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Old Posted Jul 15, 2005, 10:24 AM
nito nito is offline
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Not long to go now








Owlhorn - One of the better legacies of the British Empire I might add was indeed football, rugby, hockey, cricket, golf, tennis, etc... Then again other nations have adopted these sports. China's favourite sport is now football (overtaking ping-pong/table tennis around 6 years ago), then you have Brazil and Argentina - two countries with some of the most immense football histories of any nation around but they were not British colonies (although Britain did influence them at one time or another). In these countries people have committed suicide (famously several people did so when Brazil lost at home in the Maracana). If you go to South + Central America, Europe, Asia and Africa the majority of countries will support one dominant sport: football. Cricket is the 2nd most played sport in the world and this is mainly due to it being the dominant sport in old British India (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh), Australia, various African countries and amongst the islands in the Caribbean.

In the US the preferred sport to play if your female is football (soccer) and the fastest growing male sport is none other than football. Also to add to the debate we are having here, baseball is a spur sport from cricket and rounders (both invented in the UK), American Football is a spin-off/reaction to rugby (also invented in the UK) and ice hockey too is a spin off from traditional hockey played on grass (also a game invented in the UK).

Sports invented in the UK simply don't just dominate former colonies, they dominate other countries that Britain had very little influence over (eg China, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, Turkey, etc) when compared to say Australia, India, South Africa, etc... I also believe FIFA estimated that within 15 years football would be the dominant sport in the US. London just so happens to be at the crossroads of most of these sports in terms of history and stadiums - more so than any other city in the world. New York for instance by 2012 will have only 3 stadiums and arenas above 20,000 all-seating.....London will have 15 stadiums and arenas above 20,000 all-seating, including 3 80,000+ stadiums. No other city on the planet has the history, the sporting legacy, the impact on global sport and the stadium capacity that London has and continues to expand on.
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