What makes football so popular? another question on which a whole book can be written. There are countless factors and characteristics of football that make it popular. Football is undoubtedly the world’s most popular and most watched sport. If you ask this question to any football fan he alone would give you a long list of things which make it popular. But the one most important factor is the decentralization of Soccer, the name for football in the US, that means it is played globally instead of staying limited to a region. So, we will have a look at the factors or reasons which make it so popular.
This sport awakens passion in people which makes football different from any other sport like baseball, basketball or American football. In this article we will explain all the factors and reasons why football is so popular. 
What Makes Football So Popular?
1. Economic
One of the most significant factors that makes football so popular is the inexpensiveness of the sport. If you are familiar with this game, you must know that not much equipment is required to play football. Sometimes we don’t even need a soccer ball. Found it hilarious? Yeah! it’s true sometimes children play football from any sphere shaped thing even the rounded Aluminum foil. Overall it is not a game that can only be played on a large field with mandatory equipment. Some local forms of football have been developed that can be played anywhere by anyone. All you need is legs and willingness to play.
2. Player-Focused
Football is a player focused game more than any other sport. All the other games in which teams play against each other are more team focused as the team members rely on each other for the next move. But on the contrary in football, you can depend more on an individual play as compared to other sports. And if the team’s strategy goes wrong, the player can take it all in his own hands and play through his individual strategy. In American football coaches direct all the players to follow each one of his instructions. While players have to obey the coach’s directions in football too, they possess the power to change the game as per the situation as well. It gives them an opportunity to come out of the crowd and shine individually.
3. Easy to Play
Football is one of the easiest sports to play. Especially when compared to basketball, baseball or American football, football comes out to be the easiest sport to play. For the people who have never tried playing football, it might seem false as they might think it’s a complex and tricky game to learn. But the fact is that the positions in this game do not require so many sharp skills. The basics of football are very simple: a 90 minutes match is to be played bifurcated into two halves. You have to kick the ball and send it to another team’s goal. At the end whoever team scores more goals emerges victorious.
4. History
Do you know that football is one of the oldest sports in the world? Yes, it was invented a thousand years ago and then kept being modified over years. The game you see today is far more different from what it was in the beginning. Some people say football is a very violent game but It was much more fierce and violent at that time. The oldest football competition which is still held is England’s FA Cup which was played in 1871 for the first time. The first associated game played between two nations was England vs Scotland on November 30, 1872. And in 1930 the first FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay. How can a sport with such a rich history not be the most popular sport in the world?
5. Marketing
The football sport has attracted the attention of more than 3 billion people on the Earth. Thanks to the globally known brands who have advertised football to a great extent. Clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona have made tons of money through sponsorships. Due to its reach to billions of people, biggest brands invest in this game that results in high income of players and teams. You can easily see the name of football or Soccer through brand advertisements in restaurants, pubs, hotels, airlines, etc. Marketing plays the most significant role in increasing the value of this game and making it popular. Brands want to make it bigger and bigger in order to get huge profits.
6. Highest Level Competition
Apparently, football consists of some of the highest level competitions including FIFA World Cup. It has the largest number of top class players than any other sport. So does it have the most popular and successful football clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona who give way to the toughest competition. With such best clubs and players, football has been recognised for the first regular display of highest level competitions. The amount of talent it has is unlimited and no other sport can challenge it. This is why football fans are more fond of tough competitions between strongest rivals.
7. Traditionalist Nature
As we have already told you in another article on our website, football believes in following the custom of preventing its traditions by not accepting technology like other sports do. Its traditionist Nature doesn’t just make it unique but also induces its popularity. In the rural areas where internet facilities are still not available or good quality, football is played without any issue as it doesn’t require much equipment and technology to play. Its reluctant nature towards accepting technology helped it become more popular in rural areas. This factor somehow also makes it an inexpensive sport that can be played anywhere by anyone.
8. Skill is Most Important
In sports like basketball and American football, player body size matters. They require an athlete of good height and strength to rule over the other team. Football needs the players to fit in too but in contrast it focuses more on skills and strategies of the players. An athlete needs skills to outperform other competitors instead of strength and height. This makes the game super fun as players perform far more better than the expectations of fans who judge them on their body size. It is one of the most straightforward sports that you can engage in and this article quality has essentially made it the most popular sport worldwide.
