What is the Appeal of Football?

With over 3 billion fans worldwide, football is the most popular sport on the planet. From the United Kingdom to China, the game is often first or second in terms of popularity. Even in the United States, where historically football has not had much luck, it is one the rise in the 21st century. Many may wonder why? Why is football such a major success? That is what we are trying to find out in this article.

Sports Betting Certainly Helps

The success of the sport has greatly contributed to its sportsbook coverage. Bookies are always looking for the biggest sports to focus on, and since football is at number one, it is obviously the sport that they pay most attention to. However, since there are many people who are interested in betting, but not necessarily in sports, they are introduced to the world of football through bookies.

We see it more frequently now than we’ve ever seen it before. People are getting into sports with the express purpose of betting. Indeed, the Betway app, and many like it, are reporting a significant increase in traffic. There have even been reports of women who got into football betting because their husbands were interested in watching the games. While these women have no interest in the sport, they like the thrill of wagering on them.

However, in this instance, the popularity of football betting comes from the success of the sport itself, and not the other way around. Of course, football betting does fuel the sport. But it is not the cause of its success. So, how did football come to be so popular?

Historical Success

There is no denying that football has been quite successful historically. Historians trace the roots of football to Ancient China, and a game called cuju. Apparently, the game involved 12 players kicking a leather-bound ball on a square court. The goal was to kick the ball into the opponents’ net. Cuju is not the only predecessor to football, however.

The Ancient Greeks, the Ancient Romans, and even the Native American populations all had their own version of football, or rugby, which in some way may have inspired the modern game. All of this leads one to assume that kick-the-ball games have always been popular, which means football was destined to succeed. But, what about the modern incarnation of the game.

The Victorians Were Involved

As for the success of the modern incarnation of the sport, as is the case with so many sports today, the Victorians were greatly involved. Football became popular at the height of the British Empire’s success. Britain had land all over the world, and British traders were moving throughout Europe. These merchants would often discuss football among themselves, and the local residents of whichever country they happened to be in.

Part of the reason that the USA never got “football fever” had to do with this as well. America was just at the cusp of building its national identity, and did their best to separate from England and the rest of Europe. However, the popularity of football has caught up with them, and US Major League Soccer is on the rise, having even surpassed the NHL in terms of popularity.