Which countries are strong in the sport. What kinds of sports and where do they prefer. What role does sport play in the life of Russian society
Sports competitions have always occupied a leading place among other types of active pastime on the territory of Russia. As various polls show, most of the country's residents have tried themselves in one or even several sports. Such statistics, of course, involuntarily raises the question as to what kind of sport is the most popular in Russia?
The relationship between the spread of certain sports and the development of society
Football, hockey, biathlon and basketball have always been and remain unchanged leaders. They are inferior in popularity, but such sports directions as athletics, skiing, tennis, swimming are also quite well developed. Within most species, there are different disciplines. According to the All-Russian register of sports competitions, residents of the country take part in over one hundred and fifty different sports disciplines.
There are three thousand comfortable stadiums on the territory of Russia, more than four thousand swimming pools for both amateur and professional swimming have been commissioned and are successfully operating, over one hundred twenty three thousand sports complexes and facilities are located. Such a developed infrastructure allows Russians to practice on a permanent basis the kind of sport they prefer.
Development concerns not only the practical, but also the theoretical part of sports in terms of scientific developments. Sports medical organizations annually hold congresses at which serious issues and nuances of professional and amateur sports are discussed, as well as develop theories and conduct numerous studies. Such a development of the practical and scientific side of sport contributes to its spread in the country and the promotion of various disciplines and directions to the masses.
Ten most popular sports
It takes the unconditional first place. Of course, not all Russians who love football want to do it professionally or have the opportunity and ability to perform at such a high level, to take part in the championships of not only national but also global significance.
Some young guys prefer free time chase the ball with your friends. Others limit themselves to watching their favorite sports on TV, and there are those who follow the matches from the stands as a spectator. The only disappointment associated with football is that Russian teams rarely win world-class competitions.
The Russians give the second place after football to hockey. Being a professional hockey player is difficult enough. The cherished goal can only be achieved through long years of diligent and successful training in a close-knit and good team under the strict guidance of a professional coach. Otherwise, a hockey player will never be able to achieve a good game and prove himself.
Most of the Russian teams are quite strong. This is the main reason that many of them are in the Continental Hockey League. Hockey players sometimes bring the country even more victories than football players; they have invariably demonstrated, shown and will declare themselves many times in the future.
This third most popular sport in Russia unites hundreds and even thousands of people. These are not only professional athletes, but also a huge number of amateurs, for whom volleyball becomes a hobby and helps to maintain excellent physical shape and good health. Beach volleyball is beginning to attract no less attention, since absolutely all fans of active spending time during the summer holidays can play it.
The goal of this collective sports competition is to put the ball into the opposing team's basket. Two teams compete with each other, each of which has five people. The winner is the team with the most goals in the opponents' basketball basket.
There are no differences between men's and women's basketball in the rules of the game. However, if we talk about amateur competitions, then everyone plays in completely different ways. Basketball is popular not only in Russia, but also in the world. He invariably attracts the attention of a huge number of people.
A huge number of residents of Russia give their preference to athletics, being engaged in this discipline at an amateur level. Many people prefer jogging to other sports hobbies. The high popularity of morning or evening running has not made professional athletics the number one sport in Russia; it is only in fifth place in popularity.
In northern Russia, large amounts of snow fall and persist in many areas during the winter months, making these areas a great place for skiing. Almost every resident of Russia is engaged in amateur walking and skiing. Recently, Scandinavian walking has also become popular.
Boxing matches have become popular in the last few decades. Interest in him is due to the opportunities that he opens up for men. The strong half of humanity who is engaged in boxing gets a chance to demonstrate their strength, fighting spirit, will to win. The growing interest in this sport could not secure him a higher place than seventh.
Skates were brought to Russia from Europe by Peter I, and the sport discipline itself, involving skating on a special ice rink, originated in 1865. The first competition took place in 1875. The excitement around figure skating is a few verses in last years but the sport remains in the top ten.
Lawn tennis was originally called "lawn tennis" and began to develop in the nineteenth century. Included in the program of the Olympic Games, he invariably attracts attention, and in Russia many young people show great interest in him. This sport is inferior to others, but it is becoming more and more popular every year.
Long time around intellectual game there was a debate over whether chess could be considered a sport. Today they are among the sports disciplines, rounding out the top ten most popular in Russia.
Any sports competition involves a constant striving to improve the level of one's skill, regular training, mental and physical development (endurance, and so on), the need to overcome oneself, becoming emotionally stable and having good self-control. Chess requires a person to have all these qualities.
The analysis of the skills and characteristics that a chess player must possess allowed chess to be recognized as a sport in about a hundred countries, but not to get into the program of the Olympic Games. The latter is the main and main argument that does not allow the professional game of chess to take a firm place among sports disciplines.
What role does sport play in the life of Russian society?
The attitude of Russians to sports competitions cannot be called unambiguous. Not everyone sees professional-grade sports as important. And if about 25% of Russian residents are actively involved in sports, more than 45% are fans and periodically participate in various amateur sports competitions, then about 30% are absolutely indifferent to professional sports and even believe that they do not need to spend budget funds on it.
These data show that the majority of Russians do not just treat sports favorably, but they are engaged in any discipline as an amateur or professionally, attend sports competitions and even take part in various competitions. Everyone modern man can make its own contribution to the development of sports, which will be an excellent basis for the education of a beautiful, healthy and physically developed society.
Criteria for evaluation
The most popular sport can be determined based on the number of people who practice it, the number of national associations, or based on the audience's visual interest in a particular sport. Thus, depending on the selected criteria, completely different sports disciplines will turn out to be the most popular.
Top five leaders
By the number of people involved (constantly or periodically) a certain sport, the most popular is volleyball - around the world it is fond of more than 1 billion people, in second place in terms of the number of participants is basketball, which with varying degrees of intensity is played by about 450 million people.
The third place in the list of the most popular sports in the world is table tennis, which has gained recognition from 350 million people. More than 250 million people in the world play football, and this is the 4th place. Badminton closes the five most popular sports with 210 million fans.
What are your associations?
The worldwide popularity of sports can also be determined based on total number of relevant sports associations in the world. The first place in this indicator is also behind volleyball - there are about 218 national volleyball associations in the world. The second place in this indicator is for basketball (211 associations).
There are 204 national football associations registered in the world (3rd place). 4th place for tennis - 191 tennis associations, only 65 million people are involved in this sport. Judo (187 sports associations in this sport) also got into the top five in this indicator, but only no more than 2.6 million people are engaged in judo. Worldwide.
Most popular sports 2010 (enlarge kratu)
viewers choose
Data on spectator interest of the world audience in sports show that the most popular sport is football, this sport is of the greatest interest: everywhere in Africa, in the vast majority of European countries, in Latin America and the Middle East.
In North America, football is popular only in Mexico, while in the United States, American football is of the greatest interest to the audience, in Canada - ice hockey.
China and India, which account for more than a third of the world's population, are more interested, respectively, in table tennis and cricket; cricket is also popular in Australia.
For a long time, there have been many similar ratings on the Internet, which are very different from each other. The question is, what do you mean by the popularity of sports? Judging by the number of viewers, the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing became the absolute record holder, watched by more than 1 billion people. If we take into account the number of people involved in this sport, then athletics will surely take the first place, with a base of 300 million amateurs in the world.
Criteria used:
- Infrastructure
- Number of viewers
- Number of professional leagues worldwide
- Television contracts
- Sponsorship contracts
- Average athlete salary in major league
- Number of countries represented
- Social media activity
- Sports media coverage
- Relevance throughout the year
- Gender equality
- Accessibility to the general public
1 Football
With over 4 billion fans, it is by far the most popular sport in the world. The dominance of football on the planet is so obvious that the first place is not a surprise to anyone. The main distribution of football was in Europe, where for many it became not just a game, but a way of life. The FIFA World Cup is the most iconic event in the sport.
Football is also one of the most accessible sports in the world, and there is hardly a person who has never hit a ball in his life. Football news constantly flashes in the headlines of the largest newspapers, especially in the UK, Germany, France, Spain.
The most popular competition in the world: The FIFA World Cup is the most anticipated sporting event. The final match between Germany and Argentina attracted 700 million viewers.
The largest prize fund:$ 1.5 billion is played out annually in the Champions League, the elite of European club football.
Largest TV contract: English Premier League matches are broadcast in 212 countries around the world, and collect nearly 6 billion TV viewers on the screens during the season. Sky Sports and BT Sports had to shell out a hefty £ 5.3bn for television rights in the UK. Another 3 billion pounds were raised from the sale of international rights.
Most professional leagues: professional football leagues exist in almost every country in the world, and almost always consist of several divisions.
Largest sponsorship contract: Adidas pays Manchester United £ 75 million a year just to become an official kit supplier. Most of the well-known teams have similar lucrative contracts with leading sports brands.
the best players such as Neymar, Messi, Ronaldo earn over 40 million euros a year and are among the ten most famous athletes in the world.
Richest sports teams: the list of the 50 richest sports teams includes 30 football clubs.
Largest federation: FIFA is the largest and most influential sports organization. FIFA has over 200 registered national federations and 6,500,000 professional football clubs.
Most popular sports teams on social media: Real Madrid and Barcelona today have over 100 million subscribers.
Most Popular Athlete: Cristiano Ronaldo has collected 150 million followers on Facebook and Twitter.
2 Basketball
Basketball has over 1 billion fans. It is one of the top rated sports in the United States, and the NBA has revenues of over $ 5 billion annually. Highly popular professional leagues in Spain, Greece, Italy, France, Argentina and China make basketball the fastest growing sport in the world.
It is safe to say that in the next 10 years no one will be able to match football in popularity, but basketball has every chance to firmly occupy the second line. Here are some Interesting Facts that prove it:
Ranked second in the number of professional leagues in the world: basketball is second only to football in the number of professional leagues. In most European countries, leagues consist of several divisions.
The third largest sports league in the world: The NBA (National Basketball Association) ranks third in revenue, behind the NFL and the English Premier League.
Highest average salary: the average annual salary for NBA players is $ 4.4 million. The top 40 NBA players make over $ 15 million a year, and the top 10 make over $ 30 million annually.
Major sponsorship contracts: players such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, in addition to solid salaries, earn more than 50 million additional dollars a year through solid sponsorship contracts.
Fastest growing sport: basketball is also the fastest growing sport in the world, ranging from income to spectator interest. More and more strong teams are appearing in countries such as Serbia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, where full stands gather at the matches.
3 Cricket
Many people don't even suspect that cricket has more than 2 billion fans around the world. The main geography of the distribution of this sport is in England, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean and South Africa.
The popularity of cricket is largely due to the Indian subcontinent. Originated in England, the game quickly spread to all parts of the earth that were colonized by the British. In India and Pakistan, cricket is a religion. It is a source of patriotism, a stress reliever and synonymous with competition.
The third most popular international competition on the planet: takes a confident third place, after the FIFA World Cup and the Rugby World Cup. And the new Twenty20 format has generated much more revenue from the sale of television rights.
Dominant sport: in the countries of the Indian subcontinent, cricket is unmatched in popularity. And in New Zealand, Australia and England, he is the second most popular audience.
Women's cricket: the number of women cricket in the world is growing rapidly. Thanks to the efforts of the ICC (International Cricket Council), women's competitions now have much higher prize money than they did a few years ago.
4 Tennis
With a global reach and an audience of 1 billion people, tennis is the most popular individual sport in the world.
Highest individual sports prize money: All four Grand Slam tournaments - the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the USA Open - boast huge prize pools of tens of millions of dollars.
Relevance throughout the year: tennis events take place all over the world throughout the calendar year without interruption, but the main audience gathers in the summer.
Most prestigious sporting event: Wimbledon is not only the main tennis tournament, but also the most prestigious sporting event. In 2016 and 2017, it was watched by over 1 billion TV viewers, and the 2017 final was watched by 17 million people in the UK alone.
Highest paid athletes: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic make over $ 60 million per season, but only a fifth of that money is prize money.
Gender equality: surprisingly, the prize money in the men's and women's tournaments is the same. In addition, women's competitions are no less popular than men's. Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams at some point in their careers were among the twenty highest paid athletes on the planet.
Champions from 30 different countries: the top 100 players include representatives from 45 countries. Tennis players from 30 different countries have won at least one Grand Slam tournament, which is a unique sporting record.
5 Athletics
Athletics is by far the most global sport with many disciplines. Athletics is also the most popular event in the Olympic Games. Titled athletes like Usain Bolt regularly make headlines.
Gender equality: in athletics, all disciplines are represented by male and female sports. Elena Isinbayeva achieved worldwide fame thanks to this particular sport.
The widest representation: athletes from almost all countries of the world take part in the Olympics.
Most anticipated event: the final 100m sprint in 2012 was the most anticipated sporting event in history.
6 Rugby
Rugby is one of the main sports in some developed countries (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand).
Professional leagues: The strongest rugby league is in France, and this is where most of the highest paid athletes play. In recent years, new leagues have sprung up in Italy, Japan, Argentina, and even in the United States, rugby has found its fans.
The second most profitable international competition: The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the biggest event in the history of the sport, generating £ 250 million in revenue for the organizers.
The second most attended international competition: almost 3 million tickets were sold for the 2015 Rugby World Cup matches.
7 Formula 1
These races are watched by 550 million people every year. The season consists of 20 stages in 20 different countries, making Formula 1 one of the world's most global sports.
Most profitable motorsport: Formula 1 generates between $ 1.5 billion and $ 2 billion annually. This money is distributed among 10 teams, who spend between $ 100 and $ 500 million per season on cars, development, personnel and pilot salaries.
Big F-1 Pilot Contracts: most pilots make between $ 1 million and $ 5 million a year, but leaders Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton have contracts worth $ 50 million a year.
Organizers' contributions: to host the Formula 1 stage in your country, you need to donate $ 40 million to the royal racing fund.
8 Boxing
Like tennis and athletics, many people are also involved in boxing. This is an extremely common sport in countries such as the USA, Mexico, Great Britain, the Philippines, Japan, Poland, Romania. Amateur boxing competitions are part of the Summer Olympics program.
Spectator interest: high-profile title fights gather an audience of several million people.
Women's boxing: this sport is quite popular among the female population, and the undefeated Leyla Ali is also world famous like her father.
Highest grossing fight of all time: Floyd Mayweather's fight against Manny Pacquiao brought the organizers more than $ 400 million. Of this money, 250 was paid to the winner Mayweather, and 120 to Pacquiao.
9 Hockey
The most popular winter sport in the world, widespread in a small number of countries - Russia, Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland. It was once dominant in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but now it attracts viewers in these countries only during major international competitions.
Major league: The NHL is one of the five largest professional leagues on the planet, with annual revenues of US $ 4.5 billion.
10 Volleyball
This sport is considered the simplest, which is what makes it so widespread. People playing volleyball can be found all over the world.
Largest number of National Federations: the FIVB has over 200 registered national federations - more than any other sport.
The most popular sport in developing countries Oh: volleyball is extremely popular in a number of developing countries, such as Brazil (even bypasses football in ratings), Turkey, Thailand, China, Poland.
11 Golf
Golf has also gathered millions of fans around it. This is a sport in which there is no physical competition, and people of different genders and ages can compete in it on equal terms. In addition, professional golfers earn millions of dollars in prize money.
Sports for developed countries: golf is not cheap, so it is common only in rich countries such as the USA, Japan, South Korea, and the UK.
High potential for making money: the famous Tiger Woods dominated the list of the richest athletes for 15 consecutive years, mainly thanks to lucrative sponsorship deals with Nike, EA Sports and Gillette.
| The most popular sports in the world (ranked 12th to 25th) | ||
|---|---|---|
| A place | Sport | Details |
| 12 | Baseball | Popular only in the USA and Japan. MLB and Nippon League are among the ten largest professional leagues on the planet. |
| 13 | American
football |
The most popular sport in the United States and the most lucrative sports league in the world is the NFL, which makes over $ 10 billion a year. The Super Bowl is the highest rated sports event in the United States, attracting an audience of 200 million. |
| 14 | MMA | Mixed martial arts have been gaining in popularity with the advent of the UFC. It is a widespread sport in Brazil and the United States, gradually gaining audiences in Europe. In a few years, MMA is financially capable of overtaking boxing. |
| 15 | MotoGP | This is the motorcycle road racing championship. MotoGP is a premium racing game with a huge audience. Mostly popular in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, but in recent years have become widespread in England, USA, Germany and the Middle East. |
| 16 | Field hockey | 20 years ago, field hockey was dominant in India, Pakistan and Australia, but every year it is losing its popularity and audience. |
| 17 | Badminton | The main distribution of badminton was in China, Korea and India, but, as a rule, it is practiced at an amateur level. |
| 18 | Cycling | It is very popular in Europe, and the Tour de France is the main competition in this sport with an audience of millions. |
| 19 | Swimming | This sport is practiced by many people all over the world, but spectators' interest arises only during the Summer Olympic Games. Michael Phelps is the most decorated athlete in history with a record 22 Olympic gold medals. |
| 20 | Snooker | A specific game common only in England and China. In other countries, it is practiced only at the amateur level. |
| 21 | Table tennis | As a rule, professional table tennis is practiced in Asian countries. But as a hobby, it is spread all over the planet. |
| 22 | Gymnastics | Gets its audience only during the Summer Olympics. They are engaged in gymnastics mainly in China, USA, Japan, Russia and Germany. |
| 23 | Handball | It is only played in European countries... But even the matches of the World Handball Championship rarely get on TV screens. |
| 24 | Biathlon | Seasonal sport, but it gets its main audience during the Winter Olympics. Professionally they are massively engaged in Russia, Germany, France, Italy, Norway. |
| 25 | Skiing | One of the most popular winter sports. Mostly distributed in the Scandinavian countries. |
Sport plays an important role in human life. It strengthens the body, hardens the spirit and allows some people to be realized in life with the help of it. There are many sports in modern society. Whether to deal with it professionally or not is up to everyone to decide. In this article, we will outline the 10 most popular sports. We will also find out what is the most popular sport today.
10. Golf
The golf course has 450 million spectators. There is no need for physical competition, so the most different people... Don't think that this game is as simple as it might seem at first. In fact, you need to do more than just hammer balls into 18 holes with special clubs. This must be done according to the rules that are described on more than fifty pages. People all over the world play golf, which is why the rules are so different. To master golf, you need to develop accuracy, discretion, and accuracy. It is most common in Japan, USA, UK and South Korea... This game is very expensive. It requires quality tools, expensive equipment and good soil with small vegetation.
9. Rugby
This game is full of movement and thrill. People who play it must be physically strong, mentally stable and have a quick reaction. Rugby time lasts 80 minutes and includes 2 halves of 40 minutes each. The participating teams must pass each other an oval-shaped leather ball using their arms and legs, until it enters the opponents' goal. The number of viewers exceeded 475 million people around the globe. It gained great popularity in countries such as Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa.
8.
Baseball is very popular with 500 million viewers. It appeared in the United States at the beginning of the 19th century. Today it is played in 122 countries around the world. Baseball is most widespread in America, Canada, Cuba. In some ways, according to the rules, it resembles a Russian rounders, in some ways it resembles cricket. Americans consider baseball their national game, which is why it is the most widely played game in the United States. The rules of baseball are as follows: one team attacks, the other bats the ball. While the ball is flying, the participants change teams. The defending team must catch the ball and throw it at the running competitor. The bottom line is to score more points than your opponents. There are many rules in baseball, but they can be learned quickly.
7. Basketball
He has 825 million fans. Professional basketball leagues in Argentina, Greece, Italy and France are enjoying huge audience interest. Basketball is rapidly gaining popularity in other states. Experts say with confidence that in the coming years basketball will become as popular and widespread as football. Basketball appeared in the United States, and then very quickly spread to the rest of the continents. It is known that even in Antarctica, many people play basketball at the amateur level. The rules are familiar to everyone, in any school basketball is a favorite pastime of students. To become a professional basketball player, you need to be tough, strong and tall. Famous basketball players are watched by the whole world, they have become idols of millions of spectators.
6.
This Olympic sport is still very popular today. It appeared at the end of the 19th century. Today the number of viewers is 875 million. Table tennis is often confused with ping pong due to similar rules. However, these are different games. The International Table Tennis Association includes 225 countries. He received the greatest distribution in the countries of Asia. There, from 2 to 5.5 million people are engaged in it at a professional level. It is considered one of the most prestigious today. The bottom line is that two people hit the ball with rackets on a table separated by a net. The most important thing is to prevent the ball from flying out of the playing table. The players are required to be attentive and quick to react. To become a pro, you need to have excellent racquet skills and control a light ball. Chinese athletes do it better than others.
5. Volleyball
Volleyball was invented in the United States in the early 20th century. If earlier it was possible to play it only in the gym, then today beach volleyball has also begun to gain popularity. Today there are 220 national volleyball associations. They are followed by 900 million fans from different continents. There are two teams in volleyball. In a specially equipped area, they send the ball to each other through the net so that it eventually falls into half of the opponent's field. Volleyball is not called exclusively male or female. He is completely equal. It is played by both professionals and ordinary amateurs. A playground can be both a hall and an open-air area. Volleyball is most popular in Brazil, Thailand, Poland, China and Turkey. Moreover, in Brazil, volleyball is considered a national sport. It is also in demand in Russia.
4. Tennis
A significant number of world-famous athletes are involved in tennis, and the number of fans has already exceeded 1 billion. Tennis can be played on sites with a wide variety of surfaces - on grass, ground, carpets, special courts. The large tennis field is larger than the table tennis field, therefore this game is brighter in terms of entertainment. Athletes in tennis must be strong and physically fit. You also need to be able to analyze, be stubborn and have good endurance. Tennis tournaments are divided into women's and men's. Each of them involves a certain number of participants. The most prestigious are the Grand Slam tournaments. Tennis players are among the highest paid athletes. Tennis tournaments are held in different countries all year round. However, a larger number of spectators gather at them in the summer.
3. Hockey
In naming winter sports, one cannot but name hockey. It is popular in countries like USA, Russia, Canada, Finland and Sweden. Hockey is the most popular sport in Russia. This is evidenced by the number of his fans. The number of his fans is 2 billion people. The essence of the game is that two teams of participants try to hammer the puck into each other's goal with clubs. The main specificity is in a tense struggle and physical strength... Some people compare hockey to American football and rugby. Hockey players must have endurance, strength and team spirit. Hockey has many fans, and there are also many examples when athletes have devoted their entire lives to it.
2. Cricket
Cricket has over 2.5 billion fans around the globe. It is most common in Australia, India, England, New Zealand. This game uses a ball and bat. Teams (11 people each) enter the field and try to earn the most points. The match is usually divided into one or more parts. In each part, one team serves once, and the other bats. Cricket appeared in England and then quickly spread to all corners of the globe. It is the most popular sport in England today. But also in Pakistan and India, he is treated with special patriotism. Playing cricket can be a great time, and you don't have to be a pro. Today, the number of girls playing cricket at a professional level is growing rapidly.
1. Football
Football has 4 billion fans. This suggests that it is the most popular sport in the world. He received the greatest popularity in European countries. Despite the fact that football involves a large number of professional athletes, there are also a huge number of amateur players. Football championships are gathered near TV screens and in the stands by millions of people. They are broadcast in 214 countries around the world. Many states have their own professional football leagues, they include divisions. It's no secret that the highest paid athletes are football players. FIFA is considered the largest sports organization on the planet. All these data indicate that football is the favorite game for billions of people and will remain at its peak for many years to come.
Sport in Ukraine is quite developed, and our athletes, who represent their country in the world arenas, are direct proof of this. Ukraine for sports and healthy image life, and this is not a tribute to fashion, but rather, an individual choice of everyone.
Many people are interested in the question, what kinds of sports are popular in Ukraine? Masters-bet professionals tried to figure it out and, based on the transitions to ours, compiled a rating of the most popular sports in 2018 in Ukraine according to masters-bet.
1 FOOTBALL
If you plunge into the history of the beloved game all over the world, then it is worth mentioning that England is considered the ancestor of football. At the same time, it is widely believed that the best football players are gathered in Brazil, since they do not just play football, they live it. It is not for nothing that the Brazilian national team became the World Champion 5 times, proving their superiority in the game.
As in the rest of the world, football is the most popular sport in Ukraine. This is the favorite game of children, teenagers and adults. Football is actively developing in the country and such grandees of the Ukrainian Premier League as Shakhtar and Dynamo, playing in prestigious tournaments (Champions League, Europa League), is a direct confirmation of this. And in the rating of national teams of FIFA (FIFA), the Ukrainian team takes 35th place.
Football is among the top 10 most popular sports, and the five European leagues of France, Germany, Spain, England and Italy are watched with bated breath all over the world. This is proven by the fact that the game is followed by over 4 billion fans.
The most important competition in this sport is the World Championship, which is held once every 4 years. But the largest prize fund is drawn annually among the football clubs playing in the Champions League. European teams are fighting for $ 1.5 billion.
In addition, there are professional football leagues in each country, divided into divisions.
2 BOXING
Boxing is one of the most popular sports not only in the world, but also in Ukraine. In addition to Ukrainians, boxing is closely watched in America, Mexico, Great Britain, Japan, Poland, Romania, as well as in the Philippines.
In the mid-60s of the twentieth century, boxing began to actively attract the attention of the public. After this boom, the leading fights began to gather full houses, the rest of the fans, closely watching the fights from their television screens.
The most interesting thing is that boxing is not only a male sport. Women's boxing is also interesting to many, and women's fights are the most popular competition in the world.
There are huge amounts of money spinning in boxing, and the prize pools of some competitions simply do not fit into your head. In addition, athletes fight not only for money, but also for 4 championship titles in the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF versions. Every novice boxer dreams of raising the coveted award in the boxing world over his head.
3 TENNIS
Earlier, when asked what is the most popular sport in Ukraine, one could hear anything, but not tennis. In just a few years given view sport began to gain momentum, and deservedly now occupies an honorable third place in our ranking.
The most popular and prestigious tennis competition is Wimbledon. In 2016 alone, the event was watched by more than 1 billion TV viewers, and the final of the 2017 tournament was closely watched by 17 million people, and this is only in the UK. Is it not the size of the audience that speaks about the popularity of a particular sport.
Other tennis events are held all over the world every year with little or no breaks, but the audience only grows noticeably in the summer.
The prize pools in tennis are just as generous as they are in boxing. Take, for example, all four Grand Slam tournaments - Australian Open, French Open, USA Open and Wimbledon. The prize money of these tournaments exceeds tens of millions of dollars.
4 BASKETBALL
Basketball has joined the list of "The most popular sports in Ukraine and the world." This sport is considered one of the most rated, and the number of its fans exceeds 1 billion.
Game sports have always been in the spotlight, and basketball is no exception. Ukrainian basketball players are constantly training and working on themselves in order to represent their country at a decent level at important basketball tournaments.
In addition to Ukraine, basketball is loved in America, Greece, Spain, Italy, France, China and Argentina. This sport is developing very quickly, so it will easily be able to compete with football in a few years.
By the way, in terms of the number of professional leagues, basketball is second only to football. In European countries, leagues also consist of several divisions. As for the salaries of basketball players from the NBA, the top 40 players of the American association earn more than $ 15 million a year.
5 BIATHLON
Biathlon is a seasonal sports discipline, but, nevertheless, it is a popular sport in Ukraine. The main audience for winter competitions is gathered during the Olympic Games.
In addition to Ukraine, people are interested in biathlon in Russia, France, Germany, Italy and Norway. Despite the fact that many countries are interested in this sport, it is difficult to say that biathlon is the most popular sport in the world, and it will be difficult for him to overtake football.
6 HOCKEY
A review about the most popular sport in the world and Ukraine, like hockey, will interest a large audience.
Such a priority sport as hockey is popular among young people and not only. Yes, the Ukrainian hockey league cannot be compared with the NHL and the KHL, but this does not mean that Ukrainian fans do not follow it. Many Ukrainian hockey players play in well-known hockey teams of the world, which proves the professionalism of the players.
The National Hockey League is rightfully ranked among the five largest professional leagues on the planet, and the NHL has annual revenues of $ 4.5 billion. Many novice hockey players dream of raising the Stanley Cup over their heads.
7 ATHLETICS
Athletics is a global sport as it includes many disciplines. In this sport, all disciplines are represented by male and female sports.
In Ukraine, the most popular sport is not athletics, but this does not mean that it does not have its own amateur audience.
The popularity of sports is mostly spread in Europe: France, Germany, England. Also athletics is the most popular event in the Olympic. And in 2012, the final 100m sprint became the most anticipated sporting event in history. Therefore, athletics is rightfully included in the list of the most popular sports around the planet.
8 HANDBALL
It would seem that handball is a kind of sport that few people know about in Ukraine. But no, the Ukrainian men's handball team is showing a good game. Yes, the Ukrainian team did not qualify for the 2019 World Handball Championship, but this does not prevent it from continuing to train and achieve new victories.
In addition to Ukraine, handball is developed in Russia, Norway, Germany, Spain. Popularization different types sports, including handball, is gaining momentum every year, and federations specially created for this contribute to development.
9 VOLLEYBALL
It is not surprising that volleyball is a popular sport, both children and adults love to play it in open areas and in gyms.
In terms of the number of Olympic awards, this sport is still ahead of other game sports disciplines. However, most of the awards were won back in Soviet times. Now there are no significant achievements, but this does not mean that volleyball has lost its position in the ranking of the most popular sports in Ukraine.
Due to the simplicity of volleyball, it is loved in many countries of the world - Brazil (according to local media reports, volleyball in the country even bypasses football), Turkey, Poland, China and Thailand.
And in terms of the number of national federations, volleyball has bypassed other sports, since more than 200 national federations are registered in FIBV.
10 CYBERSPORT
Cybersport is gaining more and more momentum every day, it is possible that very soon it will be considered one of the most rated sports not only in the world, but also in Ukraine.
After esports was called a sport, many misunderstandings arose, some agreed with this, while others loudly declared that esports had nothing to do with sports. But whatever it was, when asked what kind of sport is the most popular, many answer esports.
Also, this type is popular in Russia, China, South Korea and America. Cybersport prize fads are also difficult to ignore, as gamers are fighting for tens of millions of dollars.
11
Golf originated in Scotland, and it is rumored that the game was invented for the rich by ordinary shepherds. Then they started talking about the game in the Netherlands, and thus it began to develop and gain attention all over the world.
Golf is a sport that has gathered millions of fans around it, and some of them are located in Ukraine. Also, golf is included in the ranking of the most popular sports in countries such as the USA, Japan, Great Britain and South Korea.
12
Over 550 million people follow Formula 1 every year. For the first time they started talking about "Royal Races" in the 1950s, since then interest in them has not faded away, but only grows.
The racing season consists of 20 stages, which take place in 20 different countries, hence the wide audience for this sport. At the same time, racing is considered the most profitable motorsport, each year its income ranges from 1.5 to 2 billion dollars. And this is not surprising, since expensive cars require expensive maintenance.
13
Since the advent of the UFC, mixed martial arts are gaining more and more popularity. Ukraine is also interested in this sport. It all started with Brazil and the United States, and gradually migrated to Europe.
A little more and financially, MMA is able to overtake boxing. As in any other sport, mixed martial arts has its own prestigious tournaments that gather an audience. Prize funds are practically no different from boxing ones, since large sums are spinning in MMA.
14
Races like the Tour de France are known all over the world. In Ukraine, the number of cycling enthusiasts is increasing every year, besides, cycling races are constantly held, in which not only professional athletes participate, but also amateurs.
Cycling is most developed in Europe, where millions of fans follow the competition. The prize funds of the competition are also not deprived of good monetary rewards.
15
Basically, many remember swimming during the Summer Olympic Games, but at the same time, this sport is practiced all over the world. There are different types of swimming that every athlete chooses for himself.
16
Table tennis originated in late XIX century, and today it is included in the list of the most popular sports. By the way, most people still think that ping-pong is table tennis. But this is not the case, although they are quite similar in terms of the rules and organization of the competition.
Today the International Table Tennis Association includes 226 countries. In addition to Ukraine, Asia is actively interested in this sport; according to some sources, up to 5 million people are professionally engaged in table tennis there.
17 RUGBY
Rugby originated in foggy Albion in the 19th century, and has become popular in many countries around the world.
There is a legend that rugby appeared after, while playing football, one of their players took the ball in hand, and after running across the entire field, brought it into the opponent's goal. It is also believed that American football appeared thanks to rugby.
Today, there are about 5 million rugby players.
18
Cricket is a sport that uses a bat and a ball. Cricket is often played on the tarve.
Cricket is most popular in Australia, India, Wales, England, South Africa and other countries.
19
A team sport like baseball is somewhat reminiscent of Russian rounders and cricket. Baseball is very popular in America, Canada and Cuba.
20
American football is another most popular sport in America, which also has its fans in Ukraine.
America is home to the world's most profitable sports league, the NFL, which makes over $ 10 billion a year. And superball is considered the highest rated sports event in the United States, which is attended by 200 million people.
21
Even 20 years ago, field hockey was especially popular in India. Later it spread to Pakistan and Australia, and then came to taste in other countries.
It is difficult to say that field hockey is developing because it is not entirely true. But at the same time, the number of fans of this sport is constantly increasing.
22
Badminton appeared in China. Then he smoothly moved to Korea and India, and after that he found his audience in other countries of the world.
As for the professional plan, there are not so many competitions in this sport, mainly badminton is developed at the amateur level, including in Ukraine.
23
Rhythmic gymnastics has always attracted the attention of the public. This sport is included in the program of the Olympic Games.
Gymnastics is popular not only in Ukraine, but also in America, Russia, Japan, USA and Germany.
24
Skiing is a favorite pastime of many, all over the world. Consequently, such discipline as alpine skiing is very popular. Most of all winter sport is widespread in the Scandinavian countries.
Alpine skiing is included in the program of the Winter Olympic Games, and with the onset of the Olympics it attracts thousands of fans on TV screens.
25
Snooker is a rather specific game that also has its fans. Snooker is the most popular in England and China.
As for Ukraine and other European countries, this kind of sport is more developed there at the amateur level.
26
The Road Circuit Championship is an interesting and entertaining competition that thousands of MotoGP fans love to watch.
These races belong to the premium class, which has its own audience. MotoGP is especially popular in Spain, the Netherlands, America. However, more recently it began to develop in England, Germany and the countries of the Middle East.
27
Another winter, but, nevertheless, popular sport - snowboarding began to develop relatively recently. However, it has already been included in the program of the Winter Olympic Games.
Previously, snowboarding was seen more as a hobby, but over time it has developed and won the love of the public.
28
An incredibly beautiful and at the same time difficult sport - figure skating is also in no way inferior in popularity to other sports. There are athletes in Ukraine who represent their country at the Olympic Games, as well as at the World Championships.
Figure skating is well developed in Russia, America, Germany, Japan and other countries.
