Athletics usually attract those with a competitive nature, and sports are the domain where competitive people can excel to become the modern day celebrity-icons known as professional sports players. Young children across the world practice playing their sport with friends in their neighborhood. What sport are most of these would-be athletes playing, what is the most popular sport in the world?

Football (soccer) is the most popular sport played today. The term soccer first appeared in the 19th century as for Association Football, and is used in the United States commonly, but the term football is used by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport’s world governing body and by most of English speakers throughout the world.

A survey in 2001 by FIFA 2001 showed more than 240 million people play the sport of football in over 200 countries across almost every part of the globe. Because of this some have named football the world’s favorite pastime, but instead we are naming football the world’s most popular sport!

It was recently reported that Google and Nike have partnered to launch Joga, a social networking website for football (soccer) enthusiasts. This is no wonder since football is the most popular and most played sport in the world!

----------------

What are the most popular sports worldwide?

Football (Soccer) ranks at the top of a majority of the credible lists published.

"Most popular" could mean: "most watched", "most played" or "most revenue-generating."

Based on the variable definition of "most popular" the following observations apply:

- The most played sport in the world is FOOTBALL. (Soccer)

- Based on the number and size of stadiums around the world, the number of people who wear football merchandise, number of people who are aware of football, and the number of leagues/tournaments worldwide (The FIFA World Cup, Uefa Champions League, The South American Cup, The American Cup, The Asian Cup, 70 English league teams, 40 Italian league teams, 40 Spanish league teams) football ranks at the top of the list regardless the definition of "most popular".

* Rugby is also very popular in many former English colonies (with the notable exception of the United States) and carries a large group of followers, however participation rates fall below that of football.