Top Most Popular Sports in the World

1. Soccer / Association Football – 3.5 Billion – Europe, Africa, Asia, America – Well, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the most popular and watched game on the globe is football or soccer. With a following of almost 4 billion fans from every continent, the sport remains at the top with no other game coming close to it. Europe is the main hub of football where the game is played at the most competitive level. The biggest competition in the club football is the UEFA Champions League in which Europe’s elite clubs compete for the silverware and loads of cash.
2. Cricket – 2.5 Billion – Asia, Australia, UK – There is no dispute about which is the most popular sport in the world. It is definitely soccer and everyone agrees. But there are some disputes regarding the second place and according to our list, it is cricket. The game has a fan following of 2.5 billion people around the globe.

3. Basketball – 2.2 Billion – US, Canada, China and Philippines – The United States is known as the home of basketball. With a fan following of 400 million, basketball is the 3rd most followed sport in the world. There was a time when the game was restricted only to it’s home country. But at the moment, it’s popularity is increasing with a high rate and it might become one of the most popular sports by the next decade.

4. Field Hockey – 2 Billion – Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia – With a fan following of 2 billion people, a majority from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, hockey secures the 4th spot in our list of top 10 most popular sports in the world. Hockey is the national sport of Pakistan and is most popular in the South Asian region that includes countries like India, Pakistan, China, and Malaysia.

5. Tennis – 1 Billion – Europe, Americas, and Asia – With 1 billion fans from all around the globe, tennis is the 5th most followed sport. The previous 3 were all team games, whereas tennis is the first individual game in the list. The largest competitions of the tennis are the 4 grand slams. The unique thing about tennis is that there is gender equality.

6. Volleyball – 900 Million – Asia, Europe, Americas, and Australia – Volleyball is a simple game and this is the reason for it’s popularity. It is most popular in the developing regions of the world such as Turkey, Korea, Poland, Brazil, Italy, France, and many other European and African countries. In Asia, the game restricts to the countries like China and Japan.

7. Table Tennis – 850 Million – Asia, Europe, Africa and Americas – Table Tennis is a game with not much professional platforms for the showcase of talent, but as a hobby, no sport comes near this indoor excitement that is widely played around the world.

8. Baseball – 500 Million – US, Japan, Cuba, and Dominican Republic – A majority of the people around the world might not have held the baseball bat in their entire life, but in the countries like Japan and USA, baseball is enjoyed even on the street level. People of those regions are passionate about this sport and many opt to pursue a career in baseball since childhood.

9. Americal Football, Rugby – 410 Million – USA mainly France, England, New Zealand, South Africa – With a fan following of 400 million, American football ties with basketball in terms of popularity. The games, basketball, and American football have their origin from the USA and are very much common in the region than in any other continent.

10 Golf – 390 Million – Europe, Asia, America, Canada – Golf is considered a game for the riches. And no surprises that it has the largest professional prospect in the developed countries like Japan, USA, United Kingdom, South Africa and Korea.