Football: 4 billion followers
The dominance of football around the globe is so obvious that it shouldn't come as a surprise to those who didn't expect to see the sport at the top of the list. The game has fans in all countries from Japan to America, but nowhere is football more popular than in Europe. For most European countries, this is not just a game, but a way of life. The FIFA World Cup is the most iconic event of this sport, which is included in the list of the highest paid competitions in the entire sports world.
Basketball: 1 billion followers
Over the past 10 years, data on basketball league earnings, television contracts, and overall sports popularity have shown that basketball has gained massive acceptance outside of its homeland of America. Basketball quickly became in demand in Canada, China, Spain, the Philippines, Australia, Turkey, France, Germany.
Cricket: approximately 2 billion followers
Cricket is one of the most popular sports mainly in countries such as England, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand. In India and Pakistan, cricket is valued on a par with religion. It is a source of patriotism, a reason for pride and a struggle for honor.
Tennis: the most expensive sport has 1 billion followers
Indeed, this is a universal game, and unlike team sports, the individuality of the athletes attracts attention here. Tennis is equally popular among men and women around the world. In fact, it is one of those rare games that ensures equality between men and women. This applies not only to the load, but also to the prize fund.
Athletics: over 6 billion followers
Athletics closes the list of the most popular sports. Today it is the most global sport of all, as it includes several disciplines: several types of running, long jump and much more. Athletics is the main discipline at the Olympic Games and is the most watched during the broadcast of the games.
There are over a hundred sports in the world, in which thousands of professional athletes and millions of people who practice at the amateur level perform.
Some sports are considered recognized, while others are equated with entertainment. And there is a separate category in sports called national sports.
Many people are interested in what sports are national, we tried to figure it out and prepared a list of countries in which their sports are popular.
The national sports of the world are those sports that originated and developed among one people, and also became part of the folk culture. After developing in their own country, they gained fame in other countries of the world.
So what sports are national in different countries?
First of all, it is worth mentioning football, because England is considered the birthplace of the sport beloved by millions of fans. In addition to Great Britain, football is considered the national sport in Scotland and Brazil, but about Brazil a little later.
England also invented cricket. It is the British favorite summer sport. The rules of the game were invented in the 18th century and the game has not lost its popularity to this day.
Golf is one of the traditional sports in the UK. It, like cricket, was invented in England. The country has many special golf courses, as well as professional championships and championships.
The most famous national sport in the United States is, of course, American football. In America, there is a professional league in which world-famous American football teams play. This sport is not included in the Olympic sports. We mentioned more about non-Olympic sports.
It is also worth mentioning baseball, which is included in the list of traditional US sports. And, despite the fact that many representatives of Russia do not understand the rules of this game, this does not mean that he is not popular in other countries of the world.
Traditional types of the Kazakh people are aimed at testing strength and endurance. It is unlikely that the names of such sports as baiga, kokpar or kyz-kuu are known to many, but, nevertheless, they are popular in their homeland.
Despite the fact that football was invented in England, it belongs to the national sports of France. The French became world champions, which once again proves that they know how to play football, and they do it professionally and beautifully.
Cycling is also a traditional French sport. The Tour de France is known all over the world. And for athletes, to participate in it is a great honor.
Russian society in relation to professional sports is ambiguous. If a quarter of the population goes in for sports at an amateur and semi-professional level, about half follow the developments in the world of sports on TV and the Internet (and sometimes even go to competitions), then about a third do not understand at all why there is such a fuss. If they care about anything, it is only the budget funds spent on professional sports.
Let's leave the last category aside and focus on the first two. What sports do residents like? Russian Federation most of all? The answer is in top 10 most popular sports in Russia. The rating is based on Yandex search query statistics.
The most intellectual sport has always been popular in Russia, and the Russian school of chess players commands respect all over the world.
Education Minister Olga Vasilyeva said that in the next two years, compulsory chess lessons could be introduced in Russian schools. Similar "experimental" lessons are already being held in schools in 40 regions of Russia.
However, this will not affect all classes, but only students. elementary school. This program allows children to develop strategic planning skills, promotes the development of spatial and systems thinking, and also comprehensively develops the personality. And perhaps it will help grow a whole generation of future champions.
Spectacular and popular sport, especially women's championships among the male population. They love tennis for its speed, dynamics, intensity of the game and elegant and strong strokes. There are fans of this sport even among astronauts - Russian and American astronauts promised to arrange a tennis match at the International Space Station.
In Russia the biggest tournament is VTB Kremlin Cup. Previously, it was simply called the Kremlin Cup, but in 2017, VTB Bank became the sole sponsor of the tournament.
The prize fund of the men's tournament is over 823 thousand dollars, and the women's - over 790 thousand dollars.
This sport a very long and colorful history. He was known during the reign of Peter I. It was he who brought samples of skates from Europe and figured out how to attach them directly to boots.
The first textbook on figure skating, pompously titled "Winter Fun and the Art of Skating" was published in Russia in 1838. And a little later (in 1865) figure skating was recognized as a sport in our country.
In Soviet times, figure skating, thanks to its spectacularity and beauty, riveted millions of men and women to television screens no worse than popular films.
And the increased popularity of figure skating in modern Russia is largely due to the numerous triumphs of Evgenia Medvedeva - she wins all the individual tournaments in which she participates. Along the way, the athlete sets new world records. Let's hope that the injury does not prevent Evgenia from performing brilliantly at the Olympics in Korea as well.
For a long time, fistfights have been among the Russian folk entertainments. Back in the days Kievan Rus a kind of fisticuffs - "one-on-one" - was not only an interesting spectacle, but also one of the methods of trial. Hence the name "fist law".
Russians got acquainted with English boxing (in the form of "international matches" for the amusement of British ambassadors) during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. But as sports discipline boxing began to develop in Russia only in the 19th century.
Boxing's popularity last years has grown significantly. What is it - the desire to blow off steam, drive your aggression into the framework, learn to protect yourself, or just the pleasure of movement and feeling your own strength?
Probably, next year the popularity of this sport will grow even more - the head of the Boxing Federation promised to work on its "advertising". And Kadyrov has nothing to do with it.
The honorable sixth place of skiing in the heart of sports Russians (unlike foreign ratings), apparently, is due to the peculiarities of the climate. Winter in our country is long, you have to somehow fill the time.
Skiing has many interesting offshoots, such as skijoring (towing a skier), ski tricks, downhill skiing and race car racing, and even ski jumping from an airplane without a parachute.
The Soviet ski school was very strong, and the Russian one continues its glorious traditions. Even the history of doping could not prevent the Russian athlete Sergei Ustyugov from winning five consecutive victories by the end of last year.
"Queen of Sports", leading its origins from Ancient Greece, in Russia is not as popular as all over the world. If she takes first place in Russia, then in Russia she barely got to fifth.
In Russia, athletics had a very difficult fate. In the "holy" for some, and for the majority - the "dashing" 90s of the twentieth century, sports schools were massively closed, where future athletes were trained, stadiums turned into markets, and coaches and athletes either went abroad or engaged in more profitable business than sports.
However, despite all the difficulties, Russian athletics managed to survive, and brought many awards to their country. In 1996, at the Olympics in Atlanta, the national team was no longer the USSR, but Russia (for the first time since 1912). She has won 26 gold medals, 21 silver and 16 bronze medals.
In recent years, this sport in Russia has been heavily crippled by doping scandals. Fortunately, there is still something to be proud of - Russian jumper Maria Lasitskene took more than 18 first places last year and hopes to set a new world record.
This game was once invented by one of the teachers of an American university to entertain students in physical education classes. Since then, it has not only rapidly stepped outside of America, but has also become a new sports discipline.
In Russia, the first basketball teams appeared in 1906, on the basis of the St. Petersburg sports society "Mayak". In 1947, Russian basketball players received the right to participate in FIBA competitions. In the period from the 50s to the 80s of the twentieth century, the USSR basketball team was considered the strongest in the world.
Perhaps the secret to the popularity of this game, as the coach of the basketball team once said, is that it is human nature to jump for joy - or to enjoy jumping.
In third place among the most popular sports among Russians is volleyball. It is spectacular, gives a charge of vivacity, brings up a team spirit, and in addition, it is non-contact, which means it is not too traumatic. What else do you need from a good sports discipline?
Among the highlights in Russian volleyball history are:
- the victory of the men's national team of the USSR at the European Championship in 1950;
- the victory of the USSR men's team in the World Cup in 1965;
- the victory of both the men's and women's teams at the European Championships among youth teams in 1966.
The results of 2017 were extremely favorable for volleyball fans of the Russian Federation - 32 medals were added to the treasury of the Russian team, more than half of which were gold!
The victory at the World Championships in Krakow, where the Russian team opposed the German volleyball players, looked especially impressive.
Traditionally considered one of the "Russian" sports, along with figure skating and chess. However, dark times for domestic hockey came in the 90s, when the lack of stability in domestic sports forced eminent athletes to try their luck in foreign clubs. Having won the 1993 World Cup, the Russian team remained without a single medal for many years.
And only in recent years, Russian hockey is regaining its former glory. In 2008 (precisely for the century of hockey), the Russian team beat the Canadians, winning the title of world champion. And in 2014 she became a five-time world champion.
But according to the results of 2017, the situation for the Russian team is disappointing - recently the Swedes and Canadians rule in the hockey kingdom.
In the first place among the most beloved sports by Russians is football. Even the eternal swing from hope to disappointment during the performances of the Russian team seems unable to make the fans stop loving the green field and the white and black ball.
Football was brought to Russia along with English engineers ordered by the industrialist Savva Morozov. On the pages of pre-revolutionary newspapers and magazines there were heated discussions about the meaning. In expressions, many did not stand on ceremony and called football "a fight with their feet" and "an extremely rough sport." But all these conversations did not prevent the team of the Russian Empire in 1912 from winning fourth place at the Olympics in Sweden. And in 1923, the first USSR Football Championship took place.
The Soviet football team has many glorious victories, including the victory at the Olympic Games in 1988. She three times - in 1964, 1972 and 1988 - became the vice-champion of Europe. The Russian team cannot yet boast of great success, but the fans are waiting and hoping that the best moments in the history of Russian football are yet to come.
On the Internet, there have long been many similar ratings that are very different from each other. The question is, what do you mean by popular sports? Judging by the number of viewers, the absolute record holder was the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, which was watched by more than 1 billion people. If we take into account the number of people involved in this sport, then athletics will take the confident first place, with a base of 300 million amateurs in the world.
Criteria used:
- Infrastructure
- Number of viewers
- Number of professional leagues worldwide
- Television contracts
- Sponsorship contracts
- The average salary of an athlete in the major leagues
- Number of countries represented
- Social media activity
- Sports media coverage
- Relevance throughout the year
- Gender equality
- Accessibility to the masses
1 Football
With over 4 billion fans, it is by far the most popular sport in the world. The dominance of football on the planet is so obvious that the first place is no surprise to anyone. Football has received the main distribution in Europe, where for many it has become not just a game, but a way of life. The FIFA World Cup is the most iconic event in this sport.
Football is also one of the most accessible sports in the world, and there is hardly a person who has never hit the ball in his life. Football news constantly flashes in the headlines of the largest newspapers, especially in the UK, Germany, France, Spain.
The most popular competition in the world: The FIFA World Cup is the most anticipated sporting event. The final match between Germany and Argentina attracted 700 million viewers.
The largest prize fund: 1.5 billion dollars is played annually in the Champions League - the elite of European club football.
Largest television contract: matches of the English Premier League are broadcast in 212 countries around the world, and gather at the screens of almost 6 billion viewers during the season. Sky Sports and BT Sports had to shell out a hefty £5.3bn for broadcast rights in the UK. Another £3bn came from the sale of international rights.
Most professional leagues: professional football leagues exist in almost every country in the world, and almost always consist of several divisions.
Major sponsorship contract: Adidas is paying Manchester United £75m a year just to be the official kit supplier. Most famous teams have such lucrative contracts with leading sports brands.
top players such as Neymar, Messi, Ronaldo earn more than 40 million euros a year and are among the top ten most famous athletes in the world.
Wealthiest Sports Teams: the list of the 50 richest sports teams includes 30 football clubs.
largest federation: FIFA is the largest and most influential sports organization. More than 200 national federations and 6,500 professional football clubs are registered with FIFA.
The most popular sports teams on social networks: Real Madrid and Barcelona currently have over 100 million subscribers.
Most Popular Athlete: Cristiano Ronaldo has 150 million followers on Facebook and Twitter.
2 Basketball
Basketball has over 1 billion fans. It is one of the highest rated sports in the US and the NBA generates over $5 billion in revenue annually. Wildly watched professional leagues in Spain, Greece, Italy, France, Argentina and China make basketball the fastest growing sport in the world.
It is safe to say that in the next 10 years no one will be able to match football in popularity, but basketball has every chance to firmly occupy the second line. Here are some Interesting Facts, which prove it:
Second in the number of professional leagues in the world: Basketball is second only to football in the number of professional leagues. In most European countries, leagues consist of several divisions.
Third largest sports league in the world: The NBA (National Basketball Association) ranks third in terms of revenue, behind the NFL and the English Premier League.
Highest average salary: The median annual salary of NBA players is $4.4 million. The top 40 NBA players make over $15 million a year, while the top 10 make over $30 million a year.
Major sponsorship contracts: players such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, in addition to a solid salary, earn more than 50 million a year additionally through solid sponsorship contracts.
Fastest growing sport: Basketball is also the fastest growing sport in the world, from revenue to spectator interest. More and more strong teams appear in countries such as Serbia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, where full stands gather at matches.
3 Cricket
Many do not even suspect that cricket has more than 2 billion fans around the world. The main geography of distribution of this sport falls on England, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean Islands and South Africa.
Such popularity of cricket is mainly due to the Indian subcontinent. Originating in England, the game quickly spread to all parts of the world that were colonized by the British. In India and Pakistan, cricket is a religion. It is a source of patriotism, a way to relieve tension and a synonym for competition.
The third most popular international competition on the planet: occupies a confident third place, following the FIFA World Cup and the Rugby World Cup. And the new format of Twenty20 allowed to receive much more profit from the sale of television rights.
Dominant sport: in the countries of the Indian subcontinent, cricket is nearly unrivaled in popularity. And in New Zealand, Australia and England, it is the second in terms of audience interest.
Women's cricket: The number of women on the planet involved in cricket is growing rapidly. Thanks to the efforts of the ICC (International Cricket Council), women's competitions now have a lot more prize money than a few years ago.
4 Tennis
With a global reach and an audience of 1 billion people, tennis is the most popular individual sport in the world.
Highest prize money in an individual sport: all four Grand Slam tournaments - Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and USA Open have huge prize pools in the tens of millions of dollars.
Relevance throughout the year: tennis events take place all over the world throughout the calendar year without interruption, but the main audience is collected in the summer.
Most prestigious sporting event: Wimbledon is not only the main tennis tournament, but also the most prestigious sporting event. It was watched by over 1 billion viewers in 2016 and 2017, while the 2017 final was watched by 17 million people in the UK alone.
Highest Paid Athletes: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic make over $60 million a season, but only a fifth of that money is in prize money.
Gender equality: Surprisingly, the prize money in the men's and women's tournaments is the same. In addition, women's competitions are no less popular than men's. Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams were at some point in their careers among the twenty highest paid athletes on the planet.
Champions from 30 different countries: the ranking of the top 100 players includes representatives of 45 states. Tennis players from 30 different countries have won at least one Grand Slam tournament, which is a unique sports record.
5 Athletics
Athletics is by far the most global sport with many disciplines. Athletics is also the most popular event in the Olympics. The names of such titled athletes as Usain Bolt regularly make headlines in the media.
Gender equality: in athletics, all disciplines are represented by male and female species. Elena Isinbayeva achieved worldwide fame thanks to this particular sport.
The widest representation: Athletes from almost all countries of the world compete at the Olympics.
Most anticipated event: the final 100m sprint in 2012 was the most anticipated sporting event in history.
6 Rugby
Rugby is one of the main sports in some developed countries (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand).
Professional leagues: the strongest rugby league is in France, and that's where most of the highest paid athletes play. In recent years, new leagues have appeared in Italy, Japan, Argentina, and even in the US, rugby has found its fans.
Second highest-grossing international competition: The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the biggest event in the history of the sport, generating £250 million in revenue for the organizers.
Second most attended international competition: Nearly 3 million tickets were sold for the 2015 Rugby World Cup matches.
7 Formula 1
550 million people watch these races every year. The season consists of 20 stages taking place in 20 different countries, making Formula 1 one of the most global sports.
Most Profitable Motorsport: Formula 1 generates between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in revenue each year. This money is distributed among 10 teams that spend from 100 to 500 million per season on cars, development, personnel and pilot salaries.
Big contracts for F-1 pilots: most pilots earn between $1 million and $5 million a year, but leaders Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton have contracts worth $50 million a year.
Organizer fees: in order to host a Formula 1 round in their own country, it is necessary to transfer $40 million to the royal racing fund.
8 Boxing
Like tennis and athletics, boxing is also played by many people. This is an extremely common sport in countries such as the USA, Mexico, Great Britain, the Philippines, Japan, Poland, Romania. Amateur boxing competitions are included in the program of the Summer Olympic Games.
Audience interest: high-profile fights for the title gather an audience of several million people.
Women's boxing: this sport is quite popular among the female part of the population, and the undefeated Layla Ali is also world famous, like her father.
Highest grossing fight of all time: Floyd Mayweather's fight against Manny Pacquiao brought the organizers more than $400 million. Of that money, 250 was paid to the winner Mayweather and 120 to Pacquiao.
9 Hockey
The most popular winter sport in the world, distributed in a small number of countries - Russia, Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland. Once it was dominant in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but now it gathers viewers in these countries only during major international competitions.
Major League: The NHL is one of the top five professional leagues on the planet and generates $4.5 billion in annual revenue.
10 Volleyball
This sport is considered the simplest, which is what makes it so common. Volleyball players can be found all over the world.
The largest number of national federations: The FIVB has over 200 registered federations, more than any other sport.
Most popular sport in developing countries: volleyball enjoys excessive popularity in a number of developing countries, such as Brazil (even football bypasses the ratings), Turkey, Thailand, China, Poland.
11 Golf
Golf has also gathered millions of fans around itself. This is a sport in which there is no physical competition, and people of different sexes and ages can compete on equal terms. In addition, professional golfers earn millions of dollars in prize money.
Sports for developed countries: golf is not cheap, so it is common only in rich countries such as the USA, Japan, South Korea, and the UK.
High potential for making money: the famous Tiger Woods has dominated the list of the richest athletes for 15 years in a row, mainly due to lucrative sponsorship deals with Nike, EA Sports and Gillette.
| The most popular sports in the world (ranked 12th to 25th) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Sport | Details |
| 12 | Baseball | Popular only in the US and Japan. MLB and the Nippon League are among the top 10 professional leagues on the planet. |
| 13 | American
football |
The most popular sport in the US, and the most profitable sports league in the world, is the NFL, which makes over $10 billion a year. The Super Bowl is the highest-rated sporting event in the United States, drawing an audience of 200 million people. |
| 14 | MMA | Mixed martial arts is gaining more and more popularity with the advent of the UFC. This is a popular sport in Brazil and the USA, gradually gaining a spectator audience in Europe. In a few years, MMA is financially able to overtake boxing. |
| 15 | MotoGP | This is a road racing championship. MotoGP is a premium class racing with a huge spectator audience. Mainly popular in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, but in recent years have become widespread in England, the USA, Germany and the Middle East. |
| 16 | Field hockey | 20 years ago field hockey was dominant in India, Pakistan and Australia, but every year it loses its popularity and audience. |
| 17 | Badminton | Badminton has received the main distribution in China, Korea and India, but, as a rule, they are practiced at an amateur level. |
| 18 | Cycling | It is very popular in Europe, and the Tour de France is the main competition in this sport with a million-strong spectator audience. |
| 19 | Swimming | This sport is practiced by many people all over the world, but the spectator interest arises only during the Summer Olympic Games. Michael Phelps is the most decorated athlete in history with a record 22 Olympic gold medals. |
| 20 | Snooker | A specific game, common only in England and China. In other countries, they are engaged only at an amateur level. |
| 21 | Table tennis | Table tennis is professionally practiced, as a rule, in Asian countries. But as a hobby, it is spread all over the planet. |
| 22 | Gymnastics | Gets its audience only during the Summer Olympics. Gymnastics is practiced mainly in China, the USA, Japan, Russia and Germany. |
| 23 | Handball | It is only played in European countries. But even the matches of the World Handball Championship rarely get on TV screens. |
| 24 | Biathlon | Seasonal sport, but gets the main audience during the Winter Olympics. Professionally, they are massively engaged in Russia, Germany, France, Italy, Norway. |
| 25 | Skiing | One of the most popular winter views sports. Mostly distributed in Scandinavian countries. |
12.03.2014
Some of us love to watch sports, while others don't mind getting our clothes dirty while participating. The following is a list the most popular games in the world primarily because they are so entertaining!
No. 10. Volleyball
Playing volleyball is easy enough because all you need is good coordination and strong hands. Over 900 million people either play or watch volleyball. Beach volleyball is very popular The best way get the tan of your dreams! High schools especially highlight the benefits of this sport.
No. 9. Cricket
Cricket originated in England and is played with a ball and a bat. The people of India leave everything in the world when the game is shown on television, at any time of the year you can see children playing this game.
No. 8. Gymnastics
Not everyone can play this sport. Gymnastics requires great flexibility, coordination and strength. It is always interesting to watch the performances of gymnasts on television. It's amazing how their bodies twist into a ring and other similar shapes!
#7 Swimming
Training can be boring, but if you know how to swim, you can tone your body and have fun at the same time! Swimming is easy to learn and many swimmers enjoy playing games like water polo or Waboba. In the seven.
No. 6. Tennis
A lot of people think watching tennis is very boring, but disagree with the 1 billion people who watch events like Wimbledon and the French Open, rigorously year after year. Considered to be a stylish and elegant sport, tennis is played by the American and European elite.
No. 5. Water sports
Sports such as scuba diving, jet skiing and many others are loved because they are interesting and exciting. The adrenaline rush you get when you see a school of fish swimming around you is very refreshing.
No. 4. Rugby
Rugby is a very popular sport in England and is one of the toughest in the world. Players must constantly fight each other, and there are hardly any rules or restrictions to reduce aggression. This sport is divided into several categories, the most popular being College Rugby and Tag Rugby.
No. 3. Basketball
This game is not as easy as it seems, and while playing, you need to know a number of rules. Basketball is very popular among teenagers, being tall can help, but it is not a requirement to play. If you can see the target and know how to run, this game is perfect for you. Third place among the most popular sports games.
No. 2. Hockey
Despite the fact that this sport is not as popular as it used to be, the number of its viewers is about 2 billion annually. P.E. teachers are constantly encouraging high school students to play the game, but now it seems that the sport is mostly enjoyed by the female half. Hockey can be quite a tough sport and it's quite difficult to move around in such heavy equipment.
No. 1. Football
The most popular sports game in the world. The rules of football are easy to understand and the game is quite simple if you know what is allowed and what can lead to a red or yellow card. Approximately 4 billion people love the sport, and television matches are among the highest ratings each year.
