Each Corner of our planet is stocked with unique cultural flavors. From muddy horse races to elegant cricket matches, there is little that hasn’t been tried. we’re here to find out which events reign supreme. Which are the Biggest sports tournaments and which battles absorb the most cash and attract the most awe-inspired viewers.
we dig deep into research on sports data, financial numbers, TV viewership details, and social media following resulting in giving us the ultimate list of biggest sports tournaments in the world. We realized three big factors which play a significant part in how popular a competition really is.
- TV viewership: It defines how many people actually tune in to watch a certain competition. More people watching the tournament higher the advertising revenue and TV rights money. This means higher prize money available for tournament organizers to distribute.
- Worldwide audience: Some sports have a specific audience. Either geographically or based on gender/age. For example, the Football world cup is popular in almost every part of the world while the ICE Hockey World championship is only watched in specific countries/regions. That kind of plays a part in attracting advertisers and selling TV rights deals.
- Prize Money: So the bigger TV viewership or live stream numbers higher the fee tournament organizers can generate from TV rights and other media rights sales. TV rights money usually makes up the prize money fund available in major sports.
- So after researching these factors we came up with the ultimate list of Biggest Sports tournaments where FIFA World cup reign supreme in almost every criterion.
Why FIFA world cup is the Biggest sports tournament competition?
Among all the sporting events, the FIFA World cup is by far the most-watched and most lucrative tournament. FIFA World Cup gets the number one spot on the bases of:
- TV viewership: average 3 billion-plus TV views per world cup since 2010
- Prize money: $791 million will be distributed among 32 participating nations in the 2022 world cup.
- Worldwide audience: Over 180 territories bought the World cup 2022 rights generating well over $4.6 billion in TV money for FIFA.
Let’s examine these numbers in detail
World Cup 2018 Became The Most Watched Sports Event:
- Sport | Football
- Viewership | 3.9 Billion
- Upcoming Event | 2022
- Popularity | Europe, South America, Africa and Asia
Since 1998 the FIFA World Cup has averaged 3 billion people who have watched parts of the tournament, with the 2018 Russian world cup topping 3.9 billion viewers. World Cup feature 32 counties, Which qualify for the final stages. Hence most countries have a football team making it truly a global event.
Besides watching the matches on the ground, people also love to follow the matches on the TV. More than 3.9 Billion fans tune into watch FIFA world cup 2018 at some point during the tournament. The final was watched by 600 million people worldwide.
FIFA World Cup Prize money – $791 million
It is contested by national teams across the globe that are selected via a qualification round. FIFA World Cup was first organized in 1930 and the last one was in 2018, which was won by France. The total prize money pool of the FIFA World Cup is estimated to be USD $700 million.
This is paid out starting with $2m per team for preparation, then $10 million for group stage participation. The winning team will end up taking home a total of $45 million.
Worldwide audience – 180 countries bought World Cup 2022 TV rights:
With 4.6 billion followers in the count, Football is the most popular sport in the world. It is not only the most popular sport but it is also the richest sport in the world. FIFA is governing body of football. Based on the above mention criteria, Football justified its number one position.
Football World Cup is the most-watched sports event. Almost 3.9 billion tuned in during a month-long 2018 FIFA World Cup. The final between France vs Croatia was watched by around 600 million people worldwide.
Biggest sports tournaments :
| Rank | Competition | Prize money | TV Viewership |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FIFA World Cup | $700 million | 3.9 Billion |
| 2 | Summer Olympics | Gold Medal and prize Money from Nations | 2 Billion |
| 3 | Tour de France | $3 million | 1.5 billion |
| 4 | ICC Cricket World Cup | $12 million | 1.6 Billion |
| 5 | IIHF World Championship | $5 Million | 1.6 Billion |
| 6 | Basketball World Cup (FIBA) | $90m+ | 1.5 Billion |
| 7 | FIFA Women’s World Cup | $60 million | 1.12 Billion |
| 8 | Rugby Union World Cup | $10 million | 857 Million |
| 9 | UEFA Champions League Final | $1.5 billion (yearly) | 400 Million |
| 10 | Super Bowl | Bonus payment to players from $35m playoff fund | 240 Million |
| 11 | World Series | $75 million | 150 Million |
| 12 | Asian Games | Gold Medal and prize Money from Nations | 1 billion |
| 13 | Winter Olympics | Gold Medal and prize Money from Nations | 750 Million |
