment for beach lovers.
Table Tennis
Table Tennis also known as ping pong is the most popular sports in the world with around 900 million fans from Asia, Europe, Africa and Americas. This sport is played with two or four players in which they hit a lightweight ball back and forth using table tennis rackets on a hard table divided by a net. The fastest sports in the world is Table Tennis which requires players with quick reflexes.
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Rugby
Rugby is the most popular sports all over the world with having 390-410 million fans around France, England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa mainly. Rugby is a style of football that was developed at a rugby school, it is considered as one of the most dangerous sports in the world. The sport is played in different formats ; sevens and fourteens. Rugby is widely played In France and has a strong tradition in the Basque, Occitan, and Catalan people areas along the border regions between Spain and France. The English speaking settlers in the 19th century introduced this game in South Africa so its very popular over there.
Golf
Golf is one of the most popular sports and loved in the world with more then 390 million fans in US, Canada, Europe. Golf is defined, in the rules of golf, as “playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules.” Golf is a ball sport in which competing players, known as golfers, use various clubs to hit balls into series of holes on a course. Golf does not require a standardized area, the course must have nine or 18 holes.
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