# In which countries is football (ok, soccer) not the biggest sport? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 15, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829 "2009-06-15T14:09:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/61 "2009-06-17T21:44:02Z")
[Battle of Britain accent ON] Now look here, young Chowder… 1. England have not won a footie European Championship or World Cup since 1966 (and I expect we were both watching that match :eek: ) 2. England lost to the Dutch at cricket. :rolleyes::smack: This is not a ‘blip’. They should burn the English players’ bats and make the ‘Ashes 2’. 3. Jesus could turn water into wine. Therefore he makes the ideal twelfth man, bringing on the drinks! ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/62 "2009-06-17T23:06:16Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > And the most popular sport for women in Australia (as far as player participation in organised games goes) is netball Actually, it’s by far the biggest sport by participation, full stop. Cricket is the national game, rugby league is the number one football code in half the country, Aussie rules is number one in the lesser half of the country, but in terms of participation it’s netball first and daylight second. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/63 "2009-06-18T06:37:03Z")
> [@glee](#): > > [Battle of Britain accent ON] Now look here, young Chowder… > > 1. England have not won a footie European Championship or World Cup since 1966 (and I expect we were both watching that match :eek: ) > > 2. England lost to the Dutch at cricket. :rolleyes::smack: > This is not a ‘blip’. They should burn the English players’ bats and make the ‘Ashes 2’. > > 3. Jesus could turn water into wine. Therefore he makes the ideal twelfth man, bringing on the drinks! 1. I was actually at Wembley with my dad watching THAT match. 2. We lost to the Dutch on purpose, I’m convinced of it. The reason for this is simple, to lull the opposition into a false sense of security. 3. JC not only batted and bowled for Mercia, he also used to bring on the mead and at lunch/tea all that was needed to feed the players and crowd was a few fish and some loaves. Now then I’ll just say, "Toodle Pip and Wizard Prang old bean and be orf to the jolly old Naafi. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/64 "2009-06-18T07:36:46Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Note to everyone: Soccer is the number one participant sport among youth in America. Participation can be a meaningless statistic. 😃 > > Still, yes, soccer is on the rise in China. In India, it’s interest exists primarily in the northeastern parts of the country, if I am not mistaken. Currently, India are something like 142nd in the world rankings, which gives you an idea of the relative importance of soccer in the country. 😉 I’d wager that soccer is the #1 participant sport in America period. Just about every kids plays it at one point in their lives and the number of children between the ages of 6 and 12 playing it in any given season probably triples the number of people playing any other sport at the High School, College and Adult levels combined. In my modestly sized suburban town there were probably 200 kids playing football each year in the only high school. There were probably 10 times that number of preteens playing baseball and 20 times that number playing soccer. That said, football is unquestionably the biggest sport in the USA. Lots of people play soccer because it’s essentially free to play and very safe. For this reason it’s played here by kids and elsewhere by everyone. Accessibility and participation are poor measures. ---
**Author:** ![FrWindyShephardHenderson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@FrWindyShephardHenderson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrWindyShephardHenderson)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/65 "2009-06-18T11:36:28Z")
Rugby Union would be the main sport in: New Zealand South Africa (At least among the Afrikaan and English population) Wales (Not technically a country I know) Fiji Samoa Tonga In Ireland Gaelic Football would be the largest sport followed by Hurling. Rugby Union would probably beat soccer at this stage. Of course in Ireland at least, soccer is the sport of choice for a kick around (Pick up game???). But in terms of attendences and number of organised clubs/players its the above order. Oh yeah and in France I think Rugby and Soccer are almost equivalent. In the south especially Rugby is the dominant sport. Union that is. ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/66 "2009-06-18T12:04:37Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > [Most Obscure Reference Ever] Accrington Stanley? Who’re _they_? [/MORE] _Exactly_. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/67 "2009-06-18T13:58:08Z")
I almost swallowed my tongue when one person got it. Now there are two. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/68 "2009-06-18T14:20:57Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I almost swallowed my tongue when one person got it. Now there are two. Guess you’ll have to swallow someone else’s tongue then. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/69 "2009-06-18T14:43:35Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I almost swallowed my tongue when one person got it. Now there are two. I remember Accrington Stanley FC going bankrupt if that helps. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/70 "2009-06-18T15:32:57Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I remember Accrington Stanley FC going bankrupt if that helps. 😉 You must be almost as antique as moi then 'cos I remember that. It looks as if they’re heading down that same old rocky path again unfortunately:( ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/71 "2009-06-18T15:46:21Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I remember Accrington Stanley FC going bankrupt if that helps. 😉 It’s from a Milk Marketing Board ad that aired in the early 90s… just before the “Cool for Cats” series, IIRC. Two snotty-nosed kids come in from footy practice, and one takes a bottle of milk out of the fridge, leading to this classic exchange: **Kid 1** : Milk? Ugh! **Kid 2** : It’s what Ian Rush drinks- and he plays for Accrington Stanley! **Kid 1** : Accrington Stanley? Who’re _they_? **Kid 2** : Exactly! ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/72 "2009-06-18T16:11:46Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Lots of people play soccer because it’s essentially free to play and very safe. Speak for yourself. I played last night and took a ball to the nuts and rolled my ankle. I need to buy cleats, shinguards, an $80 uniform, and pay club dues if I want to keep playing after next month. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/73 "2009-06-18T16:27:31Z")
Cue the Brits asking what cleats are. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/74 "2009-06-18T17:12:56Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Speak for yourself. I played last night and took a ball to the nuts and rolled my ankle. I need to buy cleats, shinguards, an $80 uniform, and pay club dues if I want to keep playing after next month. mmmmmm yes, or you could just continue to play pick-up ball on weekends at the local field. 😉 And compare what you would have to pay to play organized football if you wanted, or organized baseball. Glove, cleats, uniform that is at least as expensive, bat, etc. And in football, the injuries are potentially far worse. Of course, in baseball, the injuries are generally non-existent. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Wash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@Wash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wash)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/75 "2009-06-18T17:32:30Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It’s from a Milk Marketing Board ad that aired in the early 90s… just before the “Cool for Cats” series, IIRC. > > Two snotty-nosed kids come in from footy practice, and one takes a bottle of milk out of the fridge, leading to this classic exchange: > > **Kid 1** : Milk? Ugh! > **Kid 2** : It’s what Ian Rush drinks- and he plays for Accrington Stanley! > **Kid 1** : Accrington Stanley? Who’re _they_? > **Kid 2** : Exactly! It’s one of those adverts from my youth that are indelibly stained on to my memory, along with the “J R Hartley” Yellow Pages ad and the Cadbury’s Flake ad with the woman in the overflowing bathtub. Just something about those screechy Scouse accents and terrible acting I guess. By the way, the correct line is “It’s what Ian Rush drinks. And he said, if I don’t drink milk, I’ll only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley”. Ian Rush being a Liverpool (where the two kids are from and whose kits they are wearing) legend and Accrington Stanley being… well, exactly. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/76 "2009-06-18T17:46:23Z")
> [@Wash](#): > > It’s one of those adverts from my youth that are indelibly stained on to my memory, along with the “J R Hartley” Yellow Pages ad and the Cadbury’s Flake ad with the woman in the overflowing bathtub. Just something about those screechy Scouse accents and terrible acting I guess. > > By the way, the correct line is “It’s what Ian Rush drinks. And he said, if I don’t drink milk, I’ll only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley”. Ian Rush being a Liverpool (where the two kids are from and whose kits they are wearing) legend and Accrington Stanley being… well, exactly. Thank-you for correcting that. I was really having trouble understanding why the MMB would have put out the commercial in the form originally quoted! :eek: Well, no I wasn’t, given that it was the MMB under discussion… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/77 "2009-06-18T17:50:06Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Cue the Brits asking what cleats are. Cleats are what we Brits call bars. They used to be allowed on footie boots but now it’s just studs that are permitted ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/78 "2009-06-18T17:57:43Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > Cleats are what we Brits call bars. > > They used to be allowed on footie boots but now it’s just studs that are permitted Yeah, but the things they call cleats here are what you call studs. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/79 "2009-06-18T18:00:46Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > I’d wager that soccer is the #1 participant sport in America period. Just about every kids plays it at one point in their lives and the number of children between the ages of 6 and 12 playing it in any given season probably triples the number of people playing any other sport at the High School, College and Adult levels combined. > > In my modestly sized suburban town there were probably 200 kids playing football each year in the only high school. There were probably 10 times that number of preteens playing baseball and 20 times that number playing soccer. I’d take that bet. A lot of kids play soccer, but I’d say you’re overstating it by quite a considerable margin. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829/80 "2009-06-18T18:07:22Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > Cleats are what we Brits call bars. > > They used to be allowed on footie boots but now it’s just studs that are permitted Wait-- what are bars? [These](http://soccer747.com/uploaded_images/Soccer-Cleats-718959.jpg) are cleats. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-countries-is-football-ok-soccer-not-the-biggest-sport/499829.md?page=5)