Top 10 sports in the world

You just need the old jumpers for goalposts and a ball, and away you go. In fact, many famous players began playing at the street level, especially in Brazil where the great Ronaldo Nazario and Neymar were products of street football. Football gained popularity in the early 20th century, especially after the World Cup. Although only 13 nations participated in the first World Cup tournament, this event brought football into the limelight.

Most popular sports team in the world

Today, football has over 3. The first World Cup was won by Uruguay and since then the most successful nation has been South American compatriots Brazil. It is estimated that there are over million players in countries. China has the most significant number of football fans because it has a huge population and a once-popular professional league.

In recent years professional football in China has lost some of its lustre, and has been overtaken by the Saudi Pro League in terms of players earning massive salaries. India has around million football fans, showing that football is one of the most popular sports in South Asia, although it has some way to go to be more popular than Cricket in the region.

American stadiums allow local, college-level, state-level and national-level teams to practice and play football - and soccer is one of the most popular sports in the US.