There are so many reasons why sports are popular, and one of the main ones is the health that sports bring, but in fact, health can only be linked to recreational pursuits, not professional ones at all. Nevertheless, professional sports are also incredibly popular and participate to a large extent in the world economy. Not to mention how major competitions are eagerly awaited, by millions of people worldwide.
It’s also an integral part of the social needs of the individual and is a universal means of understanding and cooperation between people. That is why different loves for certain types of sports have developed throughout the world over the years.
Brits, of course, just like any other nation have their own preferences when it comes to their favourite sports to watch. These preferences tend to change, from time to time, as certain sports grow in popularity. As we are getting closer to this year’s end, many are wondering which sport was the most popular in the UK. For this reason, we bring you a list of sports they preferred to watch this year.
1. Football
This was probably very predictable. For many countries, football is the most important secondary thing in the world and the number one sport.
In the UK, football is almost a religion. The popularity of the Premiership there, the elite level of football club competition in England, is huge, and other sports are not even close. If you look at ExpressVPN’s report on UK streaming trends, you can see that there are a variety of other sports closely competing for second place behind football.
The situation is more or less the same in the rest of the world as well. With around four billion fans worldwide, it is at the top of the “most popular sports” chart. But it is not only among the most popular sports – but it is also among the most accessible and most watched. For example, 3.6 billion viewers watched the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia making it by far the most prominent sports competition with the best viewership statistics in history! As we are now in the midst of a new World Cup, we’ll see what statistics will show when it is over.
2. Women’s football
For decades, it was reserved exclusively for men and recognized as such by the wider sports public. However, the situation in the cradle of football in Great Britain is changing rapidly, and women’s football is rapidly rising to the top of the most watched sports. According to research, it is currently the third most popular team sport, and the goal of the British Football Association’s strategy is to dethrone cricket from second place and to ensure the continuous development of this sport.
Women’s football in Great Britain owes most of its popularity to the successful performance of the British national team at the Olympic Games in London and the Women’s Super League (WSL), which was founded in 2011.
3. Squash
It is evidently one of the favourite sports and hobbies in the UK, which, in addition to being physically exhausting, opens up a good space for communication. On the squash courts, business deals are often made, friendly disagreements are resolved, and frustration is released. The British played it first, back in the nineteenth century, and since then it has been one of their favourite pastimes – as the country has the most squash courts in the world.
4. Tennis
The “white” sport, as it is called, is followed by almost a billion people all over the planet. One of the most prominent competitions is being held in the UK, which is one of the reasons why most people like to watch it.
5. Cricket
Although it is not so popular in most of the world, it is extremely popular in the UK. Obsession with this sport was also transferred to the former British colonies. Nowadays mostly Indians and Pakistanis are “crazy” about it, but Australians don’t hate it too. As this is a team sport, those who are not experts will confuse it with baseball at first, but still, the rules and the way of playing the field show that it is a completely different sport.
People love sports. Of course, there are those who are not fans of such entertainment, but people who do not really like any of the various sports we have listed are really rare. Almost everyone can find something for themselves, regardless of whether it is a team or individual sport. But at the end of the day, some may wonder why they love sports and everything that goes with it so much.
Competition is one of the reasons. Many people are competitive and like to be the best. It is really difficult to imagine a better activity that allows competition between people, and is a normal phenomenon and, above all, that it contains rules that must not be broken between competitors. There are few things that can replace that well-known feeling of victory and first place in one of the activities we love. Being proud to be the best at something, or at least better than the current competition, can be very fulfilling, so it is not surprising that a large number of people strive to improve their sports skills.
Sports are simply fun. Watching packed stands at sporting events filled with all kinds of creative people, as well as cheering itself, which can be quite humorous and inspiring, is one of the main reasons why sports can be fun. The wonderful moves of the players that only they can perform or the various celebrations after scoring or winning add to this feature of the sport. When there’s a sporting event being streamed on TV, we can definitely imagine a handful of much worse ways to kill boredom. It’s exciting, unpredictable, and a great way to bond with friends and family.