Association football
Association football, also known as soccer, or in many places just football, is the world's most popular sport. Not only does it have the most fans of any sport worldwide, but it also inspires the passions of fans to a level rarely seen in any other sport. Unlike in most other sports, rivalries in association football often go beyond mere sporting rivalries, tracing their roots much deeper to more contentious issues such as politics and religion.
The season for football varies by country. Freezing winters, rainy summers, or competition with more popular national sports lead to it being a winter sport in some countries, and a summer sport in others. Many Latin American leagues, and some others around the world, have adopted a split season format.
Destinations
Africa
While most of the top African players ply their trade in Europe rather than in their home countries, there is certainly no shortage of passion from African football fans. The main continental club competition is the CAF Champions League. Men's national teams compete for the Africa Cup of Nations, which is held in odd-numbered years.
Egypt
While the Egyptian national team has often underperformed on the world stage, Egyptian clubs have largely dominated African continental competitions. The top division in Egyptian domestic football is the Egyptian Premier League. By far the largest rivalry in Egypt is the Cairo Derby between Al Ahly and Zamalek. Violent incidents between fans of the two rival clubs are a regular occurrence.
Asia
Many top Asian players ply their trade in Europe rather than in their home countries, though many of the wealthier countries in the region keep most of their best players at home. While football passion is widespread in the continent, it's not uniform — many key countries in the region have more popular sports. For example, cricket dominates the sports scene in India and Pakistan; the Philippines is wildly passionate about basketball; Japan's most widely followed sport is baseball; and Australia (which for football purposes is grouped with Asia instead of its home region of Oceania) has multiple sports that draw more attention than football. The main continental club competition is the AFC Champions League. Men's national teams compete for the AFC Asian Cup, held in the year after the FIFA World Cup.
Australia
Australia, where the sport is usually called "soccer" instead of "football", is unique in that soccer is at best the third-most popular type of football in the country. Australian rules football and rugby league are indisputably more popular than soccer, with rugby union also enjoying significant popularity. Cricket is also a national obsession during its season. That said, the country has enjoyed a soccer boom in the 21st century, with both the men's and women's national teams regularly qualifying for World Cups. Australia is a member of Asia's football governing body instead of Oceania's, meaning that the national teams compete for the Asian Cup and men's club teams can qualify for the AFC Champions League.
The top men's league is the A-League, with 11 teams in the current 2019–20 season and a 12th joining in 2020–21. The league does not operate like most sports leagues in the world — it does not employ promotion and relegation (in which poorly-performing teams are dropped to a lower league, replaced by top performers from the second level). Teams are franchises granted by the league, and remain in the league unless they fold. (Sports in the US and Canada also operate on this model.) Due to competition from the country's other football codes, all of which are traditionally winter sports, the A-League season spans two calendar years, meaning that it runs parallel to most northern hemisphere leagues.
The top women's league is the W-League, which has 9 teams (as of 2019) that are mostly run by A-League sides. The season runs at the same time as the A-League, though women's teams typically play in smaller stadiums than those of the men's league. Notably, many top W-League players head north to play in the NWSL in the US, which plays during the northern summer.
China
Football has been the country's most popular spectator sport since the turn of the 20th century. The top competition is the Chinese Super League (website in Chinese only), which has 16 teams (as of 2019).
Japan
Baseball has been Japan's most popular sport since before World War II, but football, locally called sakka (from "soccer"), has steadily grown in popularity since the 1990s.The country supports a men's professional league system known as the J.League, with its top level being the J1 League.
Europe
- Main article: Association football in Europe
While many other areas have fans that are no less passionate, Europe stands out for the for the sheer quality of its domestic leagues, which are head and shoulders above those in the rest of the world. The dream of most top players from all around the world is to play for one of Europe's top clubs such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Bayern München or Juventus, and Europe's continental club competition, the UEFA Champions League is widely regarded to be best in the world. Most die-hard fans regard the quality of football in the UEFA Champions League to be even higher than that in the FIFA World Cup. Men's national teams compete in the UEFA European Championship, more commonly known as Euro (year), held in the middle year of the FIFA World Cup cycle (also the same year as the Summer Olympics).
North America
Association football (at least the men's version) is generally a fringe sport in the two main English-speaking nations of the United States and Canada, though it is the national sport of several Spanish-speaking countries in the region. The main continental club competition of North America is the CONCACAF Champions League, which has been dominated by Mexican clubs, with Costa Rican and American clubs occasionally breaking the Mexican stranglehold on the competition. Men's national teams compete in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, held in odd-numbered years.
Mexico
Football is the national sport of Mexico, and while the Mexican national team has somewhat languished behind those of South America, there is no shortage of passion from Mexican football fans. The top domestic league in Mexico is the Liga MX. Though many rivalries exist, by far the largest one is El Súper Clásico between Mexico City-based América and Guadalajara-based Chivas, with matches between the two sides guaranteed to sell out way in advance.
United States
Though its popularity still lags far behind the three biggest sports of American football, baseball, and basketball, soccer has enjoyed a major surge in popularity in the U.S. since the 2000s, thanks in part to a growing Latino population, and the U.S. men's national soccer team has performed decently in the World Cup since 2002. MLS (Major League Soccer) will have 26 teams in the 2020 season—23 in the U.S. plus three in Canada, with four more U.S. teams to be added by 2022. Its Designated Player Rule (which allows each team to exceed the league's salary cap to sign up to three players) has made it a preferred destination for top players from European leagues who are past their prime as well as younger talent from around the world. Because of the schedules of other U.S. sports, the MLS regular season runs March to October, with MLS Cup playoffs from October to December.
In women's soccer, the U.S. is the world's dominant force, having won more Olympic gold medals and World Cups than any other team. The country's main league is the NWSL (National Women's Soccer League), which unlike MLS operates solely in the US. The league has 9 teams as of 2019, with one more confirmed to be joining in 2021. The NWSL season largely parallels the MLS season, but ends earlier, with the playoffs ending in late October.
Canada
Much like its neighbour to the south, Canada has been slow to embrace soccer, with the sports landscape dominated by ice hockey. That said, soccer has boomed in the 21st century, especially in the country's three largest metropolitan areas of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, which all field MLS teams. In 2019, the country launched a new top-level men's league, the Canadian Premier League, initially with 7 teams. Although Canada's soccer authorities consider the CPL its top professional level, MLS is clearly superior to the CPL in both level of play and popularity. In fact, the league chose to largely avoid competition with MLS, placing only one of its charter teams in an MLS market. The CPL regular season runs from late April to October, and is split into two halves (much like many Latin American leagues). The winners of the two halves of the season meet in a one-off match for the overall championship. (If a team wins both halves of the season, the final instead involves that team and the second-placed team over the entire season.)
Canada has no top-level women's competition, though like the U.S., its women's national team performs much better than the men's counterpart on the international stage. The country's national federation instead helps fund the NWSL, and its national team players have guaranteed access to roster slots in that league.
South America
Along with Europe, South America is generally considered to produce the world's best footballers, and their fans are certainly no less passionate, with violent incidents between fans of opposing sides being a regular occurrence. The main continental club competition in South America is known as the Copa Libertadores. Men's national teams compete in the Copa América; from 2020, it will be held in the middle year of the FIFA World Cup cycle (also the same year as the Summer Olympics and UEFA Euro).
Argentina
Argentinians take their football very seriously, the top division in Argentinian domestic football is the Primera División, also known as the Superliga. Perhaps no match anywhere else in the world inspires more passion than Superclásico between the Buenos Aires teams of River Plate and Boca Juniors, with Boca Juniors traditionally regarded as the club of the working class, and River Plate traditionally regarded as the club of the upper class. The rivalry is so acrimonious that rioting, and even stabbings between fans of both sides are a regular occurrence.
Brazil
Perhaps no other country is better known for its football than Brazil. The Brazilian style of football is particularly known for its beauty, and if often called samba football. The top domestic competition in Brazil is the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, also known as the Brasileirão. As would be expected of a country so passionate about its football, there are numerous rivalries that exist throughout the country. Some of the more famous ones are Fla-Flu between the Rio de Janeiro sides Flamengo and Fluminense; the Derby Paulista between the São Paulo sides Palmeiras and Corinthians, and Grenal between the Porto Alegre sides Grêmio and Internacional.
Uruguay
Uruguay has a proud footballing tradition, having produced numerous world-class players and won two FIFA World Cups despite having a population of only 3 million. The top domestic football competition in Uruguay is the Primera División. The Clásico del fútbol uruguayo between the two Montevideo clubs of Peñarol and Nacional is the biggest football rivalry in Uruguay, and matches between the two sides are guaranteed to draw partisan sellout crowds.