United FC Rush

POPULARITY

Globally, FIFA reported roughly 265 million soccer participants, which makes it the most popular sport from a participation and fan base standpoint. An ESPN poll revealed that second to China, the United States has the highest youth participation rate in soccer with roughly 24.5 million players. And, within the country, soccer is the second most popular sport for youth, trailing only behind basketball. 

Soccer is known to be the most popular sport in the world, and one of the few that is played in nearly every country. To get a gauge of fan base popularity, in 2014 there were nearly 111.5 million people who tuned in for the Super Bowl and 1 billion who tuned in for the FIFA World Cup Final.