It might seem easy enough to point out a number of sports that have the most followers in the world. However, it is not so. Being on this virtual list of some sports, which seem to be little known, may surprise you. In fact, I’m talking about its wide popularity and not about the sports that are more practiced. Then I tell you right away, with the help of certified opinion polls, that basketball is one of the most followed sports in the world. Invented by physical education teacher James Naismith in the United States in 1891, it was bred as a toy that was practiced indoors, and it could ensure that the athletes in his school maintain good physical condition even during the winter. This sport is very popular in San Severo. Indeed, as journalist Marco Taruzzi wrote in the WALTER MAGNIFICO bibliography, he spoke of the incredible feeling the Sanseveresi team feels about the sport: . Underneath that ball basketball was more of a “religion” than a sport. Personally, I’ve always known it as “the sport that was born…in the lab”, due to its highly artistic gestures and sophisticated organization. Two and a half billion fans are recognized worldwide. But the real surprise is cricket, which according to some estimates reaches an audience of between 2 and 3 billion fans. In fact, it is the most popular non-Olympic sport. Most fans are found in South Asia, but also in Great Britain and Australia. It is a “colonial” sport in the sense that it has been spreading around the world since the mid-19th century after the expansion of the British Empire. With 3.5 billion fans, football is arguably the most popular sport. It is the most watched and most popular sport in the world, and according to a survey, it is also the most practiced. More than 240 million people play football regularly in more than 200 countries. Its origins were lost in the mists of time, but football as we know it (re) was born in the second half of the nineteenth century in England, where the first club, Sheffield FC, was born. That was in the year 1863 AD. London clubs founded the original Football Association. It is estimated that hockey has between 2 and 2.2 billion fans in Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia. It is played on the track, on grass and on ice, depending on latitude. Field hockey is popular in Pakistan and India. Ice is more common in Canada, the United States, Latvia, and Sweden. In the past few years, tennis has probably surpassed a billion fans between Europe, America and Asia. It dates back to the Middle Ages. Although modern tennis is the son of a tennis club, it was born in Birmingham in 1874. It is curious that the name is nothing more than the incorrect French pronunciation of the word “tenez”, in the Italian “knot”. Volleyball is especially popular in Brazil, but also in Asia and Europe, and was only introduced to the Olympics in 1964. It was invented by William J. Morgan, also a physical education teacher, and was originally called Mintonette. It is a non-contact sport. She seems to have nearly 1 billion fans, including…the beach version, beach volleyball. Rugby is widely played in the United Kingdom, France and along the border areas between Spain and France. It is also popular in South Africa, where it was introduced by English colonists in the 19th century as well as in Australia, New Zealand and most of Polynesia. She has half a billion fans and her practice is growing in Italy. It’s the team game that I think is rooted in the human being.
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