There are about 8,000 listed sports, and these consist mainly of mental and physical activities. Some of these sports are not very well known among people. Hence, it is understandable status there are those who contest of their status as “sports” and pose that they’d be removed. Wikipedia has narrowed it down to 500 but this list remains to be debatable. Regardless though, there are those competitive games that have won the hearts of different nationalities and are celebrated worldwide. These sports can gather crowds and lift spirits, thereby, making them the top 10 most watched.
Soccer/Football
Its played by passing the ball through a marked area called goal which is a net supported by two poles. Ball played in the game is spherical and is not too big neither too small in size.
In the 11 players, there is also a goal keeper whose job is to defend their side of the team by not allowing it pass through the goal posts. The game do not limit any positions of the players else than the goalkeeper.
The teams can make their strategies by positioning the remaining ten players at any point of the ground boundaries. The ball can only be touched by the feet, the head or sometimes the chest of the body.
If the ball touches the hand, it is considered a foul and suitable advantage is given to the opponent team for the foul. Match is won by the team that scores the most goals. The time limit for the game is divided into two parts for a total of 90 minutes and each of 45 minutes.
In between, there is a small break for the refreshment and relaxation of players. In one half one, the team is awarded ball in possession and in the next round the ball is awarded to the other team so that the justice is maintained to some extent through this procedure.
The football game is administered by an international body known as FIFA. The football has a very famous event which is held every four years known as the FIFA world cup. Has 242 million practitioners and 204 federations. 93 countries and 208 member nations. Av. fans; 3.5 Billion
Cricket
It is second popular sport after football. Now it interests you and you want to play cricket, too. But cant play. What is this game? And what it is all about. Don’t worry. I am here to help you.
The team that wins the toss elects either to bat or field. The fielding teams captain sets his fielders in the specific positions he wants theming. Two batsman step on the field and take their positions. The bowler pitches ball to a batsman and the batsman has to hit it. This goes on till the specified overs or till all the batsman are out.
Then the players of the other team come in to bat, and they try to score more than the team that has batted before. The team that scored more runs wins the game. Av. fans ;2.5 Billion
Field Hockey
It originates from the family of hockey. Can be played both indoor (board surface) and outdoor(grass field).
Each team has eleven players including a goalie. Players use wooden sticks to hit around plastic ball. Length of stick depends on the height of the player. av.fans ; 2 Billion
Tennis
Tennis is usually an outdoor played by two players for Singles or by two teams for Doubles. Players use a racket to strike the ball past the net to other court or area. The court is rectangular with the following dimensions – 78feet by 27 feet wide for singles matches. For doubles matches, the court dimension is 78feet (23.77m) long and 36 ft (10.97 m). The net is placed 3 feet high in the center.
A tennis match is decided on the best three or five sets. A set is won by winning six games and players should get 4 points to win one game. Unique terms are used in tennis scoring. A zero point is called “love,” while one, two, and three points are called “fifteen,” “thirty,” and “forty” respectively. If both players have 3 points and scores equal, it is called a “deuce.” If at this point ,a player scores one point more than his opponent, the game is “advantage” for the player leading in scores.av.fans ; 1 Billion
Volleyball
It is played indoors and on the beach. Beach Volleyball applies different rules to the game, which makes it quite challenging. The indoor side of this sport, it is played on a wooden court, which usually has springs or some absorbent under it. The indoor version has six people at one time, and between 1 to 5 people on the bench, as backups. These are often subbed on at various times of the game, depending on strategies that happen.
There are normally three people who stand at the front which hit the balls at the opponents, and a setter. The job of a setter is to take the second ball and set it up for a spike onto the other court. He may do this through the back of the court, or various sides of the frontcourt, has 998 million participants and 218 affiliated federations. av. fans; 0.9 billion
Table tennis
Consists only of hitting a ball across a table with a pair of rackets while making sure that the ball doesn’t crash into the net, and bounces once (and only once) in the opponent’s half of the table. Failure to hit opponent’s court half with ball causes a player to lose a point.
The first player to get 11 points wins a game. The game is played either between 2 (singles) or 4 (doubles) players. Of course, at the competitive level, there are some other rules regarding the service, bounce, etc., but a beginner only needs to know the above rules to start playing.av. fans; 0.85 billion
Baseball
Its played between two teams with nine players each. The teams take turn in batting and fielding. It is the national sport in U.S and a well-known activity among Asian and European countries. With about 60 million participants, 117 member nations and 110 affiliated national federations, baseball may be profitable sporting ventures to date. The player who needs the most safety gear is the catcher. It is very important that it is always worn. The catcher risks being hit by a pitch at any time. So, the body parts that are in the line of fire should be protected. This includes a helmet, face mask, chest protector and the proper glove. The batting team runs hitting the ball counter clocking first, second, third and home plate base. The run is score when the home plate is touched by a player.av. fans; 0.5 billion
Golf
Golf is fastest growing sports. fans of golf are some of the most fanatical in the world. Do you wonder what the fuss is about golf? Well, let’s begin with the basics.
Golf is a simple game. You’ve got clubs and a ball. You have to hit ball into series of holes laid out in the middle of a large, grassy field. After you reach the 18th hole, you may want to go to a bar and tell lies about your on-course feats to anyone you didn’t play with that day. May have 9 or 18 holes.av. fans; 0.45 billion
Basketball
Mostly it is played as a sports team with five players each side. competition of 3 on 3, 2 on 2 and 1 on 1 are played. The target is to sprout the ball through a 46cm hoop diameter and 3m height. A field goal can also be scored by a team by shooting the basket being defended by the other team. This earns three points if it was from behind the line and two points if it’s in front of the line. has 400 million practitioners and 211 national federations.av. fans; 0.41 billion
America football
Its One of the famous competitive sports in US also called to tackle football. It is a fantastic game which has the right combination of physical play and strategy and is played between two teams who make points by hitting ball in goal post of the opposite team.
The general rule is mostly about the passing of the ball which can be carried around on running or by passing ball to teammate. There are several means by which the teams can earn points, and the winner is the team which has scored the maximum points in the whole game. has 2 million followers and 97 affiliated national federations . av. fans; 0.4 billion
In conclusion, In future, data gathering and analysis will play a bigger role in professional sports. For instance, experts are exploring how statistical analysis could help players improve how they cope with the emotional aspects of the sport. More breakthroughs can thus be expected as the field continues to mature.
