Google’s 2024 Year in Search reveals sports dominated global searches. Major events like Copa America, UEFA European Championship, and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup topped overall search queries. The Olympics secured the third spot among the top news searches.
Several prominent athletes also made their mark in the top 10 most searched individuals. These included Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, boxing legend Mike Tyson, Spanish footballer Lamine Yamal, and US gymnast Simone Biles.
Two Indian athletes, Hardik Pandya and Shashank Singh, joined the ranks of the world’s top 10 most searched athletes. Pandya and Shashank emerged as the seventh and ninth most-searched athletes, respectively, on the list.
Pandya, who led Mumbai Indians during the Indian Premier League 2024, was consistently in the news after replacing Rohit Sharma as the captain. He also played a role in India winning the T20 World Cup.
Shashank, meanwhile, had a memorable IPL with Punjab Kings, where he scored 354 runs in 14 matches.
However, sporting giants Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo were notably absent from the top 10.
Khelif, who clinched welterweight gold at the Paris Olympics, emerged as the most searched athlete. Her victory, however, has been accompanied by persistent questions regarding her gender.
Tyson secured the second position among the most searched sports personalities. The 58-year-old boxing icon returned to professional boxing in November. Tyson faced YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a highly publicised match that streamed live on Netflix.
Barcelona’s rising star, 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, claimed the third spot. Yamal played a key role in Spain’s victory at Euro 2024 in Germany.
Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, followed Yamal in search rankings after securing three more gold medals in Paris. Jake Paul rounded out the top five most searched athletes.
The list of most searched teams was dominated by American clubs with Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise New York Yankees taking top spot followed by Los Angeles Dodgers (LA Dodgers) and Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami, who boast of Lionel Messi in their midst.
The only European football team in the top-10 was Bayer Leverkusen, who went the entire Bundesliga season without losing and clinched the title in the process. The Xabi Alonso-managed side went 51 straight games without defeat in all competitions in the 2023-24 season.
Most searched on Google in 2024
- Copa America
- UEFA European Championship
- ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
- India vs England
- Liam Payne
- Donald Trump
- India vs Bangladesh
- iPhone 16
- Olympic Games Paris 2024
- Catherine, Princess of Wales
Most searched people on Google in 2024
- Donald Trump
- Catherine, Princess of Wales
- Kamala Harris
- Imane Khelif
- Joe Biden
- Mike Tyson
- JD Vance
- Lamine Yamal
- Simone Biles
- Diddy
Most searched athletes on Google in 2024
- Imane Khelif
- Mike Tyson
- Lamine Yamal
- Simone Biles
- Jake Paul
- Nico Williams
- Hardik Pandya
- Scoie Scheer
- Shashank Singh
- Rodri
Most searched sports team on Google in 2024
- New York Yankees
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Inter Miami CF
- Bayer Leverkusen
- Boston Celtics
- New York Mets
- Dallas Mavericks
- Argentina national football team
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Edmonton Oilers
Most searched on Google India
Indian Premier League (IPL) was the top-searched sporting event on Google India, said the tech giant in a recap of searches made in 2024. Following that was the T20 World Cup, where India triumphed in the West Indies and USA, in second place. In the top-10 were: Olympics, Pro Kabaddi League, Indian Super League, Women’s Premier League, Copa America, Duleep Trophy, UEFA Euro and Under-19 World Cup.
As far as most-searched matches in the country is concerned, India vs England was the most searched for by the users based in the Indian geographic. Eight of the top-10 matches were Indian national team specific with two belonging to the IPL.
Sports dominated 5 out of the 10 trending people searches on Google India, with Vinesh Phogat, Hardik Pandya, Shahshank Singh, Abhishek Sharma, and Lakshya Sen emerging as trending personalities.
Most searched people on Google India:
- Vinesh Phogat
- Nitish Kumar
- Chirag Paswan
- Hardik Pandya
- Pawan Kalyan
- Shashank Singh
- Poonam Pandey
- Radhika Merchant
- Abhishek Sharma
- Lakshya Sen
Most searched sporting events on Google India:
- Indian Premier League
- T20 World Cup
- Olympics
- Pro Kabaddi League
- Indian Super League
- Women’s Premier League
- Copa America
- Duleep Trophy
- UEFA Euro
- Under-19 World Cup
Most searched matches on Google India:
- India vs England
- India vs Bangladesh
- India vs Zimbabwe
- Sri Lanka vs India
- India vs Afghanistan
- India vs South Africa
- India vs Pakistan
- Pakistan vs England
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings
- Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings