What is the most popular womens sport in the world

The twentieth century saw a tremendous growth in the popularity of sports among women. These sports weren’t new, but were the same ones that men had been playing long before. Let’s have a look..

In the beginning, when women started participating in the Olympics, their numbers were very low. But today, women take part in almost every sport played around the world. Also, a few games were modified so as to suit the fairer sex―netball and softball, variations of basketball and baseball, for example. Let’s have a look at all those sports, in no particular order, in which women don’t only participate, but have also made a name for themselves.

Basketball

Basketball is one of those few sports that both men and women started playing around the same time. To be precise, women’s basketball started in the year 1892 in Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, in the US. From this modest beginning, its popularity spread throughout the United States, and eventually all across the globe. It was introduced as a women’s sport in the Olympic Games in 1976. Internationally, it is governed by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

Netball

A netball team comprises 7 players. It developed from early versions of basketball, to be played by women. It began to be played just before the turn of the 19th century, in England. Today, it is a popular sport among the ladies all around the world. It is governed by the International Netball Federation (INF), which has 70 member nations. Overall, it is played in close to 100 countries around the world. It is more common among the Commonwealth countries, and was first included in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia.

Soccer (Association Football)

Various versions of soccer were played by women in ancient times, but in the modern world, the first match on record was one that was played in Scotland in 1982. It’s popularity soared among women around the time of WW1. The first Women’s World Cup was held in 1991, and won by the United States. It entered the Olympics in the year 1996, and the US has managed to win its fourth Olympic gold medal in soccer, at the last Olympics held in London.

Softball

Softball was started in the year 1887 in the US, but got its present name only in the year 1926. It is a variant of baseball, but uses a larger ball with a smaller field, comparatively. A team is made up of 10 players, and a game comprises 7 innings. The game is governed by the International Softball Federation (ISF) which oversees the game in more than 100 countries, and became an Olympic sport in the year 1996. Ironically, along with baseball, it was dropped from the 2012 London Olympics.

Tennis

Tennis is an extremely popular sport among women all over the world. It is included in the Olympics and all major multi-sporting events around the globe. Women’s tennis is governed by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), which was founded in the year 1973. Besides all the tournaments players compete in all year long, the most coveted are the four Grand Slam tournaments―Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. Now think Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova.

Some of the most renowned women players include Helene Madison (swimming), Janet Guthrie (first race car driver), Olga Korbut (gymnastics), and Brandi Chastain (soccer). There are many more, but that would go into the writing of another article. The point being, women are equally enthusiastic and professionally successful as men in sports in present times.

It’s near-impossible to put a definitive number on participation in different sports around the world when picking out the most popular sports. In this list we’ve based our rankings on the number of players registered to clubs or leagues, so rather than including everyone who kicks a football in their back garden, we’re only counting those who play for a team etc.

Even at that, we acknowledge that the list is open for debate, and because of that we’d love to hear your thought/suggestions. you can get in touch with us on Facebook and Twitter.

As the world’s number 1 crowdfunding site for sports,  we have worked with nearly every sport known to man to raise money through sports crowdfunding. The list below is the 10 most popular sports in the world.

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10. Golf

Easily one of the most popular sports in the world, 60 million people around the world regularly play golf according to Golf Today magazine.

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The definition of regularly playing golf in the above figure refers to playing at least one round of golf per year.

9. Baseball

For many years, baseball was most popular in America than anywhere else, but nowadays it’s one of the most popular sports in the world with participation rising rapidly in countries like Japan.

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The sport’s international governing body, World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), estimates that 65 million people play either baseball or softball in over 140 countries.

8. Table Tennis

Table tennis has become one of the most popular sports in the last decade following its integration in schools, social clubs, and sports centres around the globe. Topend Sports estimate 300 million people worldwide play table tennis.

7. 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.

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The International Cricket Council (ICC) states an incredible 125 countries around the world play the sport.

6. Tennis

Widely recognised as one of the most popular individual sports in the world, tennis is played by an estimated number of 60 million men and women according to Topend Sports.

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The sport is growing at serious speed in Asia, so don’t be surprised to see tennis rank higher among the most popular sports in years to come.

5. Basketball

The Federation of International Basketball Associations estimates a minimum of 450 million people play the sport around the world.

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Thanks to global superstars like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James, basketball is very marketable and that is reflected in its top 5 ranking among the world’s most popular sports.

4. Volleyball

With its origins in America, volleyball has grown to an 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 Fédération Internationale de Volleyball.

3. Field Hockey

This fast-paced sport is played by men and women in over 100 countries on 5 continents around the world.

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A firm favourite at the Olympic Games, field hockey is a highly technical sport, played by 10 outfield players plus a goalkeeper and its rules differ from the Ice Hockey variation of the sport.

2. Badminton

It may come as a surprise to some people that badminton is among the world’s most popular sports. However, it is extremely popular and 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.

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1. Soccer

Be it at grassroots level, 5-a-side leagues or at the top level, no sport rivals soccer for participation.

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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, thus cementing its place atop the list of the world’s most popular sports.

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