What Country Invented Sports?
A lot of people think that sports were invented in America. However, that is not the case! Here’s a list of countries that invented popular sports.
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America
America is the birthplace of many sports including basketball, baseball, and football. American football is the most popular sport in the United States. Football, basketball, and baseball are also popular in other countries, but they were invented in America.
Baseball
Baseball is widely considered to be America’s national pastime, and it has been played in the country since the early 19th century. The game is thought to have originated as a variation of the English game of rounders, and it quickly became popular among both adults and children. By the late 1800s, baseball was being played professionally, and today it remains one of the most popular sports in America.
Football
American football, contrary to popular belief, was not invented in America. The game actually has its origins in England, where it was played as a riotous outdoor game during medieval times. In the late 1800s, a version of the game started to gain popularity in American colleges. By the early 1900s, it had become the most popular sport in America.
England
It is generally accepted that most sports in the world were invented in England. This is because England is where most of the international rules and regulations were created. For example, The FA was founded in England in 1863, and is the oldest football association in the world.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the center of which is a 20-meter (22-yard) pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striking the ball bowled at the wicket with the bat, while the bowling and fielding side tries to prevent this and dismiss each player. Means of dismissal include being bowled, when the ball hits the stumps and dislodges the bails, and by catching the ball after it is hit by the bat, but before it hits the ground. When ten players have been dismissed, the innings ends and the teams swap roles. The game is adjudicated by two umpires, aided by a third umpire and match referee in international matches. They communicate with two off-field scorers who record all the match’s events.
The origin of cricket is uncertain and most likely lies somewhere in England or its bordering countries – an area home to many bat-and-ball games similar to cricket. A popular theory suggests that cricket may have developed from such games, possibly being derived from bowlers jousting over which town or village could claim superiority. There are references to a game called creag being played in southern England in 1154. This has been interpreted as an early reference to cricket but could refer to any number of games played on creags (rocky outcrops), such as chess or quoits.[2][3]
Rugby
Rugby is a contact sport that originated in England in the early 19th century. It is played with an oval-shaped ball and two teams of 15 players each. The object of the game is to score points by carrying the ball across the opponent’s goal line, kicking it through the opponent’s goal posts, or tackling the opponent with the ball in hand.
Rugby was first codified at Rugby School in England in 1845. The game spread rapidly to other countries in Europe and North America, and by the 1870s it was being played in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Argentina. Rugby union, the form of rugby that is most popular today, began to develop in 1871 when England’s Rugby Football Union was founded.
Rugby union is now played in more than 100 countries around the world. The sport has been included in the Olympic Games since 1900, and rugby sevens will debut as an Olympic sport at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
China
Sports were first allegedly invented in China. This is according to a legend that states that sports were created by the mythological Chinese figure, Fu Xi. The legend goes that Fu Xi was the one who created fishing and trapping, and that these two activities led to the development of other sports.
Martial Arts
Martial arts are a vital part of China’s cultural heritage, with a history that stretches back thousands of years. Some of the most popular martial arts styles in the world – including kung fu and wushu – originated in China, and these disciplines continue to be practiced by millions of people across the globe today.
Martial arts play an important role in Chinese society, both as a form of exercise and as a means of self-defense. In addition, martial arts competitions are a popular spectator sport in China, with many fans tuning in to watch national and international tournaments on television.
Greece
Greece is a country with a long and rich history. It is also the birthplace of many things that we now take for granted, including sports. That’s right, the first organized sports were played in Greece over 2,700 years ago. Let’s take a closer look at how sports began in this country.
Olympics
The Olympics were originally a Greek religious festival held every four years in honor of Zeus, the king of the gods. The first recorded Olympics took place in 776 BCE in Olympia, a city in the western Peloponnese. The games included running, jumping, throwing, and wrestling events and were open to any free-born Greek male.
Legend has it that the festival was founded by Heracles (the Roman Hercules), the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Another story claims that it was once a funeral Games held in honor of Pelops, a mythical hero who died in a chariot race.
The ancient Olympics were discontinued in 393 CE by Roman Emperor Theodosius I because he considered them pagan festivals. It wasn’t until 1896 that they were revived by French Baron Pierre de Coubertin. De Coubertin believed that sports could bring people and cultures together, so he formulated the idea that the best athletes from all over the world could come together and compete in a fair, international event.
The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece—the site of the ancient Games—in 1896. Since then, they have been held every four years (with a few exceptions) and have grown to become one of the largest sporting events in the world.