Football is considered to be the Number One sport in the world.

It’s played by hundreds of millions of people, and watched by billions on TV.

But why are some countries more attached to football than others?

For historical reasons. Football came from ball games played in Europe for centuries.

The rules of the sport as we know it were made in England over 150 years ago.

Soon football travelled abroad, thanks especially to British workers working on the railroads.

Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil, were among the first countries outside Europe to become “Football countries”.

Football arrived in Africa at the end of the 19th century when the United Kingdom and other countries colonized the continent.

As you only need a football to play with, it soon became very popular in poorer areas.

Nearly all over the world, young people dreamed of joining famous clubs to escape poverty.

There are exceptions however, like the US, where American Football or Basketball is more popular.

But even there, “soccer” finally made its mark. The US women’s team have even been world champions 3 times.

And China, which has never been a football nation, is investing lots of money to try and catch up.