vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Fight of the Century
On both closed - circuit and free television , the fight was watched by a record 300 million viewers worldwide . It was watched by a record 27.5 million viewers on BBC1 in the United Kingdom , about half of the British population . It was also watched by an estimated 54 million viewers in Italy , and 2 million viewers in South Korea .
Football
In each of the United Kingdom , the United States , and Canada , one football code is known solely as `` football '' , while the others generally require a qualifier . In New Zealand , `` football '' historically referred to rugby union , but more recently may be used unqualified to refer to association football . The sport meant by the word `` football '' in Australia is either Australian rules football or rugby league , depending on local popularity ( which largely conforms to the Barassi Line ) . In francophone Quebec , where Canadian football is more popular , the Canadian code is known as le football while American football is known as le football américain and association football is known as le soccer . Of the 45 national FIFA ( Fédération Internationale de Football Association ) affiliates in which English is an official or primary language , most currently use Football in their organisations ' official names ; the FIFA affiliates in Canada and the United States use Soccer in their names . A few FIFA affiliates have recently `` normalised '' to using `` Football '' , including :
Scottish Premier League
BBC Scotland 's Sportscene held the rights to broadcast highlights of each match first on terrestrial TV . The BBC also held the rights to show online Internet highlights to UK users for one week after each match . BBC Alba , launched in September 2008 , showed one full SPL match per week in delayed coverage . BBC Alba will also showed some live matches in the 2012 -- 13 season . The SPL was broadcast in Australia by Setanta Sports Australia , in Canada by Sportsnet World and in the United States by Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Soccer Plus .
History of tennis
Tennis was predominantly a sport of the English - speaking world , dominated by Great Britain and the United States . It was also popular in France , where the French Open dates to 1891 as the Championat de France International de Tennis . This tournament was not recognised as a Major or Grand Slam tournament until it was opened to all nationalities in 1925 .
State of Origin series
Setanta Sports broadcasts live matches in Asia . In the United States , Fox Soccer televised all matches live using the Nine feed since 2011 , with the coverage moving to Fox Sports 2 when Fox Soccer was discontinued in August 2013 . Premier Sports broadcasts live coverage of State of Origin in the UK .
Republic of Ireland
Gaelic football and hurling are the traditional sports of Ireland as well as most popular spectator sports . They are administered by the Gaelic Athletics Association on an all - Ireland basis . Other Gaelic games organised by the association include Gaelic handball and rounders .
Melbourne Cup
In the Melbourne metropolitan area , the race day has been a gazetted public holiday since 1877 , but around both Australia and New Zealand a majority of people watch the race on television and gamble , either through direct betting or participating in workplace cup `` sweeps '' . In 2000 , a betting agency claimed that 80 percent of the adult Australian population placed a bet on the race that year . In 2010 it was predicted that $183 million would be spent by 83,000 tourists during the Spring Racing Carnival . In New Zealand , the Melbourne Cup is the country 's single biggest betting event , with carnival race - days held at several of the country 's top tracks showing the cup live on big screens .
National Football League on television
The NFL , along with boxing and professional wrestling ( before the latter publicly became known as a staged sport ) , was a pioneer of sports broadcasting during a time when baseball and college football were more popular than professional football . Due to the NFL understanding television at an earlier time , they were able to surpass Major League Baseball in the 1960s as the most popular sport in the United States .
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Many sports are played in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , including football , basketball , and rugby . The sports are played in numerous stadiums throughout the country , including the Stade Frederic Kibassa Maliba . As Zaire they have participated in the World Cup Football ( Final stage ) in 1974
State of Origin series
In 2013 , each individual game in the series drew a higher Australian television audience than any other sporting event . In recent years the series has gained popularity outside of New South Wales and Queensland , with games played in Melbourne drawing record crowds for rugby league and local television ratings comparable to those of some Victorian AFL matches . Internationally , the series is televised in 91 countries , and is a national obsession in Papua New Guinea , occasionally sparking riots , violence and deaths . It also draws a strong following in neighbouring New Zealand .
National Football League on television
Australia 7mate ESPN Australia Fox Sports Austria -- Puls 4 one 4 p.m Sunday game every week . Sport 1 US has English rights to show up to 7 different games per week . Bosnia and Herzegovina Sport Klub Brazil -- ESPN Brasil live airs the Thursday , Sunday and Monday Night games , along two Sunday afternoon games , one at 1 : 00 p.m and one at 4 : 00 p.m. Starting in late 2013 , ESPN started to air a third Sunday afternoon game , simulcasting it alongise the 1 : 00 pm game on ESPN+ , bringing the total of live games shown on a week to 6 . TV Esporte Interativo ( FTA ) airs the Thursday and Sunday Night games , and one of the 4 p.m games at Sunday afternoon . Canada -- As of the 2017 season , Bell Media is the exclusive rightsholder for all of professional football in Canada , with NFL games airing across CTV , TSN , CTV Two , and Réseau des sports . While Sportsnet previously held rights to Thursday Night Football only , Bell acquired these rights under an extension to its overall rights deal effective 2017 . U.S. network television feeds may also be available , often from multiple markets , on cable and satellite ( and via terrestrial broadcast in the border lands ) ; all games are subject to simultaneous substitution except the Super Bowl , which since the 2017 edition has not been eligible for simsub . Because of much of Canada 's proximity to the United States , blackout restrictions and secondary market rules apply ( for instance , CTV flagship CFTO - DT / Toronto can not show Bills home games if the game is not sold out ) . Most of Canada 's pay - TV providers also provide access to Sunday Ticket , which is not allowed provider exclusivity in Canada due to CRTC regulations . China GRT Sports Croatia Sport Klub Czech Republic Sport 1 Denmark TV3 Sport TV3+ Finland Nelonen Pro 1 Nelonen Pro 2 France -- beIN Sports airs two live regular season games a week , on Sunday and Monday nights . The channel also airs three delayed games , on Wednesday afternoon ( two Sunday afternoon games ) and Friday morning ( Thursday Night Football ) . Germany -- Sat. 1 and ProSieben Maxx air up to 50 games per season starting from 2015 season .
Zimbabwe
Football is the most popular sport in Zimbabwe . The Warriors have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations three times ( 2004 , 2006 , 2017 ) , and won the Southern Africa championship on four occasions ( 2000 , 2003 , 2005 , 2009 ) and the Eastern Africa cup once ( 1985 ) .
FIFA World Cup
For the 2010 and 2014 World Cups , the final tournament is rotated between confederations , allowing only countries from the chosen confederation ( Africa in 2010 , South America in 2014 ) to bid to host the tournament . The rotation policy was introduced after the controversy surrounding Germany 's victory over South Africa in the vote to host the 2006 tournament . However , the policy of continental rotation will not continue beyond 2014 , so any country , except those belonging to confederations that hosted the two preceding tournaments , can apply as hosts for World Cups starting from 2018 . This is partly to avoid a similar scenario to the bidding process for the 2014 tournament , where Brazil was the only official bidder .
Olympic Games
Olympic sports are governed by international sports federations ( IFs ) recognised by the IOC as the global supervisors of those sports . There are 35 federations represented at the IOC . There are sports recognised by the IOC that are not included on the Olympic program . These sports are not considered Olympic sports , but they can be promoted to this status during a programme revision that occurs in the first IOC session following a celebration of the Olympic Games . During such revisions , sports can be excluded or included in the programme on the basis of a two - thirds majority vote of the members of the IOC . There are recognised sports that have never been on an Olympic programme in any capacity , including chess and surfing .
FIFA World Cup
52 40,572 95,500 Camp Nou , Barcelona Argentina 0 -- 1 Belgium , Opening match 1986 Mexico 12 / 11 2,394,031 52 46,039 114,600 Estadio Azteca , Mexico City Mexico 1 -- 1 Paraguay , Group stage Argentina 3 -- 2 West Germany , Final 1990 Italy 12 / 12 2,516,215 52 48,389 74,765 San Siro , Milan West Germany 4 -- 1 Yugoslavia , Group stage 1994 United States 9 / 9 3,587,538 52 68,991 94,194 Rose Bowl , Pasadena , California Brazil 0 ( 3 ) -- ( 2 ) 0 Italy , Final 1998 France 10 / 10 2,785,100 64 43,517 80,000 Stade de France , Saint - Denis Brazil 0 -- 3 France , Final 2002 Japan South Korea 10 / 10 10 / 10 2,705,197 64 42,269 69,029 International Stadium , Yokohama , Japan Brazil 2 -- 0 Germany , Final 2006 Germany 12 / 12 3,359,439 64 52,491 72,000 Olympiastadion , Berlin Germany 1 ( 4 ) -- ( 2 ) 1 Argentina , Quarter - final South Africa 10 / 9 3,178,856 64 49,670 84,490 Soccer City , Johannesburg Spain 1 -- 0 Netherlands , Final 2014 Brazil 12 / 12 3,429,873 64 53,592 74,738 Maracanã Stadium , Rio de Janeiro Germany 1 -- 0 Argentina , Final 2018 Russia 12 / 11 3,031,768 64 47,371 78,011 Luzhniki Stadium , Moscow Seven matches at the Luzhniki , including France 4 -- 2 Croatia , Final Overall 40,532,478 900 45,036 171,772 Maracanã Stadium , Rio ( 1950 )
Fox Sports 1
Sports event Season Viewers Reference College football 2013 529,000 Major League Soccer 2015 224,000 College basketball 2013 -- 14 92,790
Football
There are a number of references to traditional , ancient , or prehistoric ball games played by indigenous peoples in many different parts of the world . Contemporary codes of football can be traced back to the codification of these games at English public schools during the nineteenth century . The expansion of the British Empire allowed these rules of football to spread to areas of British influence outside the directly controlled Empire . By the end of the nineteenth century , distinct regional codes were already developing : Gaelic football , for example , deliberately incorporated the rules of local traditional football games in order to maintain their heritage . In 1888 , The Football League was founded in England , becoming the first of many professional football competitions . During the twentieth century , several of the various kinds of football grew to become some of the most popular team sports in the world .
Season finale
In American English , the term has evolved to describe the final event of a sporting season , e.g. in soccer or motocross , perhaps partly because of the popularity of these with television viewers .
The Flash (2014 TV series)
The Canadian premiere was watched by 3.11 million viewers , making it the most - watched broadcast that night and the second for that week . In the United Kingdom , the premiere was the fourth highest - rated broadcast of the week and the eleventh of that month , with 1.53 million viewers . The timeshifted version got 82,000 viewers . The premiere in Australia was the most - watched broadcast on pay television , with 129,000 viewers tuning in .
2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup , an international football tournament contested by the men 's national teams of the member associations of FIFA once every four years . It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018 .
Popeye
Starting in 1940 , Popeye became the mascot of Flamengo ( Rio de Janeiro -- Brazil ) , the most popular soccer team with almost 50 million fans around the world . The mascot of the soccer club is currently a cartoon vulture . World
Friday Night Lights (TV series)
On March 5 , 2007 , Media Life Magazine reported that Friday Night Lights was one of the most popular shows among `` affluent viewers '' who had little experience playing football . This was determined using a report from Magna Global who in turn used analysis done by Nielsen Media Research . Affluence in the study was determined by yearly income .
Michael Jordan
During his heyday , Jordan did much to increase the status of the game , but the popularity of the NBA in the U.S. appears to have declined since his last title . Television ratings in particular increased only during his time in the league , and Finals ratings have not returned to the level reached during his last championship - winning season . Jordan
History of tennis
In 1968 , commercial pressures and rumors of some amateurs taking money under the table led to the abandonment of this distinction , inaugurating the open era , in which all players could compete in all tournaments , and top players were able to make their living from tennis . With the beginning of the open era , the establishment of an international professional tennis circuit , and revenues from the sale of television rights , tennis 's popularity has spread worldwide , and the sport has shed its upper / middle - class English - speaking image ( although it is acknowledged that this stereotype still exists ) .
Australia 2022 FIFA World Cup bid
A report conducted by McKinsey consultants on behalf of FIFA , rated an Australian World Cup to be the worst in term of revenue . The United States were rated at 100 % , Japan 73 % , South Korea 71 % , Qatar 70 % , and Australia on 68 % .
Football
The Middle Ages saw a huge rise in popularity of annual Shrovetide football matches throughout Europe , particularly in England . An early reference to a ball game played in Britain comes from the 9th century Historia Brittonum , which describes `` a party of boys ... playing at ball '' . References to a ball game played in northern France known as La Soule or Choule , in which the ball was propelled by hands , feet , and sticks , date from the 12th century . An
Fox Sports 1
The following table shows average season viewership for certain team sports competitions on FS1 :
FIFA World Cup
17 countries have hosted the World Cup . Brazil , France , Italy , Germany and Mexico have each hosted twice , while Uruguay , Switzerland , Sweden , Chile , England , Argentina , Spain , the United States , Japan and South Korea ( jointly ) , South Africa and Russia have each hosted once . Qatar are planned as hosts of the 2022 finals , and 2026 will be a joint hosted finals between Canada , the United States and Mexico , which will give Mexico the distinction of being the first country to have hosted games in three different finals .
Apartheid
Sport has long been an important part of life in South Africa , and the boycotting of games by international teams had a profound effect on the white population , perhaps more so than the trade embargoes did . After the re-acceptance of South Africa 's sports teams by the international community , sport played a major unifying role between the country 's diverse ethnic groups . Mandela 's open support of the predominantly white rugby fraternity during the 1995 Rugby World Cup was considered instrumental in bringing together South African sports fans of all races .
Nairobi
Basketball is also a popular Sport played in the City 's Primary , Secondary and College leagues . Most of the City 's Urban youth and are basketball fans and watch the American NBA .
2018 FIFA World Cup
FIFA , through several companies , sold the broadcasting rights for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to various local broadcasters .
Kenya
Kenya is active in several sports , among them cricket , rallying , football , rugby union and boxing . The country is known chiefly for its dominance in middle - distance and long - distance athletics , having consistently produced Olympic and Commonwealth Games champions in various distance events , especially in 800 m , 1,500 m , 3,000 m steeplechase , 5,000 m , 10,000 m and the marathon . Kenyan athletes ( particularly Kalenjin ) continue to dominate the world of distance running , although competition from Morocco and Ethiopia has reduced this supremacy . Kenya 's best - known athletes included the four - time women 's Boston Marathon winner and two - time world champion Catherine Ndereba , 800m world record holder David Rudisha , former Marathon world record - holder Paul Tergat , and John Ngugi .
United Kingdom
Major sports , including association football , tennis , rugby union , rugby league , golf , boxing , netball , rowing and cricket , originated or were substantially developed in the UK and the states that preceded it . With the rules and codes of many modern sports invented and codified in late 19th century Victorian Britain , in 2012 , the President of the IOC , Jacques Rogge , stated ; `` This great , sports - loving country is widely recognized as the birthplace of modern sport . It was here that the concepts of sportsmanship and fair play were first codified into clear rules and regulations . It was here that sport was included as an educational tool in the school curriculum '' .
National Football League on television
NBC Sunday Night Football broke American Idol 's six - season streak as the most - watched prime time television series in the United States in 2011 . The series has continued to hold that title for five of the six following seasons , including the most recent of 2016 - 17 ( the lone exception being 2012 - 13 , when NCIS earned the title ) .
Women's association football
However , as in other sports , women have struggled for pay and opportunities equal to male football players . Major league and international women 's football has enjoyed far less television and media coverage than the men 's equivalent . In spite of this , the popularity and participation in women 's football continues to grow .
Catalonia
Sport has an important incidence in Catalan life and culture since the beginning of the 20th century and , as a result , it has a well developed sport infraestructure . The main sports are football , basketball , handball , rink hockey , tennis and motorsport . Despite the fact that the most popular sports are represented outside by the Spanish national teams , Catalonia can officially play as itself in some others , like korfball , futsal or rugby league . Nou
LeBron James
Throughout his career , James has been ranked by Forbes as one of the world 's most influential athletes , and in 2017 , he was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time . During his first stint with the Cavaliers , he was adored by local fans , with Sherwin - Williams displaying a giant Nike - produced banner of James on its world headquarters . Despite their affection for James , Cleveland fans and critics were frequently annoyed when he attended Cleveland Indians games against the New York Yankees sporting a Yankees hat . Following his actions during the 2010 free agency period and , more specifically , The Decision , he was listed as one of the world 's most disliked athletes . By 2013 , his image had mostly recovered and he was reported by ESPN as the most popular player in the NBA for the second time in his career . In 2014 , he was named the most popular male athlete in America by the Harris Poll . He has led the league in jersey sales six times .
2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids
President of FIFA Sepp Blatter endorsed the idea of having a World Cup in the Middle East , saying in April 2010 , `` The Arabic world deserves a World Cup . They have 22 countries and have not had any opportunity to organise the tournament . '' Blatter also praised Qatar 's progress , `` When I was first in Qatar there were 400,000 people here and now there are 1.6 million . In terms of infrastructure , when you are able to organise the Asian Games ( in 2006 ) with more than 30 events for men and women , then that is not in question . '' Qatar 's bid to host the 2022 World Cup received a huge boost on 28 July 2010 when Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) President Mohammed Bin Hammam threw his weight behind his country 's campaign . Speaking in Singapore , Bin Hammam said : `` I have one vote and , frankly speaking , I will vote for Qatar but if Qatar is not in the running I will vote for another Asian country . '' Qatar has already hosted the AFC Asian Cup in 1988 , FIFA U-20 World Cup 1995 and the 2011 AFC Asian Cup .
Mexico City
Association football is the country 's most popular and most televised franchised sport . Its important venues in Mexico City include the Azteca Stadium , home to the Mexico national football team and giants América , which can seat 91,653 fans , making it the biggest stadium in Latin America . The Olympic Stadium in Ciudad Universitaria is home to the football club giants Universidad Nacional , with a seating capacity of over 52,000 . The Estadio Azul , which seats 33,042 fans , is near the World Trade Center Mexico City in the Nochebuena neighborhood , and is home to the giants Cruz Azul . The three teams are based in Mexico City and play in the First Division ; they are also part , with Guadalajara - based giants Club Deportivo Guadalajara , of Mexico 's traditional `` Big Four '' ( though recent years have tended to erode the teams ' leading status at least in standings ) . The country hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1970 and 1986 , and Azteca Stadium is the first stadium in World Cup history to host the final twice .
National Football League on television
Programming on Fox and CBS when game coverage does not occur generally consists of brokered programming under banners like CBS Sports Spectacular which feature extreme sports tours , Professional Bull Riders bonus events for the top 15 riders , and celebrity pro-am events purchased from outside providers , including for Fox in 2014 highlights packages for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship rounds in Austin and Atlanta , though in many cases , in - market stations will usually air a local postgame show from their station 's sports department with analysis and interviews and push the brokered programming to late night or a secondary station , if they carry it at all . NBC , which has the Sunday night package , will run Golf Channel on NBC coverage , including the FedEx Cup Playoffs , the Evian Championship ( a women 's major held in France ) , or an international team tournament ( depending on year , Ryder , Solheim , or President 's Cup ) , motorsport ( Formula One in Austin and Mexico City , starting in 2015 rounds , along with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff events ; playoff races on NBC will serve as lead - in programming to Football Night in America ) , and Olympic sports which the demographic is focused towards women , such as ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating . Likewise , since 2010 ABC has run low - profile same - week repeats of their programming in solidarity with ESPN ( although in 2011 an INDYCAR race aired during the time slot ; that race was abandoned with less than 6 % of the distance completed because of extenuating circumstances ) .