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It was invented in 1891 by Canadian James Naismith in Massachusetts. In Europe, basketball is the second most popular team sport in many countries, including Greece, Serbia, Turkey and Spain. In Lithuania, it is the national sport. It is also very popular in Italy, France, Germany, Belgium and all the ex-Yugoslavia countries.
A large part of this is due to the transcendent stars that have played the game through the years. It was because of the play of Michael Jordan that basketball started to reach international audiences, especially on the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team, known as the Dream Team. [40]
Papi fut – the five-a-side game played in outdoor basketball courts (built with goals) in Central America. Indoor soccer – the six-a-side indoor game, the Latin American variant (fútbol rápido, "fast football") is often played in open-air venues; Masters Football – six-a-side played in Europe by mature professionals (35 years and older)
A more modern sport that derives from American football is Arena football, designed to be played indoors inside of ice hockey or basketball arenas. The game was invented in 1981 by Jim Foster and the Arena Football League was founded in 1987 as the first major professional league to play the sport.
Episkyros is recognised as an early form of football by FIFA. [8] 2nd century BCE — a Chinese game called Cuju (蹴鞠), Tsu' Chu, or Zuqiu (足球) has been recognised by FIFA as the first version of football with regular rules. [9] 2nd century BCE — the Roman game harpastum is believed to have been adapted from Episkyros. [10] [11]
The first American football game played outside of the United States was the October 23, 1874, game between McGill and Harvard played at Montreal Cricket Grounds. American football in Europe first began with the 1897 École des Beaux-Arts vs. Académie Julian football game.
The oldest club in continental Europe could be the Swiss club Lausanne Football and Cricket Club, founded 1860. [40] Football was introduced in a Belgian school in Melle (near Ghent) in 1863. [41] In the Netherlands the first football match was played in 1865 in Enschede. This was followed by the founding of Koninklijke HFC by Pim Mulier in ...
The British played a major role in defining amateurism, professionalism, the tournament system and the concept of fair play. [38] Some sports developed in England, spread to other countries and then lost its popularity in England while remaining actively played in other countries, a notable example being bandy which remains popular in Finland ...