TheNorth American continent is the birthplace of several organized sports, such asbasketball,charrería/rodeo,gridiron football,ice hockey,jaripeo/bull riding,lacrosse,ollamaliztl (ancient Mesoamerican sport),mixed martial arts (MMA),padel,pickleball,racquetball,ultimate ("ultimate frisbee"), andvolleyball. The modern versions ofbaseball andsoftball,skateboarding,snowboarding,stock car racing, andsurfing also developed in North America.
Sports leagues in North America use a mix of organizational structures. While common in other parts of the world, not all North American countries use thepromotion-relegation (Pro-Rel) system for theirassociation football/soccer leagues. Notably, Mexico's league has temporarily suspended its Pro-Rel system but is expected to being reinstated in the coming years. Leagues of other sports generally have aclosed league using a franchise system.
Liga MX soccer,Major League Baseball (MLB),Major League Soccer (MLS), theNational Basketball Association (NBA), theNational Football League (NFL), theNational Hockey League (NHL),NCAA College Basketball/March Madness,Power Four College Football (Power Conferences), and theUltimate Fighting Championship (UFC) MMA, are the predominant sports organizations in the North American sports landscape.
Other notable sports organizations include lower level sports leagues/orgs such asBellator MMA (Bellator), theCanadian Football League (CFL),Caribbean Series baseball,NCAA College Baseball/World Series,Group of Five College Football, theMexican League (LMP,Liga Mexicana de Béisbol), theMexican Pacific League (LMP,Liga Mexicana del Pacífico),Minor League Baseball (MiLB),NASCAR auto racing,PGA Tour golf,Premier Boxing Champions (PBC),Top Rank boxing,USL Championship soccer (USL),US Open (tennis). There are also many notable Women's sports leagues/orgs such asLiga MX Femenil,LPGA Tour golf, theNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL),NCAA Women's College Basketball, thePremier Hockey Federation (PHF), theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and theWomen's Tennis Association (WTA).
Association football (soccer) is the most popular sport inNorth America. 27% of the sports fans in theUSA are interested in association football.[1] 73% of theMexicans support aLiga MX club.[2] 15% ofCanadians see themselves as association football fans.[3] Association football is also the most popular sport inGuatemala, the fourth-most populated country inNorth America.
Unqualified,football is generally understood to refer to whichever form of football is the most popular in the regional context in which the word appears. For example, "football" unqualified primarily refers to American football in the US, Canadian football in Canada, and association football in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. The wordsoccer is used to refer to association football by many people in the US and Canada.
CONCACAF is the continental governing body for association football in North America, and runs two visible tournaments: theGold Cup and the Champions League[4] The Gold Cup is competed every two years among themen's national teams to determine the regional champion of North America. TheChampions League is an annual continental competition for the top football clubs in North America, with the winner advancing to theFIFA Club World Cup.
Liga MX is North America's most popular association football league with an average attendance of 25,557 during the2014–15 season.[5] It forms the top level of theMexican men's, four-level league system, withAscenso MX,Segunda División de México, andTercera División de México. This Mexican league system usespromotion and relegation, where teams are transferred between levels based on their final records at the end of the season. For women, theSuper Liga Femenil de Fútbol is at the top level.
The men's professional soccer league systems in boththe U.S. andCanada instead primarily use the closed, franchise model which primarily always has the same teams playing.Major League Soccer (MLS) represents the highest level, while the second level consists of theUSL Championship. Although the MLS has teams in both countries, they are only sanctioned by theUnited States Soccer Federation (USSF), the governing body of soccer in the United States. For women' professional soccer, theNational Women's Soccer League is at the top level, andUnited Women's Soccer andWomen's Premier Soccer League are at the second level.College soccer is played both in the U.S. and Canada, with top players often going on to play professional.
Other countries with multi-level professional league systems includeCosta Rica,El Salvador,Guatemala,Honduras,Jamaica,Nicaragua, andPanama. Most of these use promotion and regulation.
The top three most popular football clubs on social media from North America as of 25 March 2021:[6]
| # | Football club | Country | Followers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Club América | Mexico | 36 million |
| 2 | CD Guadalajara | Mexico | 13 million |
| 3 | Cruz Azul | Mexico | 6.6 million |
Baseball evolvedfrom older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America,where the modern version developed. By the late 19th century, baseball was widely recognized as thenational sport of the United States. The sport is currently popular in various other North American countries.
In the U.S. and Canada,Major League Baseball (MLB) is the top professional level of baseball, whileMinor League Baseball (MiLB) comprises several levels and multiple component leagues below MLB. MiLB also has teams and component leagues in Mexico, with theMexican Baseball League (LMB;Liga Mexicana de Béisbol), and in the Dominican Republic, with theDominican Summer League.[7] The relationship between MLB and MilB is also the closed, franchise model, which has the same teams playing, and where theplayers are transferred between levels. Though not associated with MLB, the independentMexican Pacific League (LMP;Liga Mexicana del Pacífico) is perhaps the top league in Mexico (winter league), comparable to the LMB (summer league).
Other professional leagues in North America include theDominican Professional Baseball League, theNicaraguan Professional Baseball League, thePanamanian Professional Baseball League, and theLiga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente in Puerto Rico.
TheCuban National Series is the primary domestic amateur baseball competition in Cuba. It forms part of theCuban baseball league system, run by theBaseball Federation of Cuba, the governing body of baseball in that country.Amateur baseball in the United States consists of various organizations. Primarily because of MiLB,college baseball in the U.S. plays a smaller role in developing professional players than what college football and basketball do with its players. Amateur baseball in Canada includesLigue de Baseball Élite du Québec, theNew Brunswick Senior Baseball League, and theNova Scotia Senior Baseball League.
Canadian Dr.James Naismith is credited with creating the game ofbasketball in 1891.[8] While working as a physical education professor and instructor at the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School[9] (YMCA) (today,Springfield College) inSpringfield,Massachusetts, U.S., he primarily created the game as a way to could keep his gym class active indoors on a rainy day.[8] The sport quickly spread throughout the U.S. and Canada, with Naismith becoming instrumental in establishingcollege basketball.
Today, theNational Basketball Association (NBA), with teams in the U.S. and one in Canada, is widely considered to be the highest level ofprofessional basketball in the world, and NBA players are the world's best paid athletes by average annual salary per player.[10][11] The NBA operates a minor league basketball organization, theNBA Development League, to help develop players. However, like the relationship between college football and the NFL, college basketball acts as the primary suppliers of players to the NBA.
TheLiga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional, is the top professional basketball league in Mexico, whileLiga Nacional de Baloncesto is the top one in the Dominican Republic. TheBaloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) has teams in Puerto Rico.
The NBA also runs theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA), with many teams having direct NBA counterparts and playing in the same arenas. Similarly, theBaloncesto Superior Nacional Femenino (BSNF) is the women's counterpart professional league to the BSN in Puerto Rico.
College basketball (particularly regardingNCAA Division I men's college basketball), technically considered an amateur sport, is as prominent in the U.S. as some of the major professional sports leagues around the world. College basketball draws average viewership of 10.7 million per game for its annual"March Madness" tournament.[12] By and large, most future NBA players come from these collegiate basketball programs, serving as the feeder system to the NBA.
North America is the birthplace ofgridiron football, the form offootball that originally developed, and is primarily played, in the U.S. and Canada.[13] Both major forms,American football andCanadian football, developed in the late 19th century out of the original games now known asrugby football andassociation football. Gridiron football is distinguished by theforward pass, thesystem of downs, aline of scrimmage, measurements inyards, players wearing hard plastichelmets and shoulder pads, more specialistpositions andformations, among others.Walter Camp, known as the "Father of American Football", is credited with creating the system of downs and line of scrimmage rules in the 1880s that originally differentiate gridiron football from its older counterparts.[14] Canada would later implement similar rules when theOntario Rugby Football Union adopted theBurnside rules in 1903.[15]
TheNational Football League (NFL) is the highest professional level of American football in the world,[16] with teams across the United States.College football in the U.S. is primarily organized by the NCAA. The NCAA further divides its Division I football teams into theFootball Bowl Subdivision and theFootball Championship Subdivision. The Football Bowl Subdivision has the largest and most competitive schools, and is noted for its system of postseasonbowl games.
USA Football is thegoverning body for amateur American football in the U.S., and is a member of theInternational Federation of American Football (IFAF), the international governing body of American football associations. Several other North American counties are a part ofIFAF Americas, the federation of IFAF members in the Americas.
In Mexico, theLiga de Fútbol Americano Profesional is the professional league, whileONEFA organizes college football.
TheCanadian Football League (CFL) is the highest professional level of Canadian football, with teams across Canada. Teams from Canadian universities compete inU Sports football. TheCanadian Junior Football League andQuebec Junior Football League field teams with players aged 18–22.
Football Canada is the governing body for amateur Canadian football. Although it primarily focuses on the Canadian form of the game, it is also a member of the International Federation of American Football.
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Montreal, Canada, is recognized as the birthplace of organized contemporaryice hockey.[17] On March 3, 1875, thefirst organized indoor game was played at Montreal'sVictoria Skating Rink.
With teams in both Canada and the U.S., theNational Hockey League (NHL) is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world,[18] TheAmerican Hockey League (AHL) then serves as the primary developmental minor league for the NHL, with theECHL being at the third level. There are also a professional women's league: theNational Women's Hockey League with teams in the Northeastern U.S..Junior ice hockey is played in both countries by players between 16 and 21 years of age. In Canada, the highest level is known asMajor Junior, and is governed by theCanadian Hockey League, which itself has three constituent leagues: theOntario Hockey League,Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and theWestern Hockey League. The second level,Junior A is governed by theCanadian Junior Hockey League. The lower levels,Junior B andJunior C, are run by various other leagues. In the U.S., the top level is represented by theUnited States Hockey League, the second level is represented by theNorth American Hockey League, and then there are several leagues at the third level.
Liga Mexicana Élite is the top-level league in Mexico, where ice hockey is not popular, but slowly growing.[19]
Cricket in the West Indies is the second most popular sport in theCaribbean afterassociation football.[20] Originally introduced to theWest Indies by British colonists, the sport's popularity spread and became a major part ofWest Indian culture. Domestic competitions organised across the whole of theWest Indies include theRegional Four Day Competition (First-class), theRegional Super50 (List A) and theCaribbean Premier League (Twenty20). A single governing body, theWest Indies Cricket Board, organizes cricket in over a dozen mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries and dependencies.
Conversely,Cricket in Canada is a minor sport, which is unusual among the former Dominions of theBritish Empire.Cricket Canada, the governing body of the sport in Canada, has organized several domestic inter-provincial cricket competitions such as the CIBC National Cricket League and theTJT National Cricket League.
Cricket in the United States has not been historically popular in the States, as Baseball, another summertimebat and ball sport, is favored as U.S. pastime.[21] And secondly, when theInternational Cricket Council was formed in 1909 as cricket's international governing body, it was open only to Commonwealth nations and thereby excluded the U.S. from participating in the sport at the highest level.[22] There have also been several attempts to form professional cricket leagues, but some like theAmerican Premier League never got off the ground, and others likePro Cricket only lasted for one year. However,USA Cricket, the governing body of the sport in the U.S., is currently administeringMajor League Cricket, the highest level ofT20 cricket played in the country.
While Boxing is a global sport, North America has a strong and lengthy history of dominance in the sport. The U.S. and Mexico have produced the 1st and 2nd most world champions in boxing history, while Puerto Rico, Panama, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic have produced the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th most world champions per capita in boxing history, respectively (as of January 2021).[23] At the amateur levelBoxing in Cuba remains popular, with about 19,000 boxers hailing from that country.[24] It is also a major sport in Mexico, having produced over 179professional world champions.[25]Boxing in Canada has been practiced in that country since before theCanadian Confederation in 1867. Asfor the United States, it became the center ofprofessional boxing in the early 20th century.[26]
All four of the major world sanctioning bodies in boxing are based in North America: theInternational Boxing Federation (Springfield, New Jersey), theWorld Boxing Association (Panama City), theWorld Boxing Council (Mexico City), and theWorld Boxing Organization (San Juan, Puerto Rico).
Three of the fourmen's major golf championships are held in North America: theMasters Tournament, theU.S. Open, and thePGA Championship. Three of the fivewomen's major golf championships are also played on the continent: theANA Inspiration, theWomen's PGA Championship, and theUnited States Women's Open Championship.
ThePGA Tour and theLPGA Tour are both headquartered in Florida.
A few North American countries hold their ownTriple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing series. TheTriple Crown in the United States consists of theKentucky Derby, thePreakness Stakes, and theBelmont Stakes. TheCanadian Triple Crown has theQueen's Plate, thePrince of Wales Stakes, and theBreeders' Stakes. TheBarbados Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing includes the Barbados Guineas, the Midsummer Creole Classic, and the Barbados Derby. All three races in theMexican Triple Crown series are held at theHipódromo de las Américas inMexico City.
The Triple Crowns for bothpacers andtrotters are both held in the United States.
TheBreeders' Cup, the annual series ofGrade IThoroughbred horse races, has been held in both the United States and Canada.
A relatively new sport,mixed martial arts (MMA) was first sanctioned and codified by theCalifornia State Athletic Commission (CSAC) and theNew Jersey State Athletic Control Board (SACB) in the year 2000, establishing the official rules of the modern version of the sport. Various versions of the sport have existed going back to antiquity;Lei tai in China,Pankration in Greece.
Auto racing is also popular in North America.INDYCAR andNASCAR are both headquartered in the United States, with theIndianapolis 500 and theNASCAR Cup Series being their top competitions, respectively.Grands Prix inFormula One are held inCanada,Mexico and theUnited States.
Tennis is popular in North America. Among the major events, theUS Open, one of the fourGrand Slam events, is held annually at theUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center inNew York City.
TheWomen's Tennis Association, the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis, is headquartered inSt. Petersburg, Florida.Tennis Canada, theCentral American & Caribbean Tennis Confederation, and theUnited States Tennis Association are the regional member organizations of theInternational Tennis Federation, and help organize various events in their respective areas of North America.
Since 1922, [the NFL] has been the top professional sports league in the world with respect to American football