Globally, but what sports can we call THE most popular
in the world? Some of the answers may surprise you.

It’s no surprise that football, or what Americans call
“soccer” is the world’s most popular sport to play and
to watch. An estimated 3.5 billion people either watch
or play football. The World Cup is the global
championship of the sport and this tournament is
played every four years. The World Cup itself is one
of the highest rated sports on television, with many
countries tuning in en masse to watch their country’s
team play. Football is popular in all of the UK,
Europe, Asia as well as South America. However, with
so many other sports being popular, the Unites States
still lags behind in their interest in “soccer”.

Next, we have cricket. This sport which consists of a
bat and a ball, has been around for hundreds of years
and originated in England. The sport is popular in the
UK, Australia, New Zealand, some African countries,
some Caribbean countries and it is the most popular
sport in the countries of India and Pakistan. An
estimated 3 billion people watch or play cricket each
year.

The next most popular sport is a sure surprise, and
that is field hockey, with an estimated 2 billion
players or watchers, mostly in Asian countries,
European countries, Australia and around Africa. This
sport tends to be played in high schools in the United
States, usually by girls only.

Coming up next is tennis. Not so surprising, but there
are an estimated 1 billion players and watchers of
tennis around the world. Tennis tends to be popular in
richer countries, including the United States, Asian
countries, Australia and Europe. There are four main
tournaments in tennis, called “Grand Slams” at which
players from many countries play. The first is the
Australian Open, then the French Open, Wimbledon and
then the US Open in late August. The Grand Slam
tournaments tend to get the most attention during the
tennis season.

Next we have volleyball. Yet another surprise, with an
estimated 900 million viewers or players around the
world. Volleyball is popular in the United States,
where the sport originated, as well as in Brazil, all
over Europe, Russia, China and Japan. Volleyball is a
popular high school sport in many countries due to
it’s team centered play and lack of specialized
equipment requirements.

Also popular is table tennis, otherwise known as Ping
Pong. This is another surprisingly popular sport
around the world, with an estimated 900 million
watchers or players. Table tennis originated in
England as an after dinner activity for Victorians in
the late 19th century. Table tennis as a competitive
sport is popular in many countries but is especially
popular in China, Korea and Singapore.

After these sports, we have a triumvirate of more
mainstream American sports including baseball, golf,
American football and basketball, with each sport
attracting between 400 and 500 million players or
watchers worldwide.

Lydia Quinn writes for VolleyBallSeek.com, a portal
for volleyball scores, players, teams, games and much
more.

Note: This article was brought to the s2h knowledge by Manish Kumar.