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How many people watch basketball worldwide
Most Popular Sport by Country 2022
The appeal of sports is effectively universal across all of the world's countries, regardless of whether those countries are the world's richest or poorest, whether their citizens prefer coffee or beer, and whether they are located in the Arctic or the Caribbean. While many modern sports are relatively recent inventions—for example, basketball and auto racing were both conceived in the 1890s, barely a hundred years ago—others, such as archery, wrestling, and gymnastics, have been played for millennia.
Football/Soccer
While it may not be apparent in the United States, association football—also known as soccer—is the most popular sport in the world by a vast margin. Soccer is king in virtually all of Europe, South America, Africa, the Middle East, Central America, and Asia. The sport has roughly 3.5 billion fans worldwide and 250 million players across 200 countries around the world. The next most popular sports in the world are cricket (2. 5 billion fans), basketball (2.2 billion fans), and field hockey (2 billion).
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is the administrative body for association football, futsal, and beach soccer in Europe and consists of 55 national association members. UEFA is one of the six continental confederations of world football’s governing body, FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association or International Federation of Association Football). UEFA represents the national associations of Europe and runs national and club competitions such as the EUFA European Champions, UEGA Champions League, UEFA Nations League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Super Cup.
Only a few European countries favor a sport other than football/soccer. In Austria and Estonia, the most popular sport is skiing. In Latvia and Lithuania, basketball is king, while ice hockey is the most popular in Finland. In Ireland, Gaelic football is the most popular sport. Everywhere else, it is association football.
Similarly, association football is also the most popular sport in all but a few Asian countries. The few exceptions include table tennis being king in China, archery in Bhutan, kickboxing in Laos and Cambodia, and basketball in the Philippines. The most popular sport in Mongolia is wrestling and the most popular sport in the Indian subcontinent (India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh) is cricket.
Moving on to Oceania, association football is the most popular sport in Indonesia and Fiji, while rugby is the most popular in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and some other Polynesia island nations. Australians tend to favor Australian rules football or cricket.
Association football/soccer again takes the top spot in Mexico, where men’s association football has been played professionally since the early 1900s and the Mexican Federation of Soccer was founded in 1927. Mexico’s national football team first played in the World Cup in 1930 and has participated in 16 World Cups. The first women’s professional football league in Mexico was announced in December 2016 and played its inaugural season the following year. The Mexico national football team plays its home games at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Although association football is again the favorite throughout most of Central and South America, the citizens of Panama, Nicaragua, and Venezuela prefer baseball. Cricket is the most popular sport in Guyana, likely a reflection of the country's history as a British colony, which also led to it becoming the only one of the world's native English-speaking countries located in South America.
Cricket
The formerly British-controlled countries of India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh also count cricket as their favorite sport. Cricket is one of the few aspects of Indian life that unites the whole country. The first recorded cricket match in India took place in 1721, and India became the sixth member of the "elite club" alongside England, Australia, South Africa, the West Indies, and New Zealand in 1932.
India’s inaugural match against England attracted 24,000 people. India recorded its first victory in 1952, the same year that Pakistan joined the club. Two years later, Pakistan had its first victory against England. Since then, cricket has been beloved by those on the Indian subcontinent, with India and Pakistan as the leading cricket rivals in the region. The Indian-Pakistan rivalry creates some of the most anticipated matches and the most-watched television broadcasts in India.
American (NFL) Football
In the United States, the most popular sport is American football. Football is one of the most-watched sports in the U.S. and has about 390 million to 410 million fans worldwide, the majority of which are in the United States. American football’s leading league is the National Football League (NFL), consisting of 32 teams divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC).
The NFL's regular season is 17 weeks long, during which each team plays 16 games and has one off, or "bye" week. As in most sports, the regular season is followed by end-of-the-season playoffs. The NFL's ultimate championship game, the Super Bowl, is one of the most-watched sporting events in the world. The winner receives the coveted Lombardi trophy, which is named after seminal coach Vince Lombardi, whose Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowls.
While the NFL is easily the most successful American football league in the U.S., it has had plenty of competition. The following is a non-exhaustive list of alternate leagues that have existed over the decades.
The AFC conference was originally a rival league, the American Football League, that merged with the NFL in 1970.
The United States Football League (USFL) played three seasons, from 1983 to 1985.
The World Football League existed from 1974-1975 and again from 2008-2011.
In 1991, the similarly named World League of American Football attempted to bring American football to the wider world by debuting teams in Barcelona, Spain; Frankfurt, Germany; and London, England. It was rebranded as NFL Europe in 1998, but shut down in 2007.
The Arena Football League, which played on a shortened field and had a faster pace, operated from 1987 to 2019.
The XFL was a short-lived league founded by World Wrestling Entertainment executive Vince McMahon, which operated in 2001 and again in 2020 before its season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. McMahon then sold the XFL to a group that included former wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. As of mid-2022, the XFL is planning to relaunch in February 2023.
Ice Hockey
Canada’s most popular sport is ice hockey, which originated in Montreal and is the official winter sport of Canada. The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) was formed in 1975 and represents the three Canada-based major junior hockey leagues. The three member leagues are the Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. There are 60 teams total, 52 of which represent nine Canadian provinces and eight of which represent four American states. The Memorial Cup is the CHL’s top award for the championship team.
Canadian hockey teams also participate in the National Hockey League (NHL), the U.S. hockey league, in an annual effort to win the prized Stanley Cup. Canadian NHL teams are the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Vancouver Canucks.
Baseball
The most popular sport in Japan is baseball. American Horace Wilson first introduced baseball to Japan in 1872, and the first professional competitions emerged in the 1920s. The first Japanese professional league formed in 1936 and grew large enough to divide into two leagues by 1950: the Central League and the Pacific League. The professional league is known as Nippon Professional Baseball for Puro Yakyū (“professional baseball”).
Baseball in Japan is slightly different from Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States: the ball, strike zone, and playing field are all smaller; game lengths are limited; and ties are allowed. High school baseball is also extremely popular in Japan. More than 50,000 people watch the national High School Baseball Championship in person at Koshien Stadium, and millions more watch it on television.
Australian rules football
The most popular sport in Australia is Australian rules football. Australian football is a contact sport played by two teams, each with 18 players. The game is played on an oval-shaped field with an oval-shaped ball to kick the ball between two goalposts. The Australian Football League (AFL) is the sport’s only fully professional competition and is Australia’s wealthiest sporting body. The AFL Grand Final has the highest attendance of any club championship in the world.
How Many Fans Does Basketball Have?
Basketball is such a fast-growing sport that it wouldn’t be a surprise if it will have the distinction as the most popular sport one day. Today, it is said to be the third most popular sport in the world behind football and cricket. How many fans does basketball have?
Well, to answer that question directly, it is estimated that basketball has billions of fans worldwide. Basketball fans demographics are mainly blacks (47%), with Caucasians (34%), Hispanics (11%), and Asians (8%) right behind. Unsurprisingly, most casual basketball fans are from 18-34 years old, and most avid fans of the sport are from ages 35 to 44 years old.
This article will take a closer look at basketball’s popularity and how they stack up with the world’s most popular sport. We will also examine how the NBA contributed to the sudden rise of the sport’s popularity and the top countries where basketball is most popular. Let’s get right into it.
Why is Basketball So Popular?
Ricky Rubio, a Spanish NBA point guard with the Minnesota Timberwolves, chose to play basketball over soccer because of one reason: It’s fun! If it’s not fun, then why would anyone want to play it?
Unlike football (or soccer) that changes possessions without scoring for hours, basketball’s fast pace and pace make it very exciting. All players on the court transition between defense and offense in a bat of an eyelash. In the modern game, the concept of positionless basketball makes basketball even more appealing to new fans.
Aside from the fact that basketball is fun, consider more reasons why basketball is so popular:
It doesn’t need special equipment to start playing. Basketball is the cheapest major North American sport to play. All you need to have is a hoop and a ball; no gloves, no pads, helmets, and other special equipment. You can play alone, go two-on-two, three-on-three, and so forth. Aside from the usual scoring games, you may also play HORSE, basketball tag, Around the World, etc.
It is fun to watch. Quite a large number of basketball fans do not play basketball, and yet, they watch it! Why? It’s because the excitement transfers from the players to the viewers with its fast-paced play. The modern NBA game, for example, encourages a lot of scoring, shooting, and creativity, which is precisely why it is gaining so much popularity over the years.
You can play basketball anytime. Basketball is an all-season sport, and that type of accessibility no doubt contributes to its surging popularity. It doesn’t matter if it’s summer or winter. You can hook up at any covered basketball gym and play.
It is easy to get started. If you’re just a beginner, basketball is not really rocket science. You may have trouble with the dribbling and traveling rules at first, but you’ll get the hang of it in no time.
Basketball is an excellent way to work out. If you play basketball, you get many health benefits, including weight loss and decreased cardiovascular diseases. Some basketball players do not actually follow the sport religiously. Instead, they are just in it for the exercise, and I can’t blame them. An hour of playing hoops could easily burn 800 calories!
How Popular is Basketball Around the World?
Basketball is primarily an American sport, but it has done a fantastic job of widening its roots. It indeed has become a global phenomenon! As a testament to basketball popularity worldwide, consider these three facts:
A.) The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) estimates that 450 million people in the world play basketball.
B.) Out of 195 countries globally, 100 of them have national basketball teams or have their own national basketball league. Some of them even participate in regional basketball associations like the Euroleague.
C.) Basketball is the No. 1 most popular sport in five countries: Philippines, Lithuania, Marshall Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas.
How Many Basketball Fans Are There?
If we’re talking basketball fans, the estimate is about two billion fans. Out of these two billion, 450 million play basketball, and around 70,000 of them play basketball professionally.
What NBA Team Has the Most Fans?
There is no doubt that the NBA almost singlehandedly lifted basketball’s popularity to new heights. From the era of the Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rivalry to the glory days of Michael Jordan, NBA rescued basketball and made it a worldwide phenomenon.
From there, the NBA amassed millions and millions of fans, easily making it the best and most-watched basketball league in the world. Even with the 17% decrease in viewership in the 2020-21 season, NBA games are still watched by an average of 1.34 million viewers in the United States. NBA popularity, while not at an all-time high, is still at its peak!
Now, what NBA team has the most number of fans? Based on their social media presence, the top 5 are:
Los Angeles Lakers– 38.25 million Facebook and Instagram followers
Golden State Warriors– 28.69 million Facebook and IG followers
Chicago Bulls– 23.34 million Facebook and IG followers
Houston Rockets– 20.52 million Facebook and IG followers
Miami Heat– 19.65 million Facebook and IG followers
Top 10 Countries Where Basketball is Popular1. United States
The U.S. is the birthplace of basketball, so it’s only fitting that it carries the torch as far as making it popular is concerned. As you may know, it is home to the NBA, the premier basketball league on the planet. It is also considered to be among the four major sports in North America, including American football, baseball, and ice hockey.
2. Canada
Basketball’s inventor, Dr. James Naismith, is Canadian, so it’s not a surprise if we see his birth country among the top basketball nations in the world. Not too long ago, Canada had two NBA teams– one in Vancouver and one in Toronto. The Grizzlies franchise relocated from Vancouver to Memphis, leaving the Raptors the only Canadian team in the NBA. Toronto won the NBA championship in 2019, adding to the popularity of the sport in the country.
3. Argentina
Make no mistake about it, Argentina is still a football country, but basketball is slowly catching up. With that being said, the sport is more popular in the provinces than in the cities. The country struck gold in Athens in 2004 and has remained one of the highest-ranked countries when it comes to basketball year in and year out. Argentina has a premier pro basketball league designed like the NBA, called Liga Nacional de Basquet.
4. China
Football is still popular in China, while it is one of the world’s powerhouses in table tennis and volleyball. But because of its population, the country has the most basketball fans in the world in terms of sheer volume. China is estimated to have 625 million basketball fans, and 143 million of them are considered to be hardcore, or avid, fans. That’s quite a lot!
5. Philippines
Despite the Filipino’s average height of five feet and five inches, the country’s adoration for basketball is borderline obsessive. According to an unofficial survey, 81% of the population consider themselves basketball fans, and 50% consider themselves “avid” fans. Even Nike has taken into account the importance of the Filipino basketball market, having released sneakers with Filipino-themed colorways such as the limited edition Jordan 4 “Manila” and the LeBron “Agimat.”
6. Australia
The NBA’s 2020-21 NBA season features at least seven Aussies, saying a lot about the quality and popularity of Australian basketball. Of those seven, six are bound to Tokyo for the 2021 Olympics. It is estimated that at least 1 in 3 Australians admit liking basketball and about a million play the sport. When it comes to team sports, basketball is only second to rugby in terms of participation in the country.
7. Russia
In terms of popularity, basketball is behind football, hockey, and MMA in Russia. Still, basketball has a massive fanbase in the country, many thanks to its national team’s success in international competitions. Russia has won bronze in the 2012 Olympics, and although they don’t have a popular NBA player representing them right now, no avid fan will forget dudes like Andrei Kirilenko or Timofey Mozgov anytime soon.
8. Spain
Spain has been playing second-fiddle to the United States for the past few major International competitions. That, again, says a lot about the popularity and quality of basketball played in the country. Its Spanish ACB Liga is considered the best basketball competition outside of the NBA. Not to be understated is their vast contingent in the NBA. They have players in the big league such as Ricky Rubio, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka (naturalized), and the Hernangomez brothers. And who can forget about former Laker Pau Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, Juan Carlos Navarro, and Jorge Garbajosa?
9. Brazil
Like any South American country, Brazil lives and breathes football, but basketball is also very popular. They are consistently among the best in their continent and have historically done well in the FIBA World Cup, collecting two championships there in the 60s. What’s more, Brazil has consistently supplied the NBA with its homegrown talent, among them Tiago Splitter, Leandro Barbosa, Nene, Anderson Varejao, Raul Neto, and Bruno Caboclo.
10. Serbia
Serbia is considered to have the best National basketball team in the Balkans, so no wonder why it’s popular. Naturally, your people support you when you play really well, and that is what’s happening here with the Serbs. They have the reigning NBA MVP in Nikola Jokic and a slew of serviceable players such as Bogdan Bogdanovic, Boban Marjanovic, Milos Teodosic, Nemanja Bjelica, Aleksej Pokusevski, and Alen Smailagic.
Wrapping Things Up: How Many Fans Does Basketball Have?
Basketball has a lot of catching up to do with football to become the most popular sport globally, but it has come a long way. To answer how many basketball fans are there, it is estimated to be at 2 billion. Out of the 2 billion, 450 million play the sport, and over 70,000 play basketball professionally.
What contributes to basketball popularity worldwide? For one, the sport is just so exciting and fun to watch. There are a lot of exhilarating plays happening, and watching the best athletes run up and down the court is a beauty to behold. Many also begin playing basketball because of its health benefits and the fact that you don’t need any special equipment to start playing.
The NBA has also done its share in promoting basketball. They have produced the biggest stars such as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and more. At one point, all of these players have not just become ambassadors of the sport; their reach has become global, and their contributions are embedded in society and pop culture.
Again, compared to football’s four-billion following, basketball has a lot of ground to make up. But then again, it doesn’t matter how many fans does basketball have. What ultimately matters is that the people have one more sport to enjoy, cheer, and watch out for.
Who are all these people? Why nobody watches basketball in Russia - Russia
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Hi, slamdanchane, Hello_Vyak with you! Now, periodically, I will write here - there was a need to pour out my thoughts and cool the seat with the help of my texts. And I wish you patience and maybe someone will even appreciate it! I must say right away that I do not pretend to be the ultimate truth, I will express here my thoughts and reasoning on basketball and near basketball topics, and then I will argue in the comments.
Basketball is unfairly not very popular in Russia. I consider myself one of the old masochists patriots of Russian basketball, so I would like to start with a little journalistic style material. From time to time I wondered why nobody needs basketball in our country. Yes, there are small communities on the Internet, there are a handful of fans in the regions, but there can be no question of any mass character. Several reasons come to mind:
Maybe there are no stars in basketball? I don't think so. The name Amara Stadmayer, Brandon Jennings or Luke Babbitt will say little to the average person who is not interested in sports. Yes, not everyone knows even Kirilenko, Shved or Mozgov. And in America, which is sick of basketball, these people will not be allowed to pass - they are NBA stars (yes, even Brains). All of them, and many others, took to the floor in Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow and Kazan, but soldiers and a few basketball fans came to watch them. Gerald Green won the coffee maker in Nizhny Novgorod in front of my eyes, Pat Beverley made his way to the NBA through the Ukrainian and Russian championships. Boban took his first steps in adult basketball at CSKA and Nizhny. Russian players, again, became stars only when they left to play overseas and ceased to be as soon as they returned.
(Couldn't resist this famous photo)
Maybe something is wrong with our team? Again, no! In recent history, Russia took bronze at the Olympics, gold at the European Championship and played in the semifinals, where it lost to the future champion. In the FIBA global rankings, the Russian team is in 9th place, which also indicates that the state of affairs is not the worst.
Can we say that marketing and advertising work poorly? It is possible, but clubs are not limited to advertising on the radio and in social networks. They give away tickets, paraphernalia and even cars right during the matches, live musicians or DJs play, hip-hop stars or rock musicians perform, star matches and other activities are held. During the breaks, competitions similar to the best Western leagues are held.
So what, in the end, is wrong with basketball? I found one answer - it is not shown on TV (well, almost not). And then there is a direct dependence - they are not written about on the Internet, advertisers and sponsors do not contact them - they are not shown on TV. It’s sad to turn on the main sports channel and watch the game of the middle peasants of the Italian Football League or the battle of two, not the top, fighters who have nothing to do with our country, when right now there is a Basketball World Cup match, where Russia is playing with a strong Czech Republic. It is sad to watch a match of foreign beach soccer teams instead of an important game between two top basketball teams in the VTB league. In the new era of information, people are increasingly replacing TV with the Internet and video services. But sports broadcasts, especially live broadcasts, still attract fans in front of the TV, and such a thing as a “dude from a TV set” is still much better sold even on the Internet. And this applies to any field of activity. TNT stand-up artist - gathers a concert hall for 3-5 thousand people with an average price of 1500 per ticket acted in a couple of projects "on TV" and now he is preparing a tour of Russia. Travel blogger from YouTube lives off small advertising integrations The same travel blogger from TV advertises leading brands and earns ten times more. Football player - advertises Lace and Pepsi Basketball player - advertises his wife, a photographer.
Which of all basketball clubs is most often shown on Match TV? Which club has the largest annual budget? Which club has Aeroflot, Norilsk Nickel, and Rostelecom as partners? - the answer is one CSKA! why? It's simple, throughout the broadcast, sponsors have the opportunity to advertise themselves, their product or service, on the floor, on the scoreboard or on the form. And brands are willing to pay for it. The same story, for example, Zenit and Gazprom, where money was poured into the club, semi-artificially brought it to the Euroleague in order to promote and advertise their product.
At the same time, Avtodor, Parma and other clubs are sponsored from the regional budget and there is no one to advertise them, especially on TV. Yes, there are some local partners, but more often they are technical or informational. And they don’t bring benefits in monetary terms, they don’t fill the club’s budget. Perhaps this is where the complete disregard for the NBA comes from. Channel managers and functionaries think that nobody in Russia is interested in this, if no one watches Russian basketball (because they don’t show it), then no one will watch overseas basketball either. And in the early 00s, the NBA Live program on 7TV made many fall in love with Iverson, Shaq and young Kobe. We had the opportunity to watch the highlights, and sometimes even record the full match on cassette. And now it's just wild to imagine that the Russia-Spain semi-final will be shown on the first or second channel! It is hardly possible to go into a sports bar and see a basketball broadcast there. Most NBA jerseys and caps on the streets are part of hip-hop culture rather than basketball culture. Take the NBA: people have cable, they have paid subscriptions to NBATV, but clubs still fight for prime spots on TNT, for the opportunity to play at Christmas or MLK-Day.
Yes, we all know the systemic problems of Russian basketball and can rationally explain its unpopularity to ourselves. But all these same problems exist in Football, Hockey, and Figure Skating, but they do not lose national fame and popularity. Multi-million dollar contracts are not going anywhere. And all because they are shown on TV and people in the smoking room then have something to discuss.
And here comes the most difficult question, like about the chicken and the egg: To make a good product, do you need to be shown on TV? Or do you need to make a good product to be shown on TV? Match Amkar - Krylya Sovetov does anyone get excited? And the hockey match between Torpedo and Sochi? Will the match between UNICS and Yenisei be much less entertaining for them? The answer is obvious - first the broadcast, then the product Summing up, I think that the League should make much more efforts to promote its product on TV, this can help clubs, at least partially, get off male approval needles budget funding for more successful sponsorships contracts, make the league more attractive to new clubs, attract new people to the stadium, and the basketball players themselves are a little more famous and richer. Another question is, does anyone need it?
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Why is basketball so popular in the USA? | Physical Education and Sports
At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, the US team won 65 medals (19 gold, 21 silver and 25 bronze). And at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010, the Americans pleased their people with brilliant performances, earning 37 medals (9 gold, 15 silver, 13 bronze). These victories are not accidental.
For most Americans, it is thanks to sports that the initial idea of life and the world is formed. After all, in sports such important values of American society as equality of chances for success, achievement of success, the desire to be the first, competition, a healthy lifestyle, etc. are most clearly manifested in sports. and opportunities, as well as the ability to use them .
Most Americans are actively involved in sports also because they have long understood that maintaining health is much cheaper than restoring it. Constant and strict care of one's health has become an integral part of the American way of life, so sports grounds and swimming pools have firmly entered the local life. Love for sports, and especially for team sports, is instilled from an early age, especially great attention is paid to sports in schools.
Do you remember the 1991 comedy film Father of the Bride? On the eve of the wedding, late in the evening, father and daughter enthusiastically play basketball in their yard. When I first watched this movie many years ago, I was very surprised by this episode. But after living here long enough, I stopped being surprised by the craze for basketball. Although, according to official polls, the most popular sport in the United States remains American football (very similar to rugby, but with slightly different rules), which was named as a favorite by 30% of the country's residents, basketball , along with baseball, is one of the three most popular and developed sports in . A frame from the film "Father of the Bride", 1991. Photo: kinopoisk.ru
The popularity of basketball can be explained by a number of reasons.
This game is characterized by a variety of movements: walking, running, stopping, turning, jumping, catching, throwing and dribbling, which improves metabolism, the activity of all body systems, and forms coordination.
Basketball is less traumatic than American football or baseball.
You can play basketball both indoors and outdoors, it does not require particularly complex equipment, expensive uniforms, that is, it is more accessible to all segments of the population.
Basketball poles with a basket on our street are almost every second house Photo: Gertrud Rybakova, personal archive
In Houston, in residential areas with individual buildings, almost every second house, especially if children grow up there, has a basketball pole with a basket in the front yard, in front of the house, and in any free minute you can leave the ball, practice.
I often watch in my neighbors how a father and a five-year-old boy play in the evenings and on weekends. The boy began his "training" at the age of two. At first the basket was lowered lower, now it is raised almost to its full height. It is surprising that the kid almost without misses throws the ball into the basket, even from a distance of 5-7 meters.
My seventeen-year-old grandson can talk about basketball for hours and is ready to jump with the ball in any free minute. He knows all the great players in the NBA-NBA (National Basketball Association), and Michael Jordan (Michael Jeffrey Jordan) and Yao Ming (Yao Ming) are role models, especially since Yao Ming plays for the Houston Rockets.
And what's so surprising? After all, the United States is the birthplace of modern basketball. Although there is evidence that the Aztecs played a similar ball game in the 14th century. But the spread of this wonderful team game began in the United States at the end of the 19th century. A famous NBA basketball player's handprint compared to his grandson's. Orlando, 2008 Photo: Gertrude Rybakova, personal archive
In 1891, at the Christian Youth Association Training Center in Springfield, Massachusetts , a young teacher, Dr. James Naismith, originally from Canada, came up with a new game to revive gymnastics lessons. He attached two fruit baskets without a bottom to the railing of the balcony, into which a soccer ball was to be thrown. He developed the first 13 rules a year later.
Already in December 1891, the first official basketball competition was held at the school in Springfield. There were 18 students in the group, two teams of 9 participatedhuman. The very first matches under these rules caused them to change. Shields appear (protection of the basket), because the fans on the balconies caught flying balls and threw them into the opponent's basket. In 1893, iron rings with a grid appeared. The game turned out to be so interesting and dynamic that in 1894 the first official rules were published in the USA.
Basketball quickly spread to other countries: first to the East - to Japan, China, the Philippines, and then to Europe and South America. Ten years later, at the Olympic Games in St. Louis, America, the Americans organized an exhibition tournament between teams from several cities.
In 1932, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) was created, and in 1935 the International Olympic Committee decided to recognize basketball as an Olympic sport. FIBA headquarters, Switzerland Photo: Christophe Badoux, ru.wikipedia.org
Basketball was added to the program at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin . The game's guest of honor was James Naismith, the creator of this game. Teams from 21 countries participated in the basketball tournament. Matches were played on open tennis courts. During this Olympiad, the first FIBA Congress took place, where the existing and adopted unified international rules of the game were considered.
Basketball is currently the fastest growing sport in the world. One of the reasons for this growing popularity is the activity of of the National Basketball Association (NBA) , which features the most talented and popular basketball players performing their amazing sporting feats on a high-profile stage.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the world's premier basketball league. Founded in 1946, the NBA has a rich and storied history, and over the past decades it has become more popular around the world than any other American sports league. Now the NBA includes 30 teams from the cities of the USA and Canada, which are geographically divided into the Western and Eastern conferences, each of the conferences is divided into three divisions of 5 teams. Photo: Depositphotos
NBA games are constantly televised both in the US and around the world, attracting a very large number of fans to television screens.
The first women’s professional football league in Mexico was announced in December 2016 and played its inaugural season the following year. The Mexico national football team plays its home games at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
As in most sports, the regular season is followed by end-of-the-season playoffs. The NFL's ultimate championship game, the Super Bowl, is one of the most-watched sporting events in the world. The winner receives the coveted Lombardi trophy, which is named after seminal coach Vince Lombardi, whose Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowls.
It was rebranded as NFL Europe in 1998, but shut down in 2007.
The Memorial Cup is the CHL’s top award for the championship team.
High school baseball is also extremely popular in Japan. More than 50,000 people watch the national High School Baseball Championship in person at Koshien Stadium, and millions more watch it on television.
How many fans does basketball have?
All players on the court transition between defense and offense in a bat of an eyelash. In the modern game, the concept of positionless basketball makes basketball even more appealing to new fans.
It indeed has become a global phenomenon! As a testament to basketball popularity worldwide, consider these three facts:
From the era of the Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rivalry to the glory days of Michael Jordan, NBA rescued basketball and made it a worldwide phenomenon.
United States
With that being said, the sport is more popular in the provinces than in the cities. The country struck gold in Athens in 2004 and has remained one of the highest-ranked countries when it comes to basketball year in and year out. Argentina has a premier pro basketball league designed like the NBA, called Liga Nacional de Basquet.
Even Nike has taken into account the importance of the Filipino basketball market, having released sneakers with Filipino-themed colorways such as the limited edition Jordan 4 “Manila” and the LeBron “Agimat.”
Many also begin playing basketball because of its health benefits and the fact that you don’t need any special equipment to start playing.
And I wish you patience and maybe someone will even appreciate it! I must say right away that I do not pretend to be the ultimate truth, I will express here my thoughts and reasoning on basketball and near basketball topics, and then I will argue in the comments. 
And in America, which is sick of basketball, these people will not be allowed to pass - they are NBA stars (yes, even Brains). All of them, and many others, took to the floor in Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow and Kazan, but soldiers and a few basketball fans came to watch them. Gerald Green won the coffee maker in Nizhny Novgorod in front of my eyes, Pat Beverley made his way to the NBA through the Ukrainian and Russian championships. Boban took his first steps in adult basketball at CSKA and Nizhny. Russian players, again, became stars only when they left to play overseas and ceased to be as soon as they returned. 
It is sad to watch a match of foreign beach soccer teams instead of an important game between two top basketball teams in the VTB league. 
And brands are willing to pay for it. The same story, for example, Zenit and Gazprom, where money was poured into the club, semi-artificially brought it to the Euroleague in order to promote and advertise their product. 
And now it's just wild to imagine that the Russia-Spain semi-final will be shown on the first or second channel! It is hardly possible to go into a sports bar and see a basketball broadcast there. Most NBA jerseys and caps on the streets are part of hip-hop culture rather than basketball culture. Take the NBA: people have cable, they have paid subscriptions to NBATV, but clubs still fight for prime spots on TNT, for the opportunity to play at Christmas or MLK-Day. 
Another question is, does anyone need it? 
and opportunities, as well as the ability to use them . 
Although, according to official polls, the most popular sport in the United States remains American football (very similar to rugby, but with slightly different rules), which was named as a favorite by 30% of the country's residents, basketball , along with baseball, is one of the three most popular and developed sports in . A frame from the film "Father of the Bride", 1991. 
He knows all the great players in the NBA-NBA (National Basketball Association), and Michael Jordan (Michael Jeffrey Jordan) and Yao Ming (Yao Ming) are role models, especially since Yao Ming plays for the Houston Rockets. 
He attached two fruit baskets without a bottom to the railing of the balcony, into which a soccer ball was to be thrown. He developed the first 13 rules a year later. 
Ten years later, at the Olympic Games in St. Louis, America, the Americans organized an exhibition tournament between teams from several cities. 
