The following is a list of world sports championships, including some sporting events which use a different name with a similar meaning. In some sports, there is a world series, but that term usually has a somewhat different meaning.
Tournaments which are formally defunct or where a further event is not currently planned are marked with a gray background.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities | First held | Current holder | Next | Frequency | Details and notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Air racing | Red Bull Air Race World Championship | Individuals | 2003 | Matt Hall (2019) | Defunct | Annual | Not held in 2011–2013, discontinued for 2020 |
Auto racing | |||||||
A1 Grand Prix | Nations | 2005–06 | Republic of Ireland (2008–09) | Defunct | Annual | ||
Formula One World Championship | Individuals | 1950 | Max Verstappen (2022) | 2023 | Annual | ||
Constructors | 1958 | Red Bull Racing (2022) | |||||
FIA World Endurance Championship | Individuals | 2012 | Brendon Hartley | 2023 | Annual | ||
Manufacturers | Toyota (2022) | ||||||
FIA GT1 World Championship | Individuals | 2010 | Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock (2012) | Defunct | Annual | Annually until 2012 | |
Teams | Münnich Motorsport (2012) | ||||||
FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies | Individuals | 1993 | Nasser Al Attiyah (2021) | Defunct | Annual | Annually until 2021 | |
Teams | Overdrive SA (2021) | ||||||
World Rally-Raid Championship | Individuals | 2022 | Nasser Al Attiyah / Mathieu Baumel (2022) | 2022 | Annual | Co-sanctioned with FIM; replaced World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies | |
Teams | Toyota Gazoo Racing (2022) | ||||||
FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas | Individuals | 2002 | Yazeed Al Rajhi (2022) | 2023 | Annual | Baja events split off from cross-country rally competition after original bajas competition was combined with rallies world cup in 2012. | |
Teams | Overdrive SA (2021) | ||||||
World Rally Championship | Individuals | 1977 | Kalle Rovanperä (2022) | 2023 | Annual | ||
Manufacturers | 1973 | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT (2022) | |||||
World Touring Car Championship | Individuals | 1987 | Thed Björk (2017) | Defunct | Annual | changed name to the World Touring Car Cup. | |
Manufacturers | Volvo (2017) | ||||||
World Touring Car Cup | Individuals | 2018 | Yann Ehrlacher (2021) | Defunct | Annual | "World Touring Car Cup" was used between 1993 and 1995 when it was a single event. | |
Teams | Cyan Racing (2021) | ||||||
World Manufacturers' Championship | Manufacturers | 1925 | Delage (1927) | Defunct | Annual | Annually until 1927 | |
World Sportscar Championship | Manufacturers; from 1985 teams | 1953 | Peugeot Talbot Sport (1992) | Defunct | Annual | Annually until 1992. Resumed as FIA World Endurance Championship | |
Individuals | 1981 | Yannick Dalmas Derek Warwick (1992) | Annual | ||||
Karting World Championship | KZ | 1964 | Noah Milell (2021) | 2022 | Annual | ||
OK | Tuukka Taponen (2021) | ||||||
Intercontinental Drifting Cup | Individuals | 2017 | James Deane (2021) | 2022 | Annual | ||
Formula E | Individuals | 2014 | Jake Dennis (2023) | 2023 | Annual | ||
FIA International Hill Climb Cup | Closed cars | 2000 | Dan Michl (2023) | 2023 | Annual | ||
Competition Cars | Sebastien Petit (2023) | ||||||
R-GT Cup | Individuals | 2015 | Pierre Ragues (2021) | 2022 | Annual | ||
World Rallycross Championship | RX1 | 2014 | Johan Kristoffersson (2021) | 2022 | Annual | ||
RX2e | Guillaume De Ridder (2021) | ||||||
Bull riding | PBR Global Cup | Nations | 2017 | USA (2022) | Defunct | Annual | Discontinued after 2022 |
PBR World Cup | Nations | 2007 | Brazil (2010) | Defunct | Annual | Discontinued after 2010 | |
Gliding | FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships | Individuals | 1985 | Ferenc Tóth (2018) | 2019 | Annual | |
Nations | (2018) | ||||||
World Gliding Championships | Individuals | 1937 | Winners in 6 classes (2018) | 2020 | Biennial | The duration between World Gliding Championships varies slightly, dependent on the hemisphere of the next planned edition. | |
Paragliding | Paragliding World Cup | Individual | 1992 | Winners in 5 competitions (2016) | 2017–18 | Annual | |
Motorcycling | FIM MotoGP World Championship | MotoE Individual | 2019 | Mattia Casadei (2023) | 2023 | Annual | |
Moto3 Individual | 2012 | Izan Guevara (2022) | Until 2012 as 125cc | ||||
Moto2 Individual | 2010 | Augusto Fernández (2022) | Until 2010 as 250cc | ||||
MotoGP Individual | 2002 | Francesco Bagnaia (2022) | Until 2002 as 500cc | ||||
Moto3 Constructor | 2012 | Gas Gas (2018) | 2023 | Annual | |||
Moto2 Constructor | 2010 | Kalex (2022) | |||||
MotoGP Constructor | 2002 | Ducati (2022) | |||||
Supercross World Championship | Individuals | 2003 | Jason Anderson (2018) | 2019 | Annual | ||
Motocross World Championship | MX2 Individual | 2003 | Jorge Prado Garcia (2018) | 2019 | Annual | ||
MXGP Individual | 2003 | Jeffrey Herlings (2018) | |||||
MX2 Constructor | 2003 | KTM (2018) | 2019 | Annual | |||
MXGP Constructor | 2003 | KTM (2018) | |||||
FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship | Riders | 1999 | Matthias Walkner (2021) | Defunct | Annual | ||
Manufacturers | 1999 | KTM (2021) | |||||
World Rally-Raid Championship | Riders | 2022 | Sam Sunderland (2022) | 2022 | Annual | Co-sanctioned with FIA; replaced Cross-Country Rallies World Championship | |
Manufacturers | 2022 | Monster Energy Honda (2022) | |||||
FIM Bajas World Cup | Riders | 2012 | Martin Michek (2021) | 2022 | Annual | ||
Manufacturers | 2012 | KTM (2021) | |||||
FIM World Enduro Championship | E3 | 2004 | Steve Holcombe (2018) | 2019 | Annual | ||
E2 | 2004 | Eero Remes (2018) | |||||
E1 | 2004 | Brad Freeman (2018) | |||||
FIM sidecarcross World Championship | Pairs | 1980 | Jan Hendrickx Ben van den Bogaart (2016) | 2017 | Annual | ||
Speedway World Team Cup (1960–2000) Speedway World Cup (since 2001) | National Team | 1960 | Poland (2017) | 2018 | Annual | ||
Speedway World Pairs Championship | National pair | 1970 | Sweden (1993) | Defunct | Annual | Annually until 1993 | |
Individual Speedway World Championship (1936–1994) Speedway Grand Prix (since 1995) | Individuals | 1936 | Bartosz Zmarzlik (2020) [1] | 2019 | Annual | ||
Individual Ice Racing World Championship | Individuals [2] | 1966 | Dmitry Koltakov (2017) | 2018 | Annual | ||
Team Ice Racing World Championship | Nations | 1979 | Russia (2017) | 2018 | Annual | ||
Sidecar World Championship | Pairs | 1949 | Ben Birchall (driver) & Tom Birchall (passenger) (2018) | 2019 | Annual | ||
Endurance FIM World Championship | Team | 1975 | F.C.C TSR Honda France (2018) | 2019 | Annual | ||
Superbike World Championship | Individuals | 1988 | Jonathan Rea (2018) | 2019 | Annual | ||
Manufacturers | Kawasaki (2018) | ||||||
Supersport World Championship | Individuals | 1999 | Sandro Cortese (2018) | 2019 | Annual | ||
Manufacturers | Yamaha (2018) | ||||||
FIM Superstock 1000 Championship | Individuals | 2000 | Markus Reiterberger (2018) | Defunct | Annual | ||
Manufacturers | BMW S1000RR (2018) | ||||||
Practical shooting | IPSC Handgun World Shoots | Individuals | 1975 | Ben Stoeger (2017) | 2020 | Triennial | Winner(s) of largest division(s) |
Teams | United States Production Team (2014) Simon Racaza, Ben Stoeger, Matthew Mink | Defunct | |||||
IPSC Rifle World Shoots | Individuals | 2017 | Teemu Rintala | 2019 | |||
Teams | Finland Open Team (2017) Teemu Rintala, Raine Peltokoski, Jarkko Laukia, Kim Leppänen | ||||||
IPSC Shotgun World Shoots | Individuals | 2012 | Josh Froelich (2018) | 2021 | |||
Teams | Russia Standard Team (2018) Roman Anikin, Roman Khalitov, Sergey Orlov Oleg Kudryavtsev | ||||||
IPSC Action Air World Shoots | Individuals | 2018 | Chun Ki Wu (2018) | 2021 | |||
Teams | Hong Kong (2018) | ||||||
Motorboat racing | F1 Powerboat World Championship | Individual | 1981 | Shaun Torrente (2022) | 2023 | Annual | 2020 Season got cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
Motorboat (Jet Ski) | Aquabike World Championship (powerboating) | Individual | 1996 | Marcus Jorgensen (Runabout GP1) 2022 Valentin Dardillat (Ski Division GP1 Man) 2022, Jasmiin Üpraus (Ski Division Woman) 2022, Rashid Al Mulla (Freestyle) 2022 | 2023 | Annual | 2020 Season was made of only one GP as all the remaining GP were cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
Radio-controlled car racing | IFMAR 1:8 IC Track World Championship | Individual | 1977 | Shoki Takahata (2019) | 2021 | Biennial | |
IFMAR 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championship, 2WD | Individual | 1985 | Spencer Rivkin (2019) | 2021 | Double header single host event | ||
IFMAR 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championship, 4WD | Individual | Bruno Coelho (2019) | |||||
IFMAR 1:5 Touring Car World Championship | Individual | 2001 | Marko Grigić (2019) | 2021 | |||
IFMAR 1:8 IC GT World Championship | Individual | 2020 | Jörn Neumann (2020) | 2021 | |||
IFMAR 1:8 IC Off-Road World Championship | Individual | 1986 | Davide Ongaro (2018) | 2020 | |||
IFMAR 1:12 Electric Track World Championship | Individual | 1982 | Marc Rheinard (2020) | 2022 | Double header single host event from 2002 up to 2018, triple in 2000 with PRO 10 | ||
IFMAR 1:12 Electric Track World Championship, stock | Individual | Andy Murray (2020) | Not held from 1986 through 2016, ran as World Cup event in 2018. | ||||
IFMAR 1:10 ISTC World Championship | Individual | 2000 | Bruno Coelho (2018) | 2022 | Double header single host event from 2002 up to 2018, triple in 2000 with PRO 10 | ||
IFMAR 1:10 200mm Nitro Touring Car World Championship | Individual | 2004 | Naoto Matsukura (2018) | 2020 | Double header single host event from 2002 up to 2018, triple in 2000 with PRO 10 | ||
IFMAR PRO 10 World Championship | Individual | 1992 | Masami Hirosaka (2000) | Defunct | Biennial until 2002 | ||
IFMAR 1:10 235mm IC Track World Championship | Individual | 2000 | Brian Berry (2002) | Defunct | Biennial until 1984 | ||
Radio-controlled boat sailing | IRSA – 10 Rater World Championships | Individual | 1999 | Brad Gibson (2016) | Undefined | Various | Authorised by World Sailing and the International Radio Sailing Association |
IRSA – A Class World Championships | Individual | Graham Bantock (2005) | Undefined | Various | |||
IRSA – Marblehead World Championships | Individual | Brad Gibson (2018) | Biennial | Various | |||
IRSA – One Metre World Championship | Individual | 1994 | Zvonko Jelacic (2017) | 2019 | Biennial | ||
Sailing | Class World Championships | Individuals and Teams | Annual | The majority of sailing 100+ Annual World Championships are none gender specific | |||
Speedcubing | WCA World Championship | Individuals | 1982 | Philipp Weyer (2019) | 2021 | Biannual | Note: The World Championships were started in 1982, but they only became biannual at the second World Championship, in 2003. |
Rubik's Nations Cup | Nations | 2017 | Germany 1 (2019) | 2021 | Biannual | Note: Countries can form multiple teams | |
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities | First held | Current holder | Next | Frequency | Details and notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aquatic | FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) | 4×50 m Mixed freestyle relay | 1993 | Canada (2021) | 2023 | Biennial | |
4×50 m Mixed medley relay | 1993 | Netherlands (2021) | 2023 | Biennial | |||
Archery | World Archery Championships | Team recurve male – female pair | 1931 | South Korea (2021) | 2023 | Biennial | |
Team compound male – female pair | 1995 | Colombia (2021) | 2023 | Biennial | |||
Badminton | BWF World Championships | Mixed Doubles | 1977 | Dechapol Puavaranukroh & Sapsiree Taerattanachai (2021) | 2022 | Annual | Not held in Summer Olympic years. |
Sudirman Cup | Nations | 1989 | China (2021) | 2023 | Biennial | ||
BWF Para-Badminton World Championships | Mixed Doubles | 1998 | Winners in 3 events (2019) | 2021 | Biennial | ||
Basketball | FIBA 3x3 World Championships | National teams of two men and two women | 2012 | France (2012) | Defunct | Three players are on the court at any one time | |
Biathlon | Biathlon World Championships | 4 × 7.5 km M+W relay | 2005 | Norway (2021) | 2023 | Annual | Not held in the Winter Olympic Years |
6 km M + 7.5 km W single relay | 2021 | France (2021) | 2023 | Annual | Not held in the Winter Olympic Years | ||
Bowls | World Indoor Bowls Championships | Mixed Pairs | 2004 | Paul Foster, Alison Merrien (2022) | 2023 | Annual | |
Cheerleading | The Cheerleading Worlds | Mixed teams | GymTyme All-Stars Chrome (2021) | 2022 | Annual | ||
Cycling | UCI Mountain Bike World Championships | Cross-country Team relay | 1999 | France (2021) | 2022 | Annual | |
UCI Urban Cycling World Championships | Team trials | 1999 | (2019) | 2021 | Annual | ||
Curling | World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship | National mixed teams male – female pair | 2008 | Scotland (2022) | 2023 | Annual | 2020 cancellation |
World Mixed Curling Championship | National mixed teams (4 players) | 2015 | Canada (2019) | 2023 | Annual | 2020–2022 championships were cancelled | |
World Wheelchair Curling Championship | National mixed teams (5 players) | 2002 | China (2021) | 2022 | Annual | 2021 was postponed to October | |
World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship | National mixed teams (2 players) | 2022 | Sweden (2022) | 2023 | Annual | Inaugural event pushed from 2021 to 2022 | |
Diving | World Diving Championships | Individuals | 1973 | Winners in 5 events (2019) | 2022 | Biennial | |
Dragon and Lion Dance | World Dragon and Lion Dance Championships | Teams | (2018) | 2021 | Biennial | ||
Equestrian | Dressage World Cup | Individuals | 1986 | Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (2021–22) | 2022–23 | Annual | |
World Four-in-Hand Championships | Teams and Individuals | 1972 | Boyd Exell (individual) Netherlands (team); (2018) | 2020 | Biennial | ||
Mounted Games World Individual Championships | Individuals | 1986 | Colin Verdelhan (2019) | 2020 | Annual | ||
Mounted Games World Pairs Championships | Pairs | 1992 | Jake O'Connor Craig O'Connor (2019) | 2020 | Annual | ||
Mounted Games World Team Championships | Team | 1986 | England (2019) | 2020 | Annual | ||
Show Jumping World Cup | Individuals | 1979 | Steve Guerdat (2019) | 2020 | Annual | ||
FEI Endurance World Championship | Individuals | (2018) | 2021 | Biennial | |||
Flying disc | WFDF World Overall Championships | Individuals | (2019) | Annual | |||
WFDF World Ultimate and Guts Championship | Individuals | (2019) | 2020 | Annual | |||
Figure skating | World Figure Skating Championships | National pairs male – female pair from the same nation | 1908 | (FSR) Anastasia Mishina & Aleksandr Galliamov (2022) | 2023 | Annual | |
Ice Dance male – female pair from the same nation | 1952 | (FSR) Victoria Sinitsina & Nikita Katsalapov (2022) | 2023 | ||||
Gymnastics | Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships | Teams | 2016 | (RGF) (2021) | 2023 | Biennial | |
Mixed pairs | 1974 | ||||||
Inline speed skating | World Inline speed skating Championships | Teams | 1937 | (2020) | 2021 | Annual | |
Korfball | IKF World Korfball Championship | 4 females and 4 males | 1978 | Netherlands (2019) | 2023 | Quadrennial | |
Modern Pentathlon | World Modern Pentathlon Championships | Mixed Relay | 2001 | South Korea (2021) | 2022 | Annual | |
Luge | FIL World Luge Championships | Nations | 1989 | Austria (2021) | 2022 | Annual | |
FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships | Nations | 2001 | 2021 | Biennial | Not held in 2015, 2017 and 2019 | ||
Modern Pentathlon | UIPM Biathle-Triathle World Championships | Nationals | Annika Schneider & Uli Raeth (2021) | 2022 | Annual | ||
Nine-pin bowling | Nine-pin bowling Single's World Championships | Mixed tandems | 2004 | Renáta Navrkalová & Jan Endršt (2018) | 2023 | Biennial | First time held in 2004. After division of the championships, added to the Team Worlds (2005 & 2007). Since 2008 in Single's World Championships program. |
Orienteering | World Orienteering Championships | Sprint relay | 2014 | TBA | Annual | Not held in 2019 | |
Pétanque | Pétanque World Championships | Nations | 2017 | Thailand (2019) | 2022 | Biennial | |
Quidditch | IQA World Cup | Nations | 2012 | United States (2018) | 2022 | Biennial | Quidditch has rules based on gender, not sex, calling itself a mixed-gender sport |
Rogaining | World Rogaining Championships | Nations | 1992 | Polina Zakharova & Artem Gorodynets & Ievgenii Tsyren (2019) | 2022 | Biennial | |
Rowing | World Rowing Championships | PR2 Para Mixed Pair 1 Male & 1 Female | 2013 | Great Britain (2019) | 2022 | Annual | |
PR3 Para Mixed Pair 1 Male & 1 Female | 2013 | Russia (2019) | 2022 | Annual | |||
Para Mixed Coxed Four 2 Male & 2 Female plus an open cox | 2013 | Great Britain (2019) | 2022 | Annual | |||
World Rowing Cup | Nations | 1997 | (2021) | 2022 | Annual | 1990–1995 the World Rowing Cup was a competition for single scullers, one man and one woman was declared the overall winner each year. Currently the World Cup consists of 3 stages, each of them includes events for men and women; the nation with most points as a summary is declared the overall winner. | |
Sailing | IFDS SKUD 18 World Championship | Female or Mixed Pair | 2007 | Alexandra Rickham & Niki Birrell (2011) | ? | Annual? | |
Mixed Nacra 17 World Championship | Male and Female Pair | 2013 | (2019) | 2020 | Annual | ||
Mixed Offshore Doubles World Championship | Male and Female Pair | 2021 | Annual | ||||
Synchronized skating | ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships | Teams | 2000 | Les Suprêmes (2022) | 2023 | Annual | |
Table tennis | World Table Tennis Championships | Mixed doubles | 1926 | Wang Chuqin & Sun Yingsha (2021) | 2023 | Biennial | |
World Para Table Tennis Championships | Mixed doubles | 1990 | Winners in 7 events (2022) | 2026 | Quadrennial | ||
Tennis | Hopman Cup | National teams male – female pair | 1989 | Switzerland (2019) | Defunct | Annual | Competitions are played in traditional order: women's singles, men's singles, and mixed doubles |
United Cup | National teams of men and women | 2024 | Germany (2024) | 2025 | Annual | ||
Teqball | Teqball World Championships | Nations | 2017 | Csaba Bányik & Zsanett Janicsek (2021) | 2023 | Biennial | |
Triathlon | World Triathlon Mixed Relay Championships | National teams of two men and two women | 2003 | France (2019) | 2022 | Annual | |
Tug of war | TWIF Indoor World Championships | Nations | 1976 | Winners in various weight classes (2020) | 2022 | Biennial | |
TWIF Outdoor World Championships | Nations | 1976 | Winners in various weight classes (2018) | 2022 | Biennial | ||
Wheelchair handball | IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship | Nations | 2020 | 2022 | Annual until 2022 |
Sports in Japan are a significant part of Japanese culture. Both traditional sports such as sumo and martial arts, and Western imports like baseball, association football, basketball and tennis are popular with both participants and spectators.
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby union system.
The Harvard Crimson is the nickname of the intercollegiate athletic teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country. Like the other Ivy League colleges, Harvard does not offer athletic scholarships.
A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs.
Poland's sports include almost all sporting disciplines, in particular: football, volleyball, motorcycle speedway, ski jumping, track and field, handball, basketball, tennis, and combat sport. The first Polish Formula One driver, Robert Kubica, has brought awareness of Formula One Racing to Poland. Volleyball is one of the country's most popular sports, with a rich history of international competition. Poland has made a distinctive mark in motorcycle speedway racing thanks to Tomasz Gollob, Jaroslaw Hampel, Bartosz Zmarzlik, Maciej Janowski and Rune Holta. Speedway is very popular in Poland. They won the world cup (2014), and the Polish Extraleague has the highest average attendances for any sport in Poland. The Polish mountains are an ideal venue for hiking, skiing and mountain biking and attract millions of tourists every year from all over the world. Cross country skiing and ski jumping are popular TV sports, gathering 4–5 million viewers each competition, with Justyna Kowalczyk, Dawid Kubacki, Adam Małysz and Kamil Stoch as the main attractions. Baltic beaches and resorts are popular locations for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and a broad-range of other water-themed sports.
Sport in the United Kingdom plays an important role in British culture and the United Kingdom has played a significant role in the organisation and spread of sporting culture globally. In the infancy of many organised sports, the Home Nations were heavily involved in setting out the formal rules of many sports and formed among the earliest separate governing bodies, national teams and domestic league competitions. After 1922, some sports formed separate bodies for Northern Ireland, though many continued to be organised on an all-Ireland basis. For this reason, in many though not all sports, most domestic and international sport is carried on a Home Nations basis, and England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland are recognised as national entities.
ITV4 is a British free-to-air television channel which first aired on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a line-up that consists of sports including Football, Rugby, Snooker, Cycling, Darts and Horse Racing, cult classic films such as James Bond, US dramas and classic ITV action series of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Sports in Canada consist of a wide variety of games. The roots of organized sports in Canada date back to the 1770s, culminating in the development and popularization of the major professional games of ice hockey, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, soccer, football and cricket. Canada's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse. Golf, baseball, tennis, skiing, ringette, badminton, cricket, volleyball, cycling, swimming, bowling, rugby union, canoeing, curling, squash, and the study of martial arts are widely enjoyed at the youth and amateur levels. Great achievements in Canadian sports are recognized by Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, while the Lou Marsh Trophy is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete by a panel of journalists. There are numerous other Sports Halls of Fame in Canada.
Sport in New Zealand largely reflects the nation's colonial heritage, with some of the most popular sports being rugby union, rugby league, cricket, association football, basketball, horse racing and netball, which are primarily played in Commonwealth countries. New Zealand has enjoyed success in many sports, notably rugby union, rugby league, cricket, America's Cup sailing, world championship and Olympics events, and motorsport.
Sports in the United States are an important part of the nation's culture. Historically, the national sport has been baseball. However, in more recent decades, American football has been the most popular sport in terms of broadcast viewership audience. Basketball has grown into the mainstream American sports scene since the 1980s, with ice hockey and soccer doing the same around the turn of the 21st century.
Fox Sports Australia Pty Limited is the division of Foxtel that owns and operates the Fox Sports television networks and digital properties in Australia. The group operates nine Fox Sports Channels as well as Fox Sports News, Fox Cricket, Fox League, Fox Footy, Watch AFL and Watch NRL. Fox Sports channels such as Fox Netball are available via Foxtel or Kayo. The group's main competitors are beIN Sports, ESPN, Optus Sport and Stan Sport. Unlike The American Fox Sports, the group is not owned directly by the Fox Corporation. However News Corp which holds a 65% stake in Foxtel is Fox Corporation's sister company.
Sport plays a central role in Scottish culture. The temperate, oceanic climate has played a key part in the evolution of sport in Scotland, with all-weather sports like association football and golf dominating the national sporting consciousness. However, many other sports are played in the country, with popularity varying between sports and between regions.
Sport in Israel plays an important role in Israeli culture and is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport. The most popular sports in Israel have traditionally been Association football (mainly) and basketball (secondly) – with the first being considered the national sport – in both of which Israeli professional teams have been competitive internationally. Israel is an international center for Jewish sport around the world and since 1932 the Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-style event for Jewish athletes, is held in the country. Despite Israel's location in the Asian continent, the Israeli sports associations in various sports belong to the European associations due to the refusal of many Arab Asian countries to compete with Israeli athletes.
Sport is considered a national pastime in Finland and many Finns visit different sporting events regularly. Pesäpallo is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular forms of sport in terms of television viewers and media coverage are ice hockey and Formula One. In spectator attendance, harness racing comes right after ice hockey in popularity.
Sport in England plays a prominent role in English society. Popular teams sports in England include association football, field hockey, cricket, rugby union, rugby league, and netball. Major individual sports include badminton, athletics, tennis, boxing, golf, cycling, motorsport, and horseracing. Cricket is regarded as the national summer sport. Association football is the most popular sport, followed by Cricket, Tennis and Rugby. A number of modern sports were codified in England during the nineteenth century, among them cricket, rugby union, rugby league, football, field hockey, bandy, squash, tennis, and badminton. The game of baseball was first described in 18th century England.
Sport in Europe tends to be highly organized with many sports having professional leagues. The origins of many of the world's most popular sports today lie in the codification of many traditional games, especially in the United Kingdom. However, a paradoxical feature of European sport is the extent to which local, regional and national variations continue to exist, and even in some instances to predominate.
Sport in Croatia has significant role in Croatian culture, and many local sports clubs as well as the Croatian national squads enjoy strong followings in the country. The most enduring sport by far in Croatia is football, and is played on amateur and professional levels amongst all age groups across the entire country. Several other major team sports are handball, basketball and water polo, with clubs in all parts of Croatia. Ice hockey is another popular team sport, namely in the Croatian interior. The most popular individual sports in Croatia are tennis, alpine skiing, and swimming, and to some extent table tennis and chess. Various amateur sport games are popular in Croatia, notably picigin.
Manchester City and Manchester United are popular Premier League football clubs in Greater Manchester. United's ground is in Old Trafford; Manchester City's home ground is the City of Manchester Stadium in east Manchester. Fixtures between the clubs are referred to as the Manchester Derby. Manchester United are historically the most successful football club in England with 66 elite honours won and was the first team in England to achieve the Continental treble. Manchester United's revenue was the fifth highest of a football club in the world in the 2022–23 season at €745.8 million. In 2023, Forbes estimated the club was the second most valuable in the world at $6 billion..
Sports play a significant part in the life of many Czechs who are generally loyal supporters of their favourite teams or individuals.
In Switzerland, most of the people have a regular sport activity and one in four is an active member of a sports club. The most important all-embracing organisations for sports in Switzerland are the Federal Office of Sport, and the Swiss Olympic Committee.