Sports are an important part of the common man's life. Every person tries to play some kind of sport during his lifetime to stay fit and also to have fun. Sports also give you a good chance to team up, meet new friends and make connections with each other. It is also an opportunity to celebrate wins or losses. And an important part of any sport is the fans!
These are the people who might not play any sport but follow them properly. These fans keep the games alive, and they also follow the sport so ardently that they make their favourite sport the most popular one in the world. Currently, every sport and the teams involved have their own fans.
There are different fans of cricket, football, basketball and other sports. Everyone who likes sports has a favourite, and in India, it is cricket!
Indian love for Cricket
Cricket is very much liked in India. It is also the most famous sport in the country. India has the highest number of fans for this game as compared to any other game. Due to this, cricket rakes in the most money as the players of the game also earn a lot of money. Apart from this, the Board of Cricket for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the richest cricket board in the world.
But do you know which sport has the most fans across the world in comparison to cricket?
Fan base of other sports
3: Field hockey: 2 billion — across Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia.
4: Tennis: 1 Billion — across Europe, Asia, America.
5: Volleyball: 900 million — across Europe, Australia, Asia, America.
6: Table Tennis: 850 million — across Europe, Africa, Asia, America.
7: Baseball: 500 million — across America, Japan.
8: Golf: 450 million — across Europe, Asia, America, Canada.
9: Basketball: 400 million — across America.
10: American Football: 400 million — across Europe, Africa, Asia, America, Australia.
Top fans of sports!
Football is considered the most popular sport in the world. No sport comes close in terms of fan support. The number of football fans across the world is also the highest. This game is known as soccer in America where it is not as famous but is very famous in Europe, South America, Africa, the Middle East, Central America and Asia. This sport has almost 3.5 billion fans worldwide. At the same time, about 250 million players from 200 countries play this sport.
The name of the administrative body that handles football worldwide is FIFA (Federation 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 UEFA Champions League, UEFA Nations League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup.
There are only a few European countries that prefer a sport other than football. The most famous sport in Austria and Estonia is skiing and ice hockey in Finland. Talking about Asian countries, table tennis is famous in China, archery in Bhutan and basketball is famous in the Philippines. Cricket is preferred in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Football in India
India has a large number of football fans. In terms of fanbase, football is watched by a total of 23.4 million people on TV and OTT. Most fans prefer watching the Indian Super League (ISL), the Premier League, or La Liga.
2 lakh people watched one football match
The 1950 World Cup final will always be known for two reasons. First, Uruguay defeated Brazil 2-1 in a major upset. And second when 2 lakh fans came to watch the match! The official numbers state that 1,99,854 fans watched this match. To this date, this is the highest number of fans for one football match till fate! This final is also considered among the biggest upsets in football history.
Most popular sports played in the top 5 countries
China- basketball
India- Cricket
America - American Football
Indonesia - Football (Soccer)
Pakistan - Cricket
Cricket
The British love cricket more than any other sport. They introduced the sport in India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. The first cricket match started in 1721. And after England, India became the sixth country to join this elite club. In the year 1932, the teams of England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand had already been added to the list.
Most fans
When the first match was played between India and England, the number of fans was 24,000. At the same time, India got its first victory in the year 1952. In the same year, Pakistan also joined this club. Exactly two years later, Pakistan also got their first victory against England.
After this cricket became very famous in India with the fans also starting to love this game more and more. The biggest competition in cricket is between India and Pakistan. The matches between India and Pakistan are watched by a record-breaking number of fans across both countries.
Statistics
According to a report by ICC's The World of Cricket Global Market Research, cricket has more than 1 billion fans. The average age of a fan is 34 years, and women and girls make up 39 per cent of the fans. At the same time, 87 per cent of the fans believe that this sport should also be in the Olympics.
More than 300 million people play this game. 64 per cent of fans like three formats, and 69 per cent of fans like Test cricket. 88 per cent for ODIs and 92 per cent for T20 cricket. But a majority of the fans prefer ICC events, Cricket World Cup, and World T20 the most, reaching almost 95 per cent of the fans.
Cricket in India
Cricket is the leader compared to other sports in India and has the largest fanbase. There are a total of 124.2 million fans of cricket in India. This is the highest in the country compared to any other sport. At the same time, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most liked domestic league. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has the highest fanbase which is 40.09 million.
Most fans in a cricket match
IPL 2022 final is one such match that had the most fans. This match took place between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals. To see this match, a total of 1,04,859 fans reached the Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat. A total of 1,32,000 fans can sit in the Narendra Modi Stadium.
At the same time, the cricket match that had reached the maximum number of fans to see was the Eden Gardens ground in Kolkata. There was a match between India and Pakistan on this ground in the year 1998-99, when more than 1 lakh fans came to watch this match.
