Sports are socio-economic instruments that entertain us. Sports plays a prominent role in the economic sector of the world. It offers revenue to several countries in the world. Thus, sports are encouraging economies around the world. Sports are very important in the US GDP. Different varieties of games are played in various parts of the world. Here is the list of the top 10 sports in the world based on viewership, fan base, endorsement/sponsorship deals, online popularity, etc.
- Golf
The fan base of golf exceeds 450 million worldwide. East Asia, Western Europe, and North America are the most prevalent regions where golf is played. The game requires players to put the ball into a hole using lesser strokes.
- Rugby
Rugby can be played by people of any gender. More than 10 million players around the world love Rugby and closely follow the game. It is very similar to American football. The sport has a huge fan base in countries like commonwealth nations, New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.
- Baseball
America’s love for baseball is known to the world. However, it is extremely popular in other regions like East Asia and the Caribbean. There are around 500 million fans worldwide for Major League Baseball or MLB, which is the most prominent baseball league in the world.
- Basketball
Basketball was invented by James Naismith and now, it has a fan base of more than 825 million people. There will be two teams in this sport and it is fast-paced. The female basketball leagues are also famous and gain the attention of the media.
- Table Tennis
Table Tennis is also called ping pong. The fan base of this game is around 875 million people. It was in the early 20th century that table tennis originated in England. Ping pong games are popular in Africa, America, Europe, and Asia.
- Volleyball
Volleyball has about 900 million global fans. The major portion of these fans lies in North and South America, Asia, Australia, and Western Europe. However, the television viewership of volleyball competitions has fewer viewers when compared to other sports.
- Tennis
Tennis is a physically vigorous and strenuous sport with a fan base of 1 billion. Both female and male competitions are attracting media attention recently. Brands like TAG Heuer, Rolex, and Audemars Piguet have sponsorship/endorsement deals with popular tennis players.
- Hockey
Both field and ice hockey have a large fan base globally. Ice hockey is extremely popular in Northern Europe, Canada, and the US. On an international level, hockey has about 2 billion fans. The National Hockey League or NHL is a league with high viewership.
- Cricket
Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world, followed by approximately 2.5 billion fans. Countries with extreme cricket fans are India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and Australia. The Cricket World Cup is one of the most viewed seasons around the world.
- Football/Soccer
Football/Soccer is the most popular sport with a fan base of 4 billion. Soccer is played in a rectangular area by two teams with a goalpost on both ends. Each team will have to try to score a goal by putting the ball in the goalpost of the other team.