Which is the best sport in the world right now, and why is it the best?

Which is the best sport in the world right now, and why is it the best?

Samuel Lisubila
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:06 PM

Sports are a crucial part of a person's health, mind and general body development. One of the most important values of sports is its ability to bring multitudes in different countries across the world together. Learn more about this wonderful phenomenon and which is the best sport in the world, and why.

Best sport in the world
The inventor of basketball, Dr James Naismith, stands in a field carrying a ball and a basket. Photo: Bettman
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This article focuses on various tools of anthropology, sociology, history, and other disciplines to give you new perspectives on the games we participate in today. Why has sport become so popular, and which is the best sport today?

History of sports

The history of athletics draws back to 3000 years ago when the physical activity that grew into sport had links with ritual, warfare and entertainment. In their rituals, Greeks used games to communicate with their gods, as 'Olympia' was well known to the ancient world for its sanctuary with Zeus.

Most popular sport in the world
First Division Liverpool Football Club with the FA Charity Shield after victory over Second Division Southampton at Wembley. A lone goal from John Toshack gave them victory. Photo: PA Images
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Warfare athletics was related to military training, where communities used the competition to determine whether individuals were fit and useful for service. Team sports were to test and train teams' capabilities to fight in the military and work together.

In the first Olympic games in 776 BC (which included foot and chariot races, wrestling, jumping, discus and javelin throwing), the Greeks invented formal athletics that have evolved into the most popular games. Read on and find out how your favourite game came to existence.

Development of modern sports

Most famous sport
Chile's Monserrat Urrutia performs her routine in the Individual Ribbon Gymnastics competition during the XIX Bolivarian Games in Valledupar on 2 July 2022. Photo: Raul Arboleda
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Historians, most notably Bernard Lewis, claim that team athletics are primarily an invention by Western culture. However, John Major, British Prime Minister, stated clearly in 1995:

"We invented most of the world's great athletics. 19th century Britain was the cradle of a leisure revolution every bit as significant as the agricultural and industrial revolutions we launched in the century before."

Traditional team athletics emerged from Britain, successively exported across the boundless British empire. However, European colonialism also aided the spread of particular games worldwide. These games included cricket, football of various sorts, bowling in different forms, cue sports, hockey and its derivatives, equestrian, tennis and many other winter competitions.

Most popular sport in the world
Glenn Phillips of Gloucestershire bats during the Vitality T20 Blast match between Gloucestershire and Middlesex at Seat Unique Stadium on 03 July 2022, in Bristol, England. Photo: Ryan Hiscott
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The original European-dominated modern Olympic games ensured standardisation in European, especially British, directions whenever the rules of similar games around the world were employed. However, the industrial revolution and mass production brought about more leisure time for playing and observing spectator sports with less individualism and great accessibility to sports of many kinds.

Which is the best sport in the world?

Best sport in the world
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) before taking a penalty during the UEFA Euro 2016 Quarter Final match against Poland at Stade Velodrome on 30 June 2016. Photo: Chris Brunskill Ltd
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Soccer or football has been voted the no.1 sport. Over 250 million athletes play it in more than 200 countries. The game's fluidity makes it excellent to watch, meaning there will be little or no disruptions as the clock/timing and the ball are all in motion.

Best sport in Africa

Association Football, also known as soccer, is the most played game and has the most followers in almost all African countries. African Club teams participate in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup. At the same time, African national teams compete in the African Cup of Nations and the African Nations Championship for local teams.

Best sport in America

Best sport in America
Quarterbacks Brett Rypien #4 and Russell Wilson #3 of the Denver Broncos drill during a mandatory mini-camp at UCHealth Training Center on 13 June 2022 in Englewood, Colorado. Photo: Matthew Stockman
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American Football is the most popular game in America, as the NFL as its Major League runs TV. It garners 37% of the population, with a 114.4 million TV viewing record since 2010.

Association football (soccer) is still the most popular and famous worldwide, even though this is not apparent in the United States. The game is king in virtually all of Europe, South America, Africa, the Middle East, Central America, and Asia and is played worldwide.

Which is the hardest sport?

The hardest sport
Floyd Mayweather Jr. throws a punch at Conor McGregor during their super welterweight boxing match on 26 August 2017, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: Christian Petersen
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Boxing has numerously been stated as the most hardcore competition. The readiness to confront your opponent, combined with the techniques and player strength, makes it the most difficult on the planet.

How many sports are there in the world?

There are over 8000 games in the world. However, only 30 have been named and will be featured as official athletics in the 2022 World Games Programme, including 54 disciplines encompassing 206 events.

Which is the safest sport?

Men's and women's tennis is the safest game with minimal injuries, concussions, time lost due to injuries, or surgeries.

Most famous sport in he world
Mark Travers of AFC Bournemouth celebrates after their victory and promotion to the EPL after the Sky Bet Championship match at Vitality Stadium on 03 May 2022. Photo: Mike Hewitt
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Sports have played a role in contemporary societies globally, helping people pause from all the corrupt topics of money, politics, race, culture, and commercialisation and perform the action or speech that provides amusement and arouses laughter. For example, soccer, the best sport in the world, has created opportunities for children who were considered nobodies from humble backgrounds to stars who earn a fortune.

READ ALSO: Which is the loudest stadium in the NFL at the moment in 2022?

Sportsbrief has recently published an article about the loudest stadium in the NFL. American football is the most popular game in America, with millions of fans. Once they get to the arena, you need to put on your ear muffs. Read on to find out which football team has the loudest fans and how loud has it ever gotten in an NFL stadium.

Authors
Samuel Lisubila photo
Samuel Lisubila