Whenever I watch a big football event such as the European Championships of the FIFA World Cup, I find myself wondering just what it is that makes football such a popular sport. To give you an idea as to just how popular it is, the 2018 World Cup in Russia was watched by over 4 billion football fans - that is more than half of the population of the world. So, why has football become the world’s most popular sport? Well, this is what I am going to look at right now. If you want to find out more, then head on over to footballstatmanager.com
It is Cheap to Play
A main reason why football is popular is that it is inexpensive to play. You do not even have to have a football in order to play a game. For example, when I was a kid, my friends and I would often play a game of football using anything that we could find. If we came across an empty bottle in the street, we often started kicking it about, using whatever was around as goalposts. This is why football is such a great game - you can play without needing to spend a penny.
However, what if you want a proper game of football? Well, you can purchase a good ball for about £10. If you are interested in playing football for your local club, then the only things that you need are some shin guards and a pair of boots. You can get a decent pair of boots and shin guards without having to break the bank. The club will provide the kit that you need to wear during matches.
It is An Easy Sport to Play
When it comes to sports that are easy to play, football has to be sitting right there at the top of the list. I often ask my friends why they do not pay attention to other sports such as cricket and rugby, and they often reply that they are too difficult to understand. For a sport to become extremely popular, those who have not come across it before have to be able to get a grip of the basics pretty quickly. The rules of football are easy - each game lasts for 90 minutes and during this time frame you need to put the ball in the opposing team’s net more times than they put it in your net. Someone who has not played football before can play easily and then learn complex rules such as the offside rule as they go on.
There Are Great Leagues Everywhere
Sports such as baseball and American football have a major league in the US - there are leagues in other countries, but these are poor when compared to those in the US. Thus, there will be a lot less interest. Football, on the other hand, is a sport that has great leagues wherever you go in the world. The biggest European leagues include the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1. However, in the States, Asia, and South America there are many leagues that have a lot of support. The sheer quantity of fantastic tournaments means that sportsbooks like Betiton can offer football odds on all of these great competitions.
The Abundance of Football Predictions
Not only are there so many football leagues and tournaments the world over, but there are many people who provide their own betting tips on how they think a match or tournament will pan out. For example, for the 2022 World Cup, there are many tipsters giving their World Cup 2022 tips used to help tip the balance in your favour when used at Nigerian betting sites. However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg and in fact, there are many more football predictions on just about every tournament and league you can think and bet on at sites where you can find out more here.
Games Are Not Too Long
As mentioned earlier, football is a game that lasts 90 minutes. If you include the 15-minute break for half-time and any additional time that is added on for substitutes and injuries, a game of football will be over in around 2 hours. However, an ODI game of cricket will last around 7 hours, while test cricket matches play out over the course of 5 days. When a game lasts for so long, there will be many people who will get tired and lose interest.
Fan Loyalty
Football, I believe it is not an exaggeration to say, is a sport that has the best fans in the world. Football is a religion to most fans - once someone starts supporting a particular team, they will stick by them through thick and thin until they die. One reason why football has become very popular is tradition. In a lot of countries, fans do not get to choose which team they support because they just support whatever team that their parents support. I have an Argentinian friend and I asked him once why he supports River Plate and not Boca Juniors, and he said that he did not really have a choice as his father is a Boca Juniors fan.