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How popular is football around the world?


Germain Massoué - 31st May 2016 - 0 comments

The FIFA World Cup, the Champions League and The Euros are some of the most watched sport events around the world, but have you ever wondered just how popular football is compared to other sports?

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This infographic gathers data from 180 countries in 103 different languages to find out which sport is the most popular in each country in 2016. Unsurprisingly, football was the main draw, being declared as the most popular sport across 95 countries – more than half of the countries across the globe.

But, with the Euros kicking off soon, it’s no surprise that football is also Europe’s most popular sport. It is the most popular sport in 31 countries. However, there were some surprising omissions. Four countries who qualified for the Euros don’t have football as their favourite sport. Tennis, basketball, handball and horse racing are the most popular sports respectively for Switzerland, Slovenia, Hungary and Turkey.

After football, the world’s next favourite sport is cricket, preferred in 18 countries. Surprisingly, the third place goes to wrestling – with 10 countries – and boxing, BMX and volleyball complete the rank with 8 countries each. This rank is something unexpected because the most broadcasted and watched events in the world are basketball, very popular in USA, China and Turkey, and tennis, well-liked in Europe.

So have a look at this infographic and see for yourself which are the most popular sports around the world.


View Interactive Version (via SBO.net).

Author avatar

Germain Massoué

Social Media intern at Snack Media

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