Top 10 Most Played Sports
It’s near-impossible to put a definitive number on participation in different sports around the world when picking out the most played sports. In this list we’ve based our rankings on the number of players registered to clubs or leagues, so rather than including everyone who kicks a football in their back garden, we’re only counting those who play for a team, etc.
Even at that, we acknowledge that the list is open for debate, and because of that, we’d love to hear your thoughts/suggestions. You can get in touch with us on Facebook and Twitter.
We have worked with nearly every sport known to man to raise money through sports crowdfunding. The list below are the 10 most played sports in the world.
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10. Golf
Easily one of the most played sports in the world, 66 million people around the world regularly play golf according to Golf Played website (April 2024).
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The definition of regularly playing golf in the above figure refers to playing at least one round of golf per year.
9. Baseball
For many years, baseball was most popular in America than anywhere else, but nowadays it’s one of the most played sports in the world with participation rising rapidly in countries like Japan.
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The sport’s international governing body, World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), estimates that 65 million people play either baseball or softball in over 136 countries, 136 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and Oceania. Baseball is also hugely popular in Venezuela where it represents the number sport in the country.
8. Table Tennis
Table tennis has become one of the most popular sports in the last decade following its integration in schools, social clubs, and sports centres around the globe. Topend Sports estimate over 300 million people worldwide play table tennis. Table tennis is Asian dominant, with Asia accounting for the majority of the table tennis players.
7. Cricket
The majority of participants of this sport come from Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and the UK, but cricket is also on the rise in other countries all over the world.
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The International Cricket Council (ICC) states an incredible 125 countries around the world play the sport. Where it is estimated that over two billion people worldwide follow cricket as fans. It is estimated to have over 30 million players by The International Cricket Council (ICC).
6. Tennis
Widely recognised as one of the most popular individual sports in the world, tennis is played by an estimated number of 87 million men and women according to the ITF Global Tennis Report 2019.
The sport is growing at serious speed in Asia, so don’t be surprised to see tennis rank higher among the most played sports in years to come.
As of April 2024, the number 1 ranked players in the men’s and women’s games are Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek.
5. Basketball
The Federation of International Basketball Associations estimates a minimum of 450 million people play the sport around the world.
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Thanks to global superstars like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James, basketball is very marketable and that is reflected in its top 5 ranking among the world’s most-played sports. Over 20 million people in the United States play basket ball regularly, even more now thanks to basketball trainers like Quiet Bounce.
4. Volleyball
With its origins in America, volleyball has grown to an estimated global participation figure of 998 million people. Indoor and outdoor versions of the sport are played all over the world, with over 220 affiliated national federations registered to volleyball’s global governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball. Over 46 million people in the United States play volley ball regularly.
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This fast-paced sport is played by men and women in over 100 countries on 5 continents around the world.
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A firm favourite at the Olympic Games, field hockey is a highly technical sport, played by 10 outfield players plus a goalkeeper and its rules differ from the Ice Hockey variation of the sport.
2. Badminton
It may come as a surprise to some people that badminton is among the world’s most played sports. However, it is extremely popular and played regularly by an estimated 220 million people around the world. It is particularly popular in Asia, with many of the best players ever to grace the game hailing from the continent.
Badminton is the number one sport in many Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
1. Soccer
Be it at grassroots level, 5-a-side leagues, or at the top level, no sport rivals soccer for participation.In the last global census undertaken by the sports governing body FIFA, it was estimated that there are 265 million people who play the sport along with more than 5 million referees, which equates to 4% of the world’s population, thus cementing its place atop the list of the world’s most-played sports.
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