List of Ball Sports A-Z
Ball sports are defined as any activity that uses a cylindrical or oval-shaped object in a manner of throwing, kicking, or hitting. Many of these sports can be played either individually or as a team, depending on which sport you are playing. Ball sports are arguably the most popular form of sport in the world, with most mainstream sports and many niche sports falling under the umbrella of ball sports. Millions worldwide engage in ball sports at some level on a daily basis, and many of these sports are even an integral part of the Olympic Games. This list includes some of the most popular sports in the world, such as football, baseball, soccer, cricket, basketball, and tennis.
Ball sports have been played for centuries, including within some of the earliest human civilizations. Evidence of ball games can be found on ancient Egyptian monuments, and Native Americans played a version of lacrosse dating back to pre-Columbian times. To this day, ball sports remain one of the most popular versions of sport and can be enjoyed by people of all ages competitively or recreationally.
Ball Sports List A to Z
- 16-Inch Softball
- 3X3
- Aeronautical Pentathlon
- AFLX
- American Flag Rugby
- American Football
- American Handball (Wallball)
- Arena Football
- Arena Polo
- Arena Rugby
- Association Croquet
- Australian Football
- Australian Handball
- Austus
- Auto Polo
- Ba Game
- Ball Badminton
- Ball Hockey
- Bandy
- Baseball
- BASEketball
- Basketball
- Basque Pelota
- Bat And Trap
- Beach Basketball
- Beach Golf
- Beach Handball
- Beach Polo
- Beach Rugby
- Beach Soccer
- Beach Tennis
- Beach Volleyball
- Beach Woodball
- Beer Pong
- Behcup
- Beikou Tarkbei (Daur Hockey)
- Biribol
- Blind Cricket
- Bocce
- Bocce Volo
- Boccia
- Bolas Criollas
- Bossaball
- Boßeln
- Bowling
- Bowls
- Box Lacrosse
- Brännboll
- Bridge
- British Baseball
- Broomball
- Caid
- Calcio Fiorentino
- Cammag
- Camogie
- Canadian Football
- Caneball
- Canoe Polo
- Catchball
- Cestoball
- Chinese Handball
- Circle Rules Football
- Cnapan
- Cocked Hat
- Composite Rules Shinty-Hurling
- Corkball
- Cornish Hurling
- Court Tennis
- Cowboy Polo
- Crab Soccer
- Cricket
- Cuju
- Cycle Ball
- Cycle Polo (Bicycle Polo, Bike Polo)
- Czech Handball
- Danish Longball
- Deaf Basketball
- Dodgeball
- Eclipse Ball
- Eight-Man Football
- Elle
- Episkyros
- Eton Fives
- Eton Wall Game
- European Team Handball
- Fast 5
- Field Handball
- Field Hockey
- Fistball
- Five-A-Side Football
- Five-Pin Bowling
- Fives
- Flag Football
- Floor Hockey
- Floorball
- Footbag
- Footbag Net
- Football Tennis
- Footgolf
- Footpool
- Footvolley
- Four Square
- Four-Ball
- Freestyle Football
- Frescobol
- Frisian Handball
- Frontenis
- Futsal
- Fuzzball
- Ga-Ga Ball
- Gaelic Football
- Gaelic Handball
- Gateball
- Goalball
- Golf
- Golf Croquet
- Handball
- Hardball Squash
- Hardcourt Bike Polo
- Harpastum
- Harrow Football
- Haxey Hood
- Headis
- Hitball
- Hooverball
- Horse Soccer
- Horseball
- Hurling
- Indoor Cricket
- Indoor Field Hockey
- Indoor Netball
- Inline Hockey
- Intercrosse
- International Fronton
- International Rules Football
- Irish Road Bowling
- Jai Alai
- Jeu De Paume
- Jeu Provençal
- Jokgu
- Jorkyball
- Keepie Uppie
- Kemari
- Ki-O-Rahi
- Kickball
- Kilikiti
- Klootschieten
- Knattleikr
- Korfball
- Krachtbal
- Krolf
- Kronum
- La Soule
- Lacrosse
- Lagori
- Lapta
- Lawn Bowls
- Limited Overs Cricket
- Long Drive
- Longue Paume
- Marn Grook
- Matball
- Match Play
- Matkot
- Medieval Football
- Mesoamerican Ballgame
- Metro Footy
- Mini Rugby
- Miniature Golf
- Miniten
- Mod League
- Netball
- Newcomb Ball
- Nine-A-Side Footy
- Nine-Ball
- Nine-Man Football
- Ninepins
- Novuss
- Object Spinning
- Oina
- Old Cat
- One Day International
- One-Pocket
- Outdoor Handball
- Over-The-Line
- Oztag
- Paddle Tennis
- Paddleball
- Padel
- Palant
- Paleta Frontón
- Pall-Mall
- Papi Fut
- Paralympic Football
- Paralympic Volleyball
- Pärk
- Patball
- Pato
- Pelota Mixteca
- Pétanque
- Picigin
- Pitch And Putt
- Platform Tennis
- Pocket Billiards
- Polo (Horses)
- Polocrosse
- Powerchair Football
- Punchball
- Pushball
- Qianball
- Quidditch
- Racketlon
- Racquetball
- Real Tennis
- Rec Footy
- Rhythmic Gymnastics
- Ringball
- Rinkball
- Road Bowling
- Robot Soccer
- Rocball
- Rocket League
- Roll Ball
- Roller Soccer
- Roque
- Rossall Hockey
- Rounders
- Roundnet (Spikeball)
- Royal Shrovetide Football
- Rugby (Rugby Union)
- Rugby Fives
- Rugby Nines
- Rugby Sevens
- Rugby Tens
- Samoa Rules
- Scrub Baseball
- Segway Polo
- Sepak Takraw
- Seven-Ball
- Shinty
- Shotgun Start
- Sipa
- Sitting Volleyball
- Six-Man Football
- Slamball
- Slow-Pitch Softball
- Snow Golf
- Snow Polo
- Snow Rugby
- Snow Volleyball
- Soccer (Association Football)
- Soft Tennis
- Softball
- Speed Golf
- Speed Pool
- Speedball
- Sprint Football
- Squash
- Squash 57
- Squash Tennis
- Stickball
- Stické Tennis
- Stoolball
- Straight Pool
- Street Football
- Street Hockey
- Streetball
- Swamp Football
- Table Tennis
- Tag Rugby
- Tamburello
- Tchoukball
- Te Ano
- Tee-Ball
- Ten-Ball
- Tennis
- Tennis Polo
- Teqball
- Test Cricket
- Tetherball
- The Massachusetts Game
- Three Sided Football
- Three-Ball
- Three-Cushion Billiards
- Throwball
- Torball
- Touch Football
- Touch Rugby
- Twenty20 Cricket
- Ulama
- Underwater Football
- Underwater Rugby
- Unicycling Basketball
- Unicycling Handball
- Universal Football
- Uppies And Downies
- Valencian Frontó
- Valencian Pilota
- Vigoro
- Volleyball
- Vx
- Waboba
- Walking Football
- Wallball
- Wallyball
- Water Basketball
- Water Polo
- Water Volleyball
- Wheelchair Basketball
- Wheelchair Rugby
- Wheelchair Tennis
- Wiffle ball
- Wireball
- Woggabaliri
- Woodball
- Xare
- Yotsudama
- Zorb Football
FAQ
What are ball sports?
Ball sports are a form of sporting activity that uses a ball or similarly-shaped spherical object as a main function of gameplay. Ball sports encompass an umbrella of many popular sports like football, soccer, and baseball, as well as smaller-scale sports that may not have as much media attention, like floorball and patball. Nonetheless, ball sports are enjoyed by millions on a daily basis, both competitively or simply just for fun.
What are the most popular ball sports?
The single most popular ball sport in the world is soccer, with an estimated 4 billion fans worldwide. In fact, soccer is the most popular sport in the world regardless of category. The next most popular ball sport is cricket, with an estimated 2.5 billion fans worldwide. American football, tennis, baseball, and basketball are also considered some of the most popular sports in the world after soccer and cricket, all of which are ball sports.
What are the best ball sports for kids?
Arguably the best ball sport for kids is baseball due to its low injury risk and ability to get started at a young age. Baseball is played by 4 million kids aged 5-18 in the United States alone as a part of an easy-to-join Little League or Pony League program. Soccer rivals baseball as the best ball sport for kids as it can be started at a young age and requires little equipment, making it a good choice for many kids worldwide who don’t want to commit to more expensive equipment costs.
What ball sports are played in the Olympics?
There is a long list of ball sports played in the Olympics, including baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, volleyball, beach volleyball, handball, beach handball, rugby, table tennis, and water polo. This long list of ball sports is likely due to the fact that ball sports are arguably the most popular category of sporting activities in the world. Many of these are traditional Olympic sports that have been part of the Olympic Games for decades.