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World's Most Popular Sports (Ranked by 13 factors)

Here is a list of the world's most popular sports from around the world, ranked by 13 factors. The data was originally presented on the website www.totalsportek.com (no longer working). The following data is part of the Topend Sports analysis of the world's most popular sport.

Ranking Factors

  1. Global base & audience
  2. TV  Viewership numbers
  3. Number Professional leagues around the world
  4. TV rights deals
  5. Endorsement & Sponsorship deals
  6. Average athlete salary in top league
  7. Biggest competition & (number of countries represented)
  8. Social media presence
  9. Prominence in sports headlines on media outlets (websites, tv)
  10. Relevancy through the year
  11. Regional dominance
  12. Gender equality
  13. Accessible to general public worldwide

For more details, and a more comprehensive list, see the website .

Final List of Top-10 Most Popular Sports

  1. Football / Soccer
  2. Basketball
  3. Cricket
  4. Tennis
  5. Athletics
  6. Rugby
  7. Formula 1
  8. Boxing
  9. Ice Hockey
  10. Volleyball


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Lists Extra

Football/Soccer is clearly the world's most popular sport, and has the most popular athletes, but which sport has the fittest players (but not necessarily the greatest athlete). These players do not always earn the most. The best of the best have made it to our 7 Sporting Wonders Lists.

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