USA takes back Global Cup top spot from Norway

Image by jmw02824 from Pixabay

It’s the time of the sporting year when the Winter Sports seasons finally draws to a close … and the USA regains the lead in the Global Cup, the ranking of the world’s best sporting nations.

Reigning Global Cup champion USA topped the monthly Global Cup ranking in May (see below), winning half of its points in Golf, as four US players finished among the first eight in the PGA Championship (including the top two spots). The USA finished the month well ahead of Australia and Finland (winner of the men’s Ice Hockey World Championships, the Snow & Ice sports season’s final tournament), and has now managed to edge ahead of Norway in the year-to-date Global Cup ranking, with only 89 points separating the two.
 
In 2021, Norway was still leading after May, though it did relinquish the top spot to the USA in June. This year, thanks to a much beefier post-pandemic sporting calendar, the USA has overtaken Norway earlier, despite the Scandinavians winning the Beijing Winter Olympics, and there doesn’t seem to be another nation able to give the USA a run for its money at the moment.
 
All the other top-10 nations have performed well in the winter season, but for some of them there will be leaner times ahead, especially Alpine countries like Switzerland and Austria. Notably, nine of the Global Cup’s top-10 countries at the end of May are the same as in 2021, the only exception being Japan, which was 11th last year. Among the top 10, Canada was the most improved compared to 2021, up six places into third.
 
There has been more change in the slots between 11th to 20th, with Finland up 10 places into 11th and South Korea up a remarkable 23 places into 13th, on the strength of Olympic and World Championship success in Speedskating and Short Track, and of finishing second in the women’s Football Asian Cup. So far, the top-20’s worst performers compared to last year are Germany, down five places into eighth, and Great Britain, also down five places, in 17th.
 
As the sporting year transitions into its summer calendar, which nations will emerge as contenders for the Global Cup’s top places? Follow GSN also on Facebook and Twitter and keep up with the latest in the quest for the world’s best sporting nation!
 
GLOBAL CUP - MAY MONTHLY TABLE
Place
Country
Points
Points %
1
United States
202
14.8%
2
Australia
124
9.1%
3
Finland
120
8.8%
4
Canada
104
7.6%
5
South Africa
80
5.9%
6
Czech Republic
78
5.7%
7
Great Britain
73
5.3%
8
Fiji
64
4.7%
9
Ireland
52
3.8%
10
Argentina
48
3.5%
11
France
48
3.5%
12
Switzerland
48
3.5%
13
Sweden
36
2.6%
14
Germany
28
2.1%
15
Indonesia
24
1.8%
16
China
23
1.6%
17
South Korea
22
1.6%
18
Chile
22
1.6%
19
India
22
1.6%
20
Japan
22
1.6%
21
Spain
20
1.5%
22
Ecuador
16
1.2%
23
New Zealand
16
1.2%
24
Denmark
15
1.1%
25
Italy
12
0.9%
26
Taiwan
12
0.9%
27
Slovakia
12
0.9%
28
Thailand
11
0.8%
29
Malaysia
8
0.6%
30
Russia
4
0.3%
Grand Total
1,365
100.0%
 
 
Greatest Sporting Nation is a ranking of countries based on their performance in top-level international tournaments in sports in which there is genuine global competition. Countries (national teams and/or individual athletes) score Qualifying Points by finishing in the top eight places in Qualifying Events.
These Qualifying Points are then weighted to produce GSN Points, based on a formula that takes into account individual vs team sports, the sport’s participation (number of countries) and the frequency (annual/biennial/quadrennial) of the tournaments.
The Country scoring the most Points in a calendar year wins the Global Cup for that year. The country that scores the most points relative to its population wins the Per Capita Cup. For a more detailed explanation, please refer to the ‘How It Works’ section on the site.