The 10 Most Popular Sports in the World: Fan Numbers and Participation Analysis

If United’s new ground opens with the planned capacity of 100,000, that will be an increase of 33% on the number of fans they can currently fit into Old Trafford. The Old Firm derby’s history in violence predates most European clubs, but one player was deemed too dangerous to get involved. Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier were both excellent boxers in their own right, yet the history of each is linked strongly with each other. The first, in 1971, saw Frazier win a bruising encounter on points after 15 rounds.

The Most Popular Sports In The World

Each team tends to have between 11 and 18 players, although other variants exist, such as five-a-side with just five people per team. Thus, the competitive spirit made a post and fast pace create an environment that people adore. Moreover, with large stadiums and plenty of people both in and watching the game, it is a great sport for communities to enjoy. Again, soccer takes out the top spot in terms of global viewership with a mind-blowing estimated 4 billion fans globally.

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• Approximately 90% belong to the Indian subcontinent and cricket is one of the most popular sports in India.

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• This means you need to stay alert and focused while playing, no matter your skill level!

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• Some of the most watched events for table tennis are the World Table Tennis Championships, the Olympics, and the Table Tennis World Cup.
• Though table tennis events are not as publicized as other prominent sports tournaments, it enjoys a moderate number of social media followers and fans worldwide.
• The FIVB’s five continental confederations—AVC, CAVB, CEV, CSV, and NORCECA—represent regions across Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, North America, and Australia.

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• Apart from the World Cup, there are also the UEFA European Championship, Copa America, and the CONCACAF Gold Cup, among many other events held worldwide.

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Fighters from all around the planet are famous, and more and more are joining the major competition, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts is a full-contact sport in which fighters can strike, grapple, and fight on the ground. The most important football event in the world is the FIFA World Cup, which takes place every 4 years. Other major continental tournaments like the UEFA Euros in Europe or the Copa America in America are also widely followed. Global reach, television viewership, attendance, and revenue are the key factors considered to determine the popularity of sports. Originating in North America, the sport has expanded globally, with the National Basketball Association (NBA) leading the way.

It is now primarily played in India, Pakistan, Australia, West Indies and South Africa. The structure of the game is similar to baseball – teams of 11 players face off against each other over a period of multiple days. The fun part comes when one team gets more points than the other – leading to unpredictable outcomes and exciting matches if you know how it is played. Along with variants, Hockey also has a rich past that spans over 4,000 years. The concept of curved sticks and balls has been around since ancient Egypt, with carvings depicting similar games.

#12 Ice Hockey

It was hard to leave Baseball out of this list, as one of the USA’s major sports, which also has a fanatical following in Japan, Cuba and is the most popular sport in South Korea. Most people play basketball because it is an exciting, physically intensive and fast-paced sport, allowing young players with different skill levels to enjoy it. Around 450 million people play basketball in 213 countries at local, community and national levels. World Championship, Olympics and Asia Games attract millions of table tennis fans, including TV and social media audiences. Over 800 million people play volleyball in different parts of the world, and 37 million local and professional players participate in volleyball in the US.

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What is the Most Watched Sport in the World?

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It caused a host of players, their wives and even cameramen to rush to the green to embrace Leonard. This went completely against the etiquette of the game, as Europe’s Jose Maria Olazabel had yet to attempt his own putt to keep the match going. His bouts with Russian fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov drew millions of pay-per-view fans on TV. Although McGregor did win a round, it was not enough to prevent an overall victory for Nurmagomedov. It’s difficult to put a hard figure on participation as there are millions of people having a kick-around or a casual hit of tennis at any given moment.