Why Soccer is the Best Sport (11 Reasons)

I am sure you have asked yourself the question – what is the best sport? Or maybe what is the most popular sport in the world. If you live in the United States your first thought was probably football, basketball or baseball, but you just might be a bit surprised to find out the answer.

Ranking first in the world with over 3.5 billion fans, Soccer is recognized across the world as the most popular sport. It currently ranks ahead of cricket, tennis, volleyball, table tennis and basketball. (See complete chart below).

The game brings constant movement and entertainment. Scoring a goal is something truly special and athletes who play the game are some of the best conditioned and talented athletes.

Below we provide our top 11 reasons why soccer is the best sport!

We follow with Tips to help you improve your soccer skills. We all want to play at a higher level or want to support someone we care for in their journey with soccer. We love to provide some tips and drills that you can utilize today.

# 1 Kids Can Start at a Young Age

Soccer is a great first sport for kids. It is easy to understand and the ball is in constant motion. With the ball being on the ground for the most part, the action continues as kids run around the field looking for an opportunity to pass or kick the ball. The game is easy for kids to understand as the goal is simple – kick the ball in the goal.

Many kids will develop and stay with the game and others might move onto other sports. It is easy to keep a kid’s attention throughout the soccer game, unlike baseball where you might see kids picking dandelions in the outfield, as one player is pitching and player is hitting. Not in soccer, all the players on the field have a role and are active in the game.

#2 Not Expensive to Get Started

For a family with multiple kids, some shin guards and some soccer shoes are a cheap way to get started in the game. The game, other than playing for club soccer or different leagues, never really gets expensive.

Pickup games can take place at local fitness centers or at the local park. All you need are a couple of goals and a soccer ball. In the area I live in, it is common to see pickup games with people of all ages and backgrounds playing together and competing for bragging rights.

#3 Constant Movement and Actions

The ball is in constant motion, you don’t have the wait for a free throw like in basketball or the incredible amount of stoppages of play in football, instead the ball is in constant motion and there is movement and action throughout the field.

This is great to keep a kids attention and even the fans. At the professional level, there isn’t commercial after commercial, but instead the game only stops at halftime. You know how long the game will take on average and the action is consistent.

There is nothing like the end of a close soccer game with the amount of tension and fans on the edge of their seat seeing if that next goal can be scored.

How far do soccer players run during a game?

# 4 Great Exercise

Since the ball is in constant motion, the majority of the players are also in constant motion looking for ways to contribute to the game and achieve the mission of scoring a goal. The game can help someone get in shape or stay in shape.

Did you know that the average size person can burn up to 700 calories an hour playing soccer? If you are someone looking to get in shape and want to start playing soccer, you have the perfect combination!

Also, the footwork skills developed will help you in other sports that might interest you. The cross training aspect of soccer is beneficial for many sports.

Chart on Popularity of Sports Throughout the World

Rank	Sport	Estimated Fans
1	Soccer/Association Football	3.5 Billion
2	Cricket	2.5 Billion
3	Basketball	2.2 Billion
4	Field Hockey	2 Billion
5	Tennis	1 Billion
6	Volleyball	900 Million
7	Table Tennis	850 Million
8	Baseball	500 Million
9	American Football	410 Million
10	Golf	390 Million

Source: https://sportsshow.net/top-10-most-popular-sports-in-the-world/

#5 The World Cup

Have you ever watched a World Cup Soccer Match? It is truly something special. The amount of passion and tension in the games are incredible. The players and the fans all want to win greatly and you can see it in the effort on the field.

The several weeks that the World Cup takes up every four years is must watch television, even if Soccer isn’t your number one sport. Our family tries not to miss a game and we love having Soccer playing during those summer months.

With soccer being a simple sport to understand, even the casual fan can enjoy the competition and the massive importance of the goal and the win! The women’s world cup has grown substantially in the last 20 years. Young girls now have a team to follow and roles models to look up to!

#6 Passionate Fans

While the fans in America are crazy about their football teams, I am not sure it reaches the level of passion of Soccer fans. Unfortunately, this passion can lead to some bad situations, but for the most part the passion behind their teams is phenomenal and highly impressive.

They love their team and want to see their team win. The World Cup is special as it only happens every four years, which brings that extra level of passion to the game. As a father of a girl that loves Soccer, the women on the US team have become role models and someone that she can look up to as a passionate fan.

It is awesome for kids to have positive role models and people that are great athletes on the field and even better people off the field!

#7 Great Team Sport

Soccer truly is a team sport. With 11 playing for a team, the single player is not able to do it all on their own. They must utilize their teammates and work the ball around to provide opportunities to score a goal.

The passing that it takes to move the ball up the field requires a high level of skill and the players must work together. While the start forward or the star goalie is easy to spot in a game, they still must utilize their teammates to have a chance to win the game.

Kids from an early age must learn to utilize their teammates and work together to accomplish a goal. Many of us enjoy the life lessons that are developed through sports and Soccer does a great job of that!

It takes all 11 players to win as a team!

#8 Develops Athletes

Some of the best athletes in other sports got their start in soccer. The first and maybe the most famous is Kobe Bryant. He had a true love for the game of Soccer and it is part of his legacy. If you are a father, looking to get your son started in american football, understand some of the major benefits of playing soccer as well.

The footwork and the other athletic skill required to play soccer is a great way to build an amazing foundation for your son. Check out our list below, you will see wide receivers, linemen and quarterbacks that got their start in soccer.

Also, you might be surprised to see the number of NBA stars that played on our list below. Steve Nash and Jason Kidd were phenomenal point guards who could direct traffic with the best of them. Also, Hakeem Olajuwon was an amazing big man with some of the most impressive footwork.

All three of these stars definitely gained some skill from their time in soccer.

Athlete	Sport	Played Soccer as a Kid
Chad Johnson	Football	✅
Odell Beckham Jr.	Football	✅
Wes Welker	Football	✅
Andrew Luck	Football	✅
Marcus Mariota	Football	✅
Ndamukong Suh	Football	✅
Kobe Bryant	Basketball	✅
Steve Nash	Basketball	✅
Jason Kidd	Basketball	✅
Pau Gasol	Basketball	✅
Hakeem Olajuwon	Basketball	✅
Vlade Divac	Basketball	✅

Here is an amazing video of Odell Beckham Jr showing up his soccer skill:

Although Soccer is a great beginner level game, the amount of footwork that it takes to play a higher level is significant. The skill of the game can impress fans and wow them when certain kick, passes or dribble skills are put on display.

This level of dedication that it takes to develop these footwork skills carries over as life lessons in other areas of life. You quickly learn the value of time and dedication to a craft and skill development. Youngsters quickly make the connection between hard work and success.

#9 Great Life Lessons

In soccer there are many life lessons that people of all ages, but especially kids and youth players can learn from soccer. Here is a list of our top life lessons from soccer:

It takes hard work to be good at something.
Teammates are essential to your overall success as an individual.

You win as a team and lose as a team.
Failure is going to happen. You are going to lose, how you adjust and learn from that loss will define you as a player. Failure is ok, it is ultimately a life lesson and great feedback. Even the best failure many times, but it’s how you recover.
When your coach yells at you or instructs you, he or she is trying to help you be a better player. Do not take it personal, instead take the feedback, consider it and work to get better. When a coach stops instructoring or yelling at you, you should be concerned.

Skill development must take place frequently. How hard are you willing to work outside of the structured team practice to get better? The best, practice frequently and work on their skill continuously.

#10 Easy to Understand as a Fan

If someone has never seen a soccer game before, chances are the first time they are watching they can get a pretty decent understanding of the objective of the game. This makes soccer popular because it is simple to understand and easy to enjoy.

As we have talked about, the movement and action are constant and there are fewer rules than other sports that can be confusing. The most confusing rules is offsides for the beginner soccer fan, but even that can be explained pretty reasonably.

#11 The Excitement of a Goal

So we have one last thing that we believe makes soccer the best sport. That is the goal. The excitement that takes place from a goal scored is truly incredible. We love the call by certain announcements when the goal does happen and the response of the players, running around and sliding through the grass. Here are some legendary last minute goals:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHwbpH6pzqw

Tips to Help You Improve Your Soccer Skills

Ball Handling

This is the most essential part of the game. A player must be able to handle the ball and make one or two touches before making a pass. The footwork is essential as well as being able to see the field and distribute the ball. There are many that believe you need to get many touches a day to truly improve with your ball handling.

Passing

The second most important part of the game. A player after handling the ball, must be able to decide the best passing option and then be able to execute that pass. Too often, one of those two areas above breaks down and the player might lose the ball. Now that you have some drills for footwork, here are some additional drills to help with your passing. We picked a video that highlights how you can practice passing by yourself. You just need to find a wall. Check it out here:

Shooting

The third essential part of the game is being able to score through a solid shot. You want to be the player that can put the ball in the back of the goal for your team. The reality is that you must score some goals in order to win. Scoring is a skill that must be developed. You have to be able to stay calm and execute. Field vision is essential in all of these three areas and you must get out and play as well as practice. Here is another set of drills you can complete by yourself:

Take Action…

These three drills above are all great to develop your individual essential skills required to play soccer at a high level. Find a quality team and coach that can help develop your skills as well.

All of the individual skill work will help you get better, but you also need plenty of game reps to be able to practice your skills and to develop field awareness. It takes many games and quality coaching to help you understand the game and the proper way to play it.

It will take time to figure out teammates and understand strengths and weakness in your own game and your teammates. Never forget that Soccer is just a game and it is supposed to be fun. Make sure the fun and the life lessons remain the top priorities!