From the United States of America to the United Kingdom to China to India to France and to Nigeria, there is a myriad of different sports that are played by the nationals. Sports are something that brings communities together via a common platform. Whether it be individuals staring at the television watching sports news, friends at a stadium cheering their favorite team on, or the athletes themselves fighting and making their countries proud, sports are found everywhere at every level of society.
But you may be wondering, what sports are most common in what region of the entire world… so let’s break it down by the most populated country in each continent, not including Antarctica.
Table of Contents
Asia
There are many sports played in Asian countries. Specifically, India’s most popular sport is cricket which is a sport played at the national and international levels. However, Cricket is a sport involving two teams of 11. The team who is batting has two batsmen who run up and down the wickets which are similar to bases in baseball. However, the fielding team has 11 players on the field with 1 bowler, 1 wicketkeeper, and 9 fielders.
The primary goal is to get all 10 batsmen of the opposing team out via bowling, catching, or wicketkeeping. Cricket is played by 54,593,224 people in India at the casual or competitive level (survey done by the Indian Government).
Another popular sport in Asia is table tennis. Besides, Table tennis, commonly referred to as ping pong, involves two individuals or four (if playing doubles) who hit a lightweight ball across a flat table with a short net in the middle. This sport is played heavily in China.
North America
The most popular sport in North America is American Football which is primarily played in the United States and also in Canada as well. The Super Bowl is the most-watched event in the United States among all televised events. Football is played with an oval-shaped, aerodynamic ball that is thrown by the quarterback to the receivers. The most popular football league is the National Football League which contains 32 teams across the United States.
South America
The most popular sport in South America is football, also known as soccer. Soccer is a sport that is heavily played at the domestic, national, and international levels. Of the 12 South American countries, 10 of them have an international team. Soccer or football is a sport where players dribble a ball with their feet in hopes to kick it inside a goal.
Europe
There are two sports that are commonly played throughout Europe: soccer and basketball. There is a continent-wide basketball league referred to as the Euro-League which is a basketball league. Basketball is played with a round ball and the main goal is to put it through a net via layup, jump shot, or dunk. Furthermore, basketball is such a popular sport in Europe that we are seeing a flood of European players take over the popular National Basketball Association in the United States. Nikola Jokic, from the Serbian national team, came to the NBA and has shown utter dominance with two back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards.
Africa
The most common sport played in Africa is football, also known as soccer. Especially in Northern Africa, the majority of individuals throughout the region partake in soccer rather than any other sports. However, in South America, cricket is very prevalent with the South American national cricket team that performs very well.
Australia
The most common sports in Australia are both swimming and cricket. It is difficult to understand which sport has the edge considering both are relatively seasonal. Australia partakes heavily in international cricket where they constantly take part in international tournaments such as the T20 World Cup, ICC World Cup, and test match cricket.
And swimming is another popular sport in Australia. More than 3.2 million Australians are regularly involved with swimming. Furthermore, almost half of all Australian children are involved in swimming.
Review Most Played Sports Around the World.