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Top 10 popular sports

The excitement associated with sporting events hasn’t spared Canada. Which sports are most popular depends on geographical factors and the number of spectators at sporting events. The most popular sports for in Canada are listed below.

Hockey

The popularity of hockey in the USA or Canada is noticeably higher than that of football. The climate makes ice hockey one of the most popular sports. There are approximately seven teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), namely:

  • Winnipeg;
  • Toronto;
  • Ottawa;
  • Edmonton;
  • Montreal;
  • Calgary.

That’s why the NHL is what most Canadians watch. The 2018 NHL playoffs were watched by about 68% of the Canadian population. This fact further validates hockey as the most popular sport in Canada.

The richest and most popular league in hockey is the NHL which has assembled the best hockey players in the world, huge salaries, giant sums for TV rights.

Golf

Since its introduction to Canada in the fifteenth century, golf has gained considerable attention and prominence in the country. There are several professional golfers in Canada who continue to delight amateurs with their antics.

There are more than 100 golf courses in Canada. The Canadian Open and other high-level tournaments that attract some of the sport’s biggest names to the country increase public awareness of the sport.

Rugby

rugby union attracts many younger and up to 13 older players across the country. This has contributed to the sport becoming moderately popular in Canada.

Rugby union and rugby league have continued to gain popularity in Canada since their creation by the Royal Navy in 1823. There are about 29 top rugby players in Canada.

Several national tournaments, such as the Canadian Rugby Championship, and continental tournaments, such as the American Rugby Championship, have taken rugby internationally. Canada is considered a second-tier rugby nation. 

Basketball

Although the inventor of basketball, James Naismith, is Canadian, the sport is not Canada’s most popular sport. On the world stage, Canada competes in a variety of international basketball tournaments such as 

  • FIBA Basketball World Cup;
  • Summer Olympics.

2019 has been a truly fantastic year for basketball fans in Canada. The Toronto Raptors, the national basketball team based in the city of Toronto, defeated the most undefeated team in the world, the Golden State Warriors, to win the NBA championship. With 15.9 million Canadians attending the NBA Finals, 44% of the population went to the game.

In addition, the richest companies, including bookmakers, sponsor sports clubs in basketball. So the website accepts bets on all sports.

Cricket

Cricket in Canada is run by Cricket Canada, an organization founded in 1892. This body organizes domestic interprovincial games, as well as introducing domestic competitions such as:

  • Scotia Shield U-19;
  • National T20 Championship.

Canada is not allowed to participate in Test matches but the national team is allowed to participate in one-day international matches. The country has a very competitive women’s cricket team and an U-19 team that has participated in three U-19 World Cups.

Written by Thomas Hein

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