Throughout the history of humanity, many sports have been invented. Sports have been an integral part of people’s lives in all times and eras. There is an excellent variety of sports in the world. It is difficult to say which one is the most popular. Everyone has his preferences concerning sports.
Indeed, sports bring people together, maintain a healthy competitive spirit and give the joy of the operation and win since the days of old Greece. Nowadays, there are many sports and matches of global level, and they have millions of fans worldwide. Which are the most famous ones? You can see it on the top 10 cricket betting sites or this review.
What are the most popular sports in the world?
- Soccer. has 4 billion fans.
- Cricket. 2.5 billion fans.
- Field hockey. Has 2 billion fans.
- Tennis. It has 1 billion fans.
- Volleyball. 900 million fans.
- Table tennis. 875 million fans.
- Basketball. 825 million fans.
- Baseball. 500 million fans.
Golf
The game of golf has over 450 million fans. It is common in Western Europe, East Asia, and North America. The essence of the game is simple – the player must hit the ball into the holes with a club. It would help if you made as few strokes as possible to get the ball in the spot to win the game. The history of golf started in Scotland in the 15th century, when the game became very popular. Unfortunately, several laws came out to prohibit it at the same time.
Baseball
The game’s primary goal is to score more points or runs and beat your opponent. Points are scored only if the attacking team player runs all the bases (these are square pads of 30×30 cm attached to the ground), which are located in the corners of the playing field. The baseball is made of cork or rubber, wrapped with yarn, and covered with two layers of white leather with red stitches on top. Each corner of the field is called counterclockwise: “home base,” “first base,” “second base,” and “third base.”
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport with a ball. Two teams participate in the game, each with five players (7 people are still in reserve). The main goal is to throw the ball into the ring with the opposing team’s net, prevent opponents from possessing the ball, and guard their purpose.
Basketball baskets are placed at a level of 3.05 meters from the floor. Points are awarded for shots to the basket: free throw – 1 point, shot from short or medium range – 2 points, shot from the long field – 3 points.
This sport has been part of the Olympic Games since 1936. World Championships are held both among men’s and women’s teams.
Table tennis
Although table tennis (often called ping-pong) cannot be considered very active, it has more than 875 million followers. It originated in England in the 19th century as an alternative to lawn tennis. The essence of the game is almost the same as in tennis – two or four people throw a ball over the net using rackets. The best in this sport is considered the inhabitants of Sweden, China, and South Korea.
Volleyball
The main spread of volleyball is in North America and Western Europe, and it has more than 900 million fans all over the world! It was invented in 1895 by William J. Morgan. He was an employee of the Christian Young Men’s Association and developed the game for his students. They started throwing the ball over a tennis net and created a fascinating game.
Tennis
This sport was also familiar to the ancient Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians. But as a sport, it was only popularized in France and then spread around the world. Two or four people are divided into two teams and throw the ball over each other’s net. As a result, tennis is now incredibly popular in many countries and has over a billion fans.
Cricket
The game is played between two teams of 11 players each. The competition aims to earn more points than the opposing team. A cricket match is called a test and consists of one or more parts, and each is called an inning. In each innings, one group strikes out, and the other team pitches one time. The origin of the term test can be attributed to the fact that a five-inning test (as opposed to a match with a limited number of overs) is a valid test of the teams’ playing strength.
Soccer
Probably everyone has watched a soccer game at least once in their life or even attended a game. But more than 4 billion people in the world consider themselves real soccer followers. The ancient Chinese played soccer back in the second century, and it was also popular with the Romans, Greeks, and Japanese. Now soccer is widespread in the States and European countries.
American Football
American soccer is a contact team sport. It involves two teams, eleven players on each side, playing with an oval ball on a rectangular field that is 120 yards (109.728 meters) long and 53.3 yards (48.738 meters) wide with a slingshot goal either end. The team must possess the ball to advance it into the scoring area by carrying or passing the ball. First, one of the teams must move the ball 10 yards (4 attempts are given). If they succeed, they get four more tries. Otherwise, their opponent gets the ball. Points can be scored by moving the ball to the end zone (touchdown) or cutting a field goal, or the defense can score points by making a safety. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Bowling
Bowling is a sports game of balls, which originated from the game of skittles. The competition aims to knock down, with the help of the smallest possible number of balls launched by hands, the pins set uniquely at the end of a board-less lane (most bowling centers also have lanes equipped with raised/lowered boards for children’s games). There are many bowling varieties: 5-pin bowling differs from 10-pin bowling not only by the number of pins, but also, for example, by the number of throws in each frame, and also by the different game value of pins, candlepin bowling is primarily, as clear from the name, by the shape of nails, which resemble candles (that is cylinders and have no expressed top and bottom) and others. The most common variant in the world is 10-pin bowling, in which the pins are set in the form of a triangle.
Sports games unite millions of people worldwide and give fans a lot of positive emotions!