A YouGov poll in September 2023 asked which sport was most followed (watched live or support a team) and played – in the UK.
The answers showed:
Sport Following Playing
Football 38% 10%
Rugby union 17% 2%
Tennis 17% 4%
Cricket 15% 2%
Other 11% 7%
Boxing 7% 2%
Horse racing 6% 1%
Golf 5% 5%
Basketball 2% 2%
Hockey 1% 1%
None of the above 41% 77%
As of November 2023, approximately 109 thousand people participated in angling in England.
In March 2024, 22% of the UK population say they run one to three times per week.
The 2024 TCS(Tata Consultancy Services) London Marathon on 21 April 2024 was the biggest in our history with more than 53,700 finishers - including 200 disabled participants - and has already raised a world record-breaking £67 million for charities.
Globally, soccer is clearly the most popular sport in terms of fans. The FIFA World Cup held every four years has a huge TV audience - over 30 billion people watched the 2006 World Cup in Germany. (I know that's more than the world's population, this figure is an 'accumulated' audience, meaning if people watched more than one game, which most people did, they were counted each time).
Few things can rival football as a spectator sport and this is also matched by the number of people who participate in the sport, be it at grassroots level, 5-a-side leagues or simply playing for fun with friends. In the last global census undertaken by the sports governing body FIFA, it was estimated that there are 265 million people who play the sport along with more than 5 million referees, which equates to 4% of the world’s population.
Soccer 3.5 Billion, in 200 countries
Cricket 2.5 Billion
Field Hockey 2 Billion
Tennis 1 Billion
Volleyball 900 Million
Table Tennis 850 Million
Baseball 500 Million
Golf 450 Million
Basketball 400 Million
American Football 400 Million
The most popular participation sports in the UK are swimming, with 2.5 million participants, Athletics, with 2.2 million, and Cycling with 1.95million. Football is 4th with 1,89 million then there is a substantial drop with Golf played by 729,000; 12th is Rugby Union, 199, 000, Angling, is 19th with 106,000 while Rugby League only has 44,900 participants.
Based on the Active Lives Survey data for year ending May 2017, in England, more men than women participate in sport. Around 63% of men were active in sport compared to 58% of women.
Women prefer walking for leisure, men general sports. In May 2017, the most popular physical activity among women was walking for leisure (24%) followed by fitness activities (19%).
On average, 43% of people with a disability participated in sport activities for over 150 minutes a week in year ending May 2017.
Around 70% of individuals in managerial, administrative & professional occupations (NS SEC 1-2) were active in sport in year ending May 2017. In contrast, around 49% of those long term unemployed or never worked (NS SEC 8) were active in sport.
In year ending May 2017, the most common activity was running (15%) followed by fitness class (14%) and gym (12%), ranked by proportion of population participating at least twice over the last 28 days prior to survey.
South West region was the most active in 2016/17. Participation in sport was highest in South West region (around 63%) and lowest in West Midlands (53%), compared to 61% in England overall.
The proportion of people who were fairly active was similar across all regions in England – at around 14%. UK had the second highest rate of sport workers in the EU. UK had the second highest rate of 659 sport workers per 100,000 population, compared to other EU countries in 2016.
It might come as a surprise to some people that badminton is among the world’s top 10 most participated sports. But badminton is an extremely popular indoor sport, which is played regularly by an estimated 220 million people around the world. It is particularly popular in Asia, with many of the best players ever to grace the game hailing from the continent.
Field Hockey is played by men and women in over 100 countries on 5 continents around the world.
Originating from America, volleyball boasts an impressive estimated global participation figure of 998 million people. Indoor and outdoor versions of the sport are played all over the world, with over 220 affiliated national federations registered to volleyball’s global governing body the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIV)’.
Basketball began with its invention in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts, by Canadian physical education instructor James Naismith as a less injury-prone sport than football. Naismith was a 31-year old graduate student when he created the indoor sport to keep athletes indoors during the winters.
The game became established fairly quickly and grew very popular as the 20th century progressed, first in America and then in other parts of the world. After basketball became established in American colleges, the professional game followed. The American National Basketball Association (NBA), established in 1946, grew to a multibillion-dollar enterprise by the end of the century, and basketball became an integral part of American culture.
The Federation of International Basketball Associations (FIBA) estimates that a minimum of 450 million people play the sport around the world, be it recreationally or through structured competitions. Legendary figures in the world of basketball such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, have aided the rise in global popularity of the sport from its American roots.
Widely recognised as the most popular individual sport in the world. According to a ranking by “Topend Sports”, tennis is played by an estimated number of 60 million men and women around the world. The doubles version of the sport is also extremely popular around the world, which is why it ranks on this ‘10 most participated sports list.’
Cricket. The majority of participants of this sport come from Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa and the UK, but cricket is also on the rise in other countries all over the world. The International Cricket Council (ICC) identified that an impressive 125 countries around the world play the sport.
Table Tennis has become more and more popular over the years, with integration in schools, social clubs and sport centres across the world. Recently, “Topend Sports “estimated 300 million people worldwide participate in table tennis.
Historically, baseball was more popular in America than anywhere else in the world but the sport is now becoming increasingly popular in other countries such as Japan. Softball is the female version of the game, and it is estimated by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) that 65 million people play either baseball or softball in over 140 countries.
The game evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. By the late 19th century, baseball was widely recognized as the national sport of the United States.
Perhaps one of the most popular pastimes in the world, according to Golf Today, 60 million people around the world regularly participate in the sport. The definition of ‘regularly playing golf’ in these figures equates to taking part in one round of golf per year, or using a facility such as a driving range.
Prof. Msgr. Vladimir Felzmann aka Father Vlad
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