There is the greatest variety of sports in the world. Therefore, it is difficult to say which one is the most popular. Everyone has their own preferences regarding sports. Then the question arises, what is the criterion for determining the popularity of sports?
Everything is simple here: these criteria directly include fame, the number of viewers (media rating in the media).
We present to you top 10 most popular sportshaving millions of fans around the world.
10. Golf
Golf is best known as a game of the rich. To understand why it happened, just evaluate the scale of the playing field and roughly calculate its value. Moreover, golf is one of the oldest sports.
Worldwide, there are more than six hundred million fans of this sport, so it occupies high positions among official sports.
9. Rugby
Rugby has many names and variations. This game is often confused with American football, which is associated with an identical ball shape and similar game rules, however, this is a completely different sport that originated in the UK.
In Russia, rugby is not popular, but in South America, New Zealand and Argentina, a completely different picture is observed. In recent years, the number of fans of this sport has risen up to 200 million people.
8. Table Tennis
Probably one of the most popular games among young people. In addition, table tennis is also the fastest sport.
According to statistics, today there are more than 300 fans of such tennis. Interesting fact: table tennis was invented in the United States, and in China it is considered one of the most popular sports.
7. Hockey
Perhaps the most masculine sport. Hockey is the national game of the "northerners", which mainly include Canada, the USA, Russia and Finland. In the "context" of the subcontinent, hockey is the second most popular sport. But gradually the whole world recognized him, and now in every corner of the globe he has millions of fans.
It is worth noting that hockey is played not only with the puck: there is also hockey with the ball, field hockey and air hockey.
6. Basketball
Basketball is the most popular game among American youth, especially among its black half. There is an opinion that in America every second is born "with the ball in his hands." And this is not an empty phrase.
By the way, all basketball players are united by one dream - to get into the National Basketball Association (NBA).
5. Baseball
National American games include baseball. But in addition to the United States, this sport has found recognition in China and Taiwan.
Baseball fans can be found in 11 countries, and in general they number about six hundred million. An interesting fact: baseball players are considered one of the richest athletes.
4. Volleyball
Almost 900 million people - so many people around the world are fans of volleyball. At first it was just a fun for the beach game, but then volleyball became an official sport that is practiced professionally.
At the moment, athletes from more than 100 countries of the world are participating in sports on this game.
3. Tennis
The top three leaders in our rating, of course, are tennis. The number of fans of this sport is approaching one billion people! The most popular venues for tennis competitions are America and Australia, where the world-famous Wimbildon tournaments are held.
Some nice statistics: Russian tennis players Maria Sharapova and Anna Kournikova recognized as the most beautiful athletes in this sport.
2. Swimming
People even a few millennia BC knew how to swim, and their styles resembled modern breaststroke and crawl. Today, 8, 1% of all those involved in sports are engaged in it, which is explained by the enormous health benefits of playing water sports, and the practical absence of injuries and contraindications.
During swimming, many muscle groups from all parts of the body are involved, which provides intensive training, and swimming is an excellent way of hardening.
1. Football
The prototypes of football existed in antiquity, but the official date of the birth of this game is considered to be 1848, when the rules of the game were recorded. Today, 8.4% of athletes play soccer, and more than a third of the world's population are fans.
Football is the most popular sport in Russia. During the game, oxygen consumption increases three times, not to mention muscle development. Also, in addition to physical development, football helps to learn tactics, in addition, many people can’t perform monotonous exercises for a long time, and the game nature of this sport provides steady interest.
But what about athletics?
Of course, athletics is the most popular direction in world sports, but it consists of several species, each of which individually is not so popular. Today we considered specific ones, so we did not include athletics in the top 10.
Sport is an integral part of a healthy person’s life. This is the same invariable link, without which a healthy lifestyle as such is not possible. In modern conditions, constant changes, some sports are becoming a thing of the past, some are taking their place on the podium and popularity, and some are just starting to gain momentum.
The most popular sports remain unchanged. It is hardly possible to imagine a world without football or hockey, for example. Sport is a heritage that we must pass on to future generations in the name of the health and prosperity of the peoples of the earth.
