What are the most popular sports in the world?
Sports, tactical games that we have created and engaged in for centuries, have been one of the major driving forces of what makes and keeps us human. Whether it is the perfect spiral thrown 60 yards or the buoyant header that reaches the corner of the net, every single sport provides the same roller coaster of emotions, the same high-spirited crowd of fans and the same rush of adrenaline that comes along with the ultimate sense of competition.
These forms of recreation differentiate from other games because they require physical skill, strategy and aptitude that is sometimes naturally gifted but is always worked on and built up. These forms are soccer, football, baseball, basketball, tennis, golf, swimming, track and field and so many others. Although they differentiate from each other in countless ways, each of these is played with the same devotion, intensity and passion by the athletes who take them on. They become a part of the athlete as a human and play a role in their lives, not sometimes, but all of the time.
The sports are played by men and women, boys and girls, of all colors, races, religions, ethnicities and cultures with no measure other than how fast, how strong, how smooth, how skilled they are. Sports are something that we share together globally, not individually, and they ultimately bring us together.
Below is a list of the 10 most popular sports in the world, judged by how large their audience is. You won't be surprised by what is ranked as No. 1. (Estimated fans culled from WorldAtlas.)
Most Popular Sports In The World
#10. Golf
Estimated No. of Fans: 450 million
Primary Sphere of Influence: Western Europe, East Asia, North America
Making the turn with a Tiger fist pump!
He's 3 back. #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/qbaMo7fXmW— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 21, 2018
Join us among the mountains at BC's highest elevation golf course!#Golf #ExploreBC #GolfBC #ExploreKamloops pic.twitter.com/Ms8dOZywFB
— Sun Peaks Golf (@sunpeaksgolf) July 24, 2018
#9. Rugby
Estimated No. of Fans: 475 million
Primary Sphere of Influence: UK, Commonwealth
To infinity and beyoooooond @Jamaica_Rugby #RWC7s pic.twitter.com/tPQBXOGUBM
— Rugby World Cup Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) July 21, 2018
ICYMI: New Zealand retained their Rugby World Cup Sevens title, making it #RWC7s titles for both the men's and women's sides! pic.twitter.com/pIpcGByMjv
— Rugby World Cup Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) July 23, 2018
#8. Baseball
Estimated No. of Fans: 500 million
Primary Sphere of Influence: United States, Caribbean, Japan
Instincts and effort.
Willy's got plenty of both. pic.twitter.com/G7gNXFsjoi— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) July 24, 2018
.@Cardinals prospect Lane Thomas must be a magician.
LOOK AT THIS DISAPPEARING ACT! #MiLB pic.twitter.com/rHhZY85WEc— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) July 25, 2018
#7. Basketball
Estimated No. of Fans: 825 million
Primary Sphere of Influence: Global
Happy Birthday to @kylekuzma .
Never forget he went bucket-for-bucket in the 4th quarter with one of the best scorers in the NBA as a rookie. pic.twitter.com/pYQdqiyOEk— Basketball Society (@BBallSociety_) July 24, 2018
Evo1Sports
FOLLOW, WATCH VIDEO AND THEN RT FOR 4 EXTRA ENTRY'S IN THE NBA RAFFLE TODAY.Great Shots by Great NBA Players.
Video Produced by @Evo1S #Durant #Curry #Harden #LeBronJames #basketball #NBA #WNBA pic.twitter.com/IeTV8vSQUz— Evo1Sports (@Evo1S) July 25, 2018
#6. Table Tennis (Ping Pong)
Estimated No. of Fans: 875 million
Primary Sphere of Influence: Global
Peter drilling with Sam Walker ... England International at Advantage Summer Training Camp ... Peter plays every Friday at @FoL_Beacon #safc #beaconoflight #TableTennis pic.twitter.com/hahNMSLStC
— APPLIQUE ORIGINALS (@DESIGNEDBYJANE) July 23, 2018
13-year-old Romanian player Elena Adriana Zaharia shows incredible #tabletennis at the #EYC2018 in #Cluj!
https://t.co/uBTD0IQ4VP pic.twitter.com/6pIZBLcJUb— ETTU (@ETTU_TTennis) July 25, 2018
#5. Volleyball
Estimated No. of Fans: 900 million
Primary Sphere of Influence: Western Europe, North America
I'm amazed to see the standard & quality of Volleyball played in India. Really looking forward to this super cool League for one of my favourite sports @ProVolleyballIN #ProVolleyball #Spikewars pic.twitter.com/44z4hDBIC2
— Komal Nahta (@KomalNahta) May 7, 2018
Geneve Volley is getting good one! Best of luck to our own Azariah Stahl as she begins her pro volleyball career! #RiseHigher #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/IwHIQSvqNW
— Purdue Volleyball (@PurdueVB) May 23, 2018
#4. Tennis
Estimated No. of Fans: 1 billion
Primary Sphere of Influence: Global
MATTEO BERRETTINI gets a good 63 63 victory over Andrey Rublev today in R2 of Gstaad today!
The Italian was solid as a rock on serve, hitting in 6 aces and saving both break points he faced for the win in just over an hour! #tennis #tenisMatteo Berrettini pic.twitter.com/VlsrdHnGdQ
— tennis news channel (@tennisnewschan1) July 25, 2018
#3. Field Hockey
Estimated No. of Fans: 2 billion
Primary Sphere of Influence: Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia
Just 3 weeksuntil BCFH is back on campus, more moments like this to come soon... #WeAreBC pic.twitter.com/dMLGLSZ5QH
— BCFH (@BCFieldHockey) July 17, 2018
Preparation for the 2018/2019 Dutch Hoofdklasse and IPT in South Africa in two weeks time has begun with some corner training.
***Took a while to get it looking like this again
Still loving my @PRINCESS_Hockey A5 sticks, thanks for the continued support!#FieldHockey pic.twitter.com/2vIERq4OOB— Austin Smith (@AustinSmith5) July 17, 2018
#2. Cricket
Estimated No. of Fans: 2.5 billion
Primary Sphere of Influence: UK, Commonwealth
Well worth another watch of this...
Root
Williamson
BairstowAs hat-tricks go, this was pretty useful!
#RedRoseTogether pic.twitter.com/snXsjZ1DfY
— Lancashire Cricket (@lancscricket) July 22, 2018
What a way to win it!
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 17, 2018
Drumroll Please! ........... The No. 1 most popular sport in the world is ...
#1. Association Football (Soccer)
Estimated No. of Fans: 4 billion
Primary Sphere of Influence: Global
This is the 2018 #WorldCup Goal of the Tournament (via @FOXSoccer) pic.twitter.com/EQsJdWPlnK
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 25, 2018
#OnThisDay in 2010, Giovanni van Bronckhorst scored his world-class goal against Uruguay in the World Cup semi-final. pic.twitter.com/gb0iViTWVV
— Hypergoals (@hypergoals) July 6, 2018
