There are about 8,000 listed sports and these consist mainly of a mixture of physical and mental activities – some of which are not really that popular among people. Hence, it is understandable status there are those who contest of their status as “sports” and pose that they’d be removed. Wikipedia has narrowed it down to 500 but this list remains to be debatable. Regardless though, there are those competitive games that have won the hearts of different nationalities and are continuously celebrated worldwide. These sports are able to gather crowds and lift spirits, thereby, making them the most popular sports in the world.

1. Volleyball. According to statistics, there are about 998 million volleyball participants in the world (not necessarily professional players) and about 218 affiliated national federations. It is played in all countries and was even made the national sport of Sri Lanka.

2. Basketball. This leading sport has 400 million practitioners and 211 associated national federations. It is also one of the most popular, with NBA (or the National Basketball Association) as the most popular and successful league in the field.

3. Baseball. It is the national sport of the United States and a well-known activity among Asian and European countries. With about 60 million participants, 117 member nations and 110 affiliated national federations, baseball may be one of the most profitable sporting ventures to date.

4. Football. Though originally a European sport, football is now also a U.S. bred activity. It has about 2 million followers and 97 affiliated national federations. It is not really that heavily practiced in the East except for Japan. But in the United States, it has rose to become on of the most watched sporting events of the year. In support, the National Football League generates $6.2 billion annually for their season.

5. Finally, soccer. This sport has over 242 million practitioners and 204 associated federations. It is played in 93 countries and 208 member nations. Europe houses the biggest fans of this sport and during the FIFA World Cup, there were about 26 billion people watching it.