It’s amazing how much football is loved all over the world. Participation in this sport is practically a religion across many parts of the world. Football is the only sport in the world that is able to paralyse entire cities and countries for a single match. Explaining why people feel such passion for the sport is very difficult even for a football fan.
However, if we look at the issue on our casino online reviews more closely, we can isolate a dozen factors that make the ‘Beautiful Game’ the most popular sport in the world:
Contents
History of football
Football is one of the oldest team sports. According to FIFA, ‘ball games’ similar to football were played as far back as 200 BC in Britain. The game has changed a lot since then, and roughly took its object shape around 1857, when Sheffield F.C – the first football club ever founded in England – was formed. The oldest football competition that is still played today is the FA Cup, first played in 1871.
The first official international match was between England and Scotland, played on 30 November 1872. Things developed quite quickly and in 1930 the first World Cup tournament was played in Uruguay.
One of the reasons why football is so popular is that there is a longevity and history to it that has contributed to a whole culture and tradition around the sport. And the tradition and culture is passed on from generation to generation, further cementing football’s status as the most popular sport in the world.
Football can be played anywhere
As I said earlier, the game can be played anywhere there is some free space. This gives football a huge advantage over other sports. Football is one of the few sports that can be played both outdoors or indoors, which means that it can be played basically anywhere.
Another thing that gives the game of football an advantage over other sports is the flexibility it offers. You can play 11 vs 11 football on a full size football pitch. You can also play 5 vs 5 indoors (in futsal) or on the beach. You can play 7 vs 7, 3 vs 3 – whatever comes to mind.
FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) has official tournaments for different types of football, such as: World Cup / FIFA World Cup – the official men’s 11 vs 11 tournament, Indoor Soccer or Futsal World Cup (5 vs 5 tournament, indoors), Beach Soccer World Cup / Beach Soccer World Cup (5 vs 5 , football played in the sand), as well as other informal Street soccer and freestyle tournaments (i.e. football trick tournaments).
Football focuses on the player
Compared to other sports, football is a game that is more player-centred. It is, of course, a team sport, but it is not uncommon for individual plays to make a big difference to the course and final outcome of a match. There are “rallies” by players across almost the entire pitch ending in a goal, there are goals scored by goalkeepers. A nominal defender will score a goal “from the head” after a fixed part of the game. Football gives all players the opportunity to “shine”.
Football is not so rigidly constrained (from the player’s perspective), unlike, for example, American football, where the game is run by a coach who dissects every play and the team must follow each of his instructions exactly. In football, of course, the coach sets the tactics for the game, he has a lot of influence on the game (if only by selecting the right players, their possible changes during the game), but if the team’s strategy does not work, one player can always change the face of the game through one virtuoso play.
This sport gives more freedom to play with fewer restrictions, and gives the opportunity to show off more of an individual side.
The enormous marketing value of football
A sporting event such as the World Cup, which attracts 3 billion people to watch it, is a magnet for the huge amount of money that the world’s biggest companies are able to spend to advertise during such competitions. But it is not just the battle for the global championship that draws crowds of fans to stadiums and in front of their TV sets. Skirmishes between major football clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, PSG or Manchester City attract millions of dollars to the clubs and for the players through sponsorships.
When big companies invest so much money in sport, believe me you will see the word ‘football’ absolutely everywhere you go: restaurants, bars, hotels, airlines, the internet, video games, etc. Marketing is one of the factors that makes football so popular. Brands want the sport to become even bigger and bigger, because it is also in their interest. As you can see, at the moment football creates a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars (if not trillions) globally.
Football club leagues around the world
People can feel a sense of pride and togetherness both at national team matches and at the games of their favourite/beloved club teams. This is another thing that gives football an advantage compared to other sports. In team sports popular in the US in particular, there is one major league and few people have heard of the rest. In countries where football is popular, there are a number of leagues, with the top division often popular beyond the borders of the country, or even the whole world, as is the case with the English, Spanish or German leagues. Every football fan is able to find the club that is closest to his or her heart – one with ties to the village, the town, the city or even the district of the city from which he or she hails.
The fact that there are so many teams, at different levels of competition in so many countries, makes it possible to create international club competitions, such as the Champions League or Europa League, and to confront the best clubs from the respective leagues. But there is also no shortage of excitement in the clashes of even local club rivals from one city.
Football is a relatively safe sport
As with any other sport, there are certain dangers associated with the game. Everything happens so fast that an accident can happen at any time. However, football is much less dangerous than other sports, especially for young people.
Football is a sport for everyone
Football is a sport that has no physical restrictions to play it (there are even competitions in amb football where players with amputations of one of their legs play). In other sports, such as in basketball you have to be very tall, in American football you have to have a strong physique, etc. In football, you don’t need to have god-knows-what stature to play the game. One of the best players in the world, Lionel Messi, is quite short – he measures just 170cm tall.
