Sports Around the World: A Global Game Hunt

Close your eyes for five seconds and picture as many sports as you can. Open your eyes and count them. Did you think of sports from your own country, or from somewhere else in the world? There are hundreds of sports played across our planet — some are famous everywhere, and some are only known in one small region. Today you are going on a trip around the world without leaving your seat!

Every sport was invented somewhere. Let's travel the globe and meet six amazing sports. 🇧🇷 BRAZIL — Capoeira Capoeira (say: cap-oh-AY-rah) started in Brazil hundreds of years ago. It mixes martial arts, dance, and music all together. Players move in a flowing, rhythmic way and never actually hit each other — it looks like a dance duel! A musical instrument called the berimbau is played during the game. 🇯🇵 JAPAN — Sumo Sumo is a form of wrestling from Japan. Two large, powerful wrestlers called rikishi try to push each other out of a circular ring called a dohyo. The first player to step outside the ring or touch the ground with anything other than their feet loses. 🏏 SOUTH ASIA — Cricket Cricket is hugely popular in countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies. Two teams of eleven players use a bat and a ball. A batter tries to hit the ball and score runs, while the other team tries to get them out. Test matches can last up to five days! 🇰🇪 KENYA & EAST AFRICA — Long-Distance Running Kenya and Ethiopia are world-famous for producing brilliant long-distance runners. Running long distances across open land has been part of everyday life and culture there for centuries. Athletes from these countries regularly win major world marathons. 🏹 MONGOLIA — Archery Archery — shooting arrows at a target with a bow — is one of the Three Manly Games in Mongolia, along with horse riding and wrestling. It is part of the Naadam festival, a huge celebration held every year in July. 🏄 HAWAII / POLYNESIA — Surfing Surfing was practised by the Polynesian people of Hawaii over a thousand years ago. Surfers stand on a long board and ride ocean waves to the shore. It is now an Olympic sport enjoyed by millions of people worldwide. Sports spread around the world because people travel, share ideas, and love to play. Many sports you know today were once only played in one country!