Do British People Like Basketball?

[tomarin]

As for how soccer spread in Latin America and other parts of the world, I know it was introduced to South America by British railway engineers who had been asked by the governments of various countries to help them set up their rail networks, and it caught on very quickly. I imagine if that’s how it happened in Latin America, something similar happened elsewhere.

 

[BartholomewB]

I know it was introduced to South America by British railway engineers

Charles Miller was the British railway engineer who introduced soccer to Brazil. He has a square in São Paulo named after him. It’s where the city’s main stadium, the Pacaembu, is located:

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[tomarin]

Well, he has a lot to answer for!

 

[tomarin]

Just on a side-note, I watched my first rugby game all the way through early Sunday morning (it was South Africa versus Japan at the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals) and though I often didn’t understand what was happening, I was pleasantly surprised!

 

[Londoner]

Interesting. I never knew that. The history of cricket in Afghanistan is interesting:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/afghanistan-fell-love-cricket-180928141048315.html

Cricket is relatively new in Afghanistan and particularly popular in the east of the country, along the border with Pakistan, a country which enjoys the game with unparalleled passion.

The sport was imported by Afghan refugees who had lived in Pakistan in the 1990s, after they fled the Soviet invasion.

Upon returning, they brought cricket home with them.

But sports including cricket and football were banned and condemned by the Taliban during their rule, which began in 1996.

The Taliban lifted the cricket ban in 2000, making it the only sport approved by the group.