Top 10 World’s Most Popular Sports Leagues – World’s Top Sports LEAGUES: The popularity of sports league is defined by the attendance of spectators it in the stadium and at TV viewership. These two parameters combined puts USA’s NFL (rugby league) ahead of all sports leagues, and the margin over the second place Bundesliga seems unassailable.
Here is the list of top 10 sports league around the world that attracts its fans to the stadium in numbers.
#10. Nippon Professional Baseball
Japanese love baseball and this is the most popular league in their country. It was founded in 1950 and a total of 12 teams participate in the sporting event. Consisting of 2 leagues, the central leagues and the Pacific league, which both contain 6 teams each, compete amidst themselves.
At the end of the season, the winning teams in each of the leagues compete in the Japan series. Approx 28200 fans in every match attend it.
#9. Big Bash League
Established in 2011, this Australian cricket league is fairly new one and it is highly inspired by IPL. As Cricket is not as popular as football, basketball, and baseball around the world, IPL and BBL are making a difference in inspiring more countries to join the sports. BBL has 8 teams at present and is fast climbing the popularity charts. Approximately 28300 fans attend every match of it.
#8. La Liga
It is one of the most popular sporting events in Europe for quite long time. It was formed in 1929 and at present 20 teams plays the tournaments. Based on UEFA’s league coefficient ranking, it has remained the strongest league in Europe over the past five years. It charts an average attendance of 30,300 for league matches.
#7. MLB or Major League Baseball
There is no match to Baseball when it comes to fan following in America. With an average attendance of 30500, MLB is one of the highest viewed sporting events in America. It was formed in 1903 and at present, it has 30 teams. Out of these 30 teams, 29 are from America while 30th is from Canada.
#6. IPL or Indian Premier League
India is a cricket-frenzy nation and IPL every year calls for a celebration. IPL is one of the most watched cricket leagues anywhere in the world. It was formed back in 2008 and has 8 franchises at present. In every match, an average attendance of 32000 has been noticed.
#5. AFL or Australian Football League
When it was formed in 1897, it was called Victorian Football League. With time, the name was changed but the fan following never declined. The teams from five of the six states of Australia participate in the event and it is popular by the moniker of Australian football or footy. It has an average attendance of 33500 in every match.
#4. English Premier League
The English Premier League is comprised of 20 teams, and although its worldwide popularity may rival that of the NFL, when it comes to average attendance the EPL trails the NFL by almost double of its number. The average attendance is around 36,500.
The EPL enjoys cult following across the globe as well. It is most-watched football league in the world, being broadcast in over 212 territories to over 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of over 4.7 billion people.
#3. US College Football Division I FBS
College sports are a part of American culture and almost every citizen has his or her favorite college team. Generally, in professional leagues, the players have the edge when it comes to power but in a college league, the coach retains the power. A total of 125 teams are active in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The event has an average attendance of 43200.
#2. German Bundesliga
The German Bundesliga finds itself in second place in terms of average attendance. It has 18 teams in total. The season starts from August to May. It was established back in 1962 and premiered its first season in 1963. Since then 53 different clubs have participated in the event. It is attended by more than 43400 sports fans.
#1. NFL
It is an American football league that has been dominating the list of top 10 sports leagues for a long period of time. The average attendance in the stadium during any match goes above 68300. It was founded in 1920 with teams from three different leagues. As the time passed by, it absorbed all the leagues and merged with American Football League in 1970. Super Bowl is the most viewed television event that is a part of NFL.
Here is the full list:
Editors pick
