The importance of sports and physical activities is increasing with the passage of time. As sports are the only way out of the tiring and hectic everyday routine. Sports keep a man healthy, fit, and active, and apart from this, sports keep you motivated to do more hard work as they play a vital role in increasing your stamina and energy. Sports are categorized as many games and physical activities, but here we are going to enlist those games which are considered as sports.
Here, we will enlist and elaborate on the top admired and played sports in the world. But the criteria for choosing and picking up the best sport is not only based on its popularity, but there are some other reasons too. Let’s find out the 10 most popular sports in the world according to the proper criteria.
1: Football:-
Just as expected, football is the most played and most liked game around the world. This is played around the globe regardless of the nation, region, and boundaries. There are around 4 Billion fans of this game, according to the recent 2020 sports survey. This sport is mostly played in Asia, Africa, America, and Europe. Today this sport is almost played in 200 countries by almost 250 million players.
This sport originated in the 19th century in England, but before this, similar sports like football were played in China around 2,000 years ago. Apart from other reasons, this game is also cost-friendly, i.e., only a low-cost ball is required instead of costly playing equipment. Football is not only played worldwide, but it also has the most viewership on TV, social media presence, considered as the biggest competition, and above all, it promotes gender equality in an indirect way.
2: Cricket:-
Cricket is the second most played sport in the present world. This sport has 2.5 billion fans from India, UK, Australia, Pakistan, Asia etc. the cricket craze is gradually getting larger day by day. Cricket is a bat and ball game that is being played by two opposite teams, each consisting of 11 members. Cricket is mostly played and liked in Pakistan, Zimbabwe, India, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Australia, and New Zealand.
There are many countries who don’t take part in international cricket tournaments but still, it is the kind of sport that is being played in the biggest countries. There are certain reasons that has caused the popularity of this game, like this game boost up the sports man spirit in a person, it also increases the strength of coping up with failure, it motivates you to be the better version of yourselves as it keeps you fit and you must have heard that a healthy body keeps a healthy mind so this sport is really beneficial when comes to your fitness.
3: Basketball:-
Just after cricket, basketball is the 3rd most liked sport around the globe. This sport is mostly played in America, Canada, China, and the Philippines. It has 2.3 billion fans. It made us wonder that if a sport has such a large number of fans, there must be a reason, and yes! We are going to find it out. Basketball is played by two opposing teams consisting of 5 players each in a rectangular court.
People find this Ball House interesting to watch and play more than the other games, as it offers you tough competition. If you’d ever find a chance to play basketball, you’d probably come to know why it is considered one of the toughest sports to play. You have to focus completely on the ball and your goal while playing this, if in case your attention diverts, it would cause a great problem for you. Another reason for the popularity of this sport is, it is easily accessible by the general public as it only requires a ball and a basket. And here you go! You can show your playing skills and your strength to the audience.
4: Hockey:-
Let’s talk about another sport that is Hockey. It is ranked after cricket when it comes to the top played and liked sports in the world. According to the Global sports survey 2019-2020, it is mentioned that Hockey has 2 billion fans. Apart from other sports, it is a bit difficult and tricky game. Hockey is the national game of Pakistan. Apart from the simple field, this is also played over the ice field, and this is what makes it more popular. Ice hockey is most liked in America, Latvia, and Sweden.
Hockey has a great number of viewership across the world, whether it’s typical field hockey or ice hockey. Moreover, the hockey competition (typical field and ice hockey) is one of the biggest sports competitions in the Olympics. But keeping everything aside, it cannot be played for everyone as it requires specific equipment and they are not very cheap as compared to the others.
5: Tennis:-
How can we forget tennis when talking about the most popular sports across the world? Tennis is ranked after Hockey. Tennis is a quite interesting sport and the most interesting thing about this sport is, when you are watching or playing another game, most of the time you have some idea of what is going to happen next, but when it comes to tennis you absolutely have no idea what is going to happen in the very next moment. This fact makes it more appealing for the audience.
This game has 1 billion fans in total. This game is liked and mostly played across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. This sport is either played between two opposite teams, two players by each or between only two opponents, i.e., one player from each side. Apart from a large number of audience that is present at the avenue during the big match, about 400 million people watch the competition on their television screens.
6: Volleyball:-
Volleyball is ranked as the 6th most popular sport among the top liked and played sports around the world. It has about 900 million fans across Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Australia. In this game, there are two opposing teams, each having six members, separated by a net.
This game became a part of the summer Olympics in 1964. A reasonable number of the audience likes to watch this sport via their television screens. Unlike some other sports, this game is easily accessible by anyone as it requires only a net, which is cost-friendly for almost everyone.
7: Table tennis:-
Table tennis is a widely played sport across all the countries. This sport has 875 million fans around the globe. Table tennis is also among the most liked sports. This sport tests your concentration, as you have to play with every blink of the eye, and it looks quite tricky, and you need to be highly active if you are interested in playing this.
This is also known as Ping-Pong, and England is the origin of this sport. This sport was first played in the early 20th century. This sport is mostly played and enjoyed in Asia but is also popular in Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
8: Baseball:-
Baseball is not played by everyone, but still, it is considered one of the most popular sports in the world due to a large number of fans, i.e., around 500 million, and it’s quite a big number. It is mostly followed in the US, Cuba, Japan, and the Dominican Republic. It is played by two opposing teams, each of nine players. In this game, you have to run clockwise in the court after hitting the ball. This game has a large number of viewership in Japan, Cuba, the US, and the Dominican Republic, but the viewership is not that remarkable in other countries of the world.
9: Rugby:-
Rugby is the 9th most admired sport in the world. This sport has a 475 million fan following. Just like volleyball and cricket, this sport originated in the 19th century from England and is mostly played in Australia, New Zealand, France, and England itself. It is almost similar to America Football has a good number of viewership in the countries mentioned before.
10: Golf:-
Golf is the last one in the list of the most popular sports around the world. It has almost 450 million fans, according to the latest sports survey. This game is all about placing the ball in a small hole with the help of a golf clubs, with the smallest number of strokes. According to the study, Scotland is the origin of this sport, and it was first played in the 15th century, which shows that it is an old sport. It is more popular in Europe, East Asia, and North America. Nowadays, people can enjoy this sport indoors with the help of advanced equipment like golf simulators.
Every sport has its own significance, rules, and playing techniques, but when it comes to fitness and physical health, each plays an equal role.