What is the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world?

The FIFA World Cup, well-known as the World Cup, is an international association soccer competition between senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body.

The first tournament took place in 1930, so the competition has been held every four years since the inaugural one. There was only a pause during the WW2.

Enormous amount of people watch and follow the competition, it attracts even more viewers than the Olympic Games. The cumulative audience of all matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup was estimated to be 26.29 billion with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the final match, a ninth of the entire population of the planet! The 2006 draw was followed by 300 million viewers from all over the world.

The World Cup influences not only broadcasting statistics. It has its effect on birth rates, sex ratio of newborns and heart attacks. When the home team of the country holds or wins the World Cup, birthrates usually tend to increase!

The 2018 World Cup is going to be held in Russia.