Why is football soccer the most popular sport in the world?

There are a number of other reasons.Thumps up to Akhil Kadangode for touching up on the technical aspects.I will touch upon some others--

The Game Itself - Football is a really fast paced and beautiful game.Sure there are others like Basketball or Hockey.But when you see a ball being handled like how Barcelona or Arsenal (the T.Henry and Fabregas era) does it you begin to wonder if its really a ball.They dont just pass it.They caress it.Its like the musical symphony of Beethoven.Everything seems infinitesimally small when it plays.You have the entire field in front of you and as the ball moves from one player to another,people feel a kind of tension building that ends only when either a goal is scored or The attack is cut short.

The Style Icons - Football whether American or European, has always been responsible for producing such great Fashionistas who inspire Generation X or Y or Z to continously experiment in terms of how they look.Everybody wants to have the hairstyle that Beckham has(which he continously changes at ridiculous speeds) or the abs of Cristiano Ronaldo.Even the ridiculous frontal tuft of Ronaldo the Brazilian was copied to the limit.This desire of people to be " almost-mirror " images(a true oxymoron) of their gods makes them highly participative of the Game.

The Pride - Sure many people would argue that people they personally know or friends of friends they Know may have turned to the Game just for the sake of peer pressure.But apart from these people let me inform that

there is a large percentage of people eho may not stand when the national anthem is placed (no offence intended) and yet feel a patriotic feeling when the country they support plays.Club wise,there is a larger percentage of people

who take pride in the fact that they are supporters of a particular club for whatever reasons.

The WAGS - Lets face it.Football WAGS are hot.If girls like Sylvia Van der Waart and Irina Shayk continue to come to their boyfriends' games,Many would watch.

The Media - A recurrent query that often comes up from newbies is "How I was exposed to football".My oftenly uttered response os something related to the Media.Even before I understood terms like "style of play", I would watch Players being dressed as

greek gods and fighting mythical creatures.When you are 9 and you dont understand CGI,you kind of believe everything that is shown to you.

Moreover the media also focusses on the "rags to riches story" of several footballers(think of any brazilian star) as well as "rich spoilt brats gone bad".Both can be seen as inspirations to people for different reasons(what not to be and what to definitely be).

The History - I am a personal supporter of Manchester United and I consider the Image of the "Busby Babes" as one of the most iconic images in my football collection.

I often see people ridiculing other clubs (wont name any) because of their lack of history.But the fact is that every club has some History attached to it which you will get to know only if you dig deep enough.For example,many of us

dont no that Real Madrid offered its top strikers and midfielders in an attempt to allow Manchester United to rebuild their team after the Munich Air Disaster.How can anyone not respect Real Madrid for that?

Peer Pressure - Suppose you are walking to your office,following that same routine which you do everyday.Suddenly you see a crowd gathered at a random corner of the street which you may not visited over the last 20 years or so.There is a huge probablity that you will walk up to the scene and measure up the surounding just to get that little curiousity quenched.

Brains of many of us are built like that (at least mine is).When some noob ( no pun intended) sees people shouting their lungs put in front of a television or people moving like a wave in the live telecast of the stadium

he/she is almost sure to check it out,even if he/she may later walk away disinterested.The Excitement,The Screaming,The roaring...It all attracts people.

The Antics - I remember watching Karl Power get photographed with Manchester United ( if you havent seen it here is the video

Do you see that incredulous look on most of the players faces?? I couldnt stop laughing at both the helplessness of the players and the daring of that man.Hats off Power!!

Do you see how immediately you are able to get attracted to the antics?This somehow does work in favour of the TRPs.So controversies regarding how Mancini was pushed and shoved by either Tevez or Balotelli are sure to attract eyeballs.

The Bussiness - Since I am including different points of view,I think its safe to mention that Football offers a very wide bussiness perspective.Ask any Newcastle Fan.From being one of the down-in-the-table teams New Castle has really changed how the game is commercialized.With their shrewd decisions and an effective manager they are one of the "phoenix" clubs.Many people become supportive of clubs and hence of their subsequent play-offs.