This is a list of professional sports leagues and organizations.
A sports league is a professional body that governs the competition of its teams. They make the rules for competition and behavior and disciplines its members as necessary. This is done through a structure that varies by league. Some are made up of a board of governors that have a commissioner or president, while others are single entity organizations where the league owns the franchises and therefore does not have a board of governors.
This list attempts to show those sports leagues for which all players and teams are paid to play. In other words, these players can be considered to play their chosen sport as their profession. Some leagues do not pay well enough to allow players to use them as their primary or only source of income, but because the players are paid, it is still considered professional, or semi-professional. As such, some leagues listed here may not be fully professional.
Basketball
Bat and ball games: Baseball/softball
Northern Hemisphere Summer Americas Baseball Champions League Americas & Major League Baseball: American League National League Minor League Baseball: Triple-A: International League Pacific Coast League Double-A: Eastern League Southern League Texas League High-A: Midwest League Northwest League South Atlantic League Single-A: California League Carolina League Florida State League Rookie: Arizona Complex League Florida Complex League Dominican Summer League Independent baseball leagues: MLB Partner Leagues: American Association Atlantic League Frontier League Pioneer League Other leagues: Canadian Baseball League Empire Professional Baseball League Pecos League United Shore Professional Baseball League
Cuban Elite League
Curaçao National Championship AA League
Dominican Summer League
Venezuelan Major League
Mexican Baseball League Mexican Academy League
Argentine Baseball League Asia-Pacific
Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Major Leagues: Central League Pacific League Minor League: NPB Farm League (formerly Eastern League and Western League) Japan Regional Professional Baseball (JRPB) Chubu: Nihonkai League (also contains one team from Kansai) Hokkaido: Hokkaido Frontier League Kansai: KANDOK League Kanto: Baseball Challenge League (also contains two teams from Chubu one team from Tohoku) Kyushu: Kyushu Asia League Shikoku: Shikoku Island League Plus Baseball Federation of Japan (BFJ): Intercity baseball tournament (officially amateur but contains professional teams) Industrial Baseball League (officially amateur but contains professional teams) All Japan Club Baseball Championship (officially amateur but contains professional teams)
Major League: KBO League Minor League: KBO Futures League
China Baseball League Chinese Professional Baseball Taiwan Major League: Chinese Professional Baseball League Minor League: Chinese Professional Baseball League, Division 2 Independent League: Popcorn League Europe
Baseball Champions League Europe (first-tier continental cup) European Confederation Cup (second-tier continental cup) European Federation Cup (third-tier continental cup)
Italian Baseball League
Irish Baseball League
Honkbal Hoofdklasse Honkbal Rookie League
Czech Baseball Extraliga (officially semi-professional but contains several professional teams)
Division Élite (officially semi-professional but contains several professional teams)
Deutsche Baseball Liga (officially semi-professional but contains several professional teams)
División de Honor de Béisbol (officially semi-professional but contains several professional teams)
Elitserien
Ekstraliga Baseball (semi-professional)
Portuguese Atlantic Baseball League (semi-professional)
Turkish Baseball League (semi-professional)
Northern Hemisphere Winter
Americas Caribbean Series Serie de las Américas
Liga Argentina de Béisbol
Liga Colombiana de Béisbol Profesional
Cuban National Series
Curaçao Professional Baseball League
Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana
Liga Invernal Veracruzana Liga Mexicana del Pacífico
La Liga Nicaragüense de Beisbol Profesional
Probeis
Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente
Arizona Fall League (MLB)
Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional Liga Paralela de Béisbol en Venezuela
Asia-Pacific
Australian Baseball League Greater Brisbane League , , and Asia Winter Baseball League Miyazaki Phoenix League
Baseball United
Softball
Women's Professional Fastpitch Athletes Unlimited Softball League
National Softball League ESF men's EC club championships ESF Co-Ed Slowpitch European Super Cup
Japan Diamond Softball League
Mexican Softball League
Bat and ball games: Cricket
International Euro T20 Slam East Africa Premier League World Cricket League Africa Region European Cricket League Hong Kong Cricket Sixes
Africa
Momentum One Day Cup CSA T20 Challenge CSA Provincial Competitions SA20 Sunfoil Series
Zim Afro T10 Logan Cup Pro50 Championship Stanbic Bank 20 Series
North America
Global T20 Canada
Major League Cricket Minor League Cricket
Caribbean Premier League Women's Caribbean Premier League Professional Cricket League Regional Super50
Asia
Shpageeza Cricket League
Bangladesh Premier League
Indian Premier League Women's Premier League
Pakistan Super League
Lanka Premier League
Korea Cup T20 Cricket League
Nepal Premier League
International League T20 Abu Dhabi T10
Europe and County Championship One Day Cup T20 Blast The Hundred (cricket)
Regional Pro Series Scottish super 10
Dutch Twenty20 Cup
Inter-Provincial Trophy
Oceania
Sheffield Shield One-Day Cup Women's National Cricket League Big Bash League Women's Big Bash League
Plunket Shield The Ford Trophy Men's Super Smash Women's Super Smash State League
Bat and ball games: Pesäpallo : Superpesis
Bowling Professional Bowlers Association
Bull riding Professional Bull Riders
Chess Global Chess League
Professional Chess Association of the Philippines
Combat sports: Boxing and Bare-knuckle boxing Major promotions Top Rank Boxing Golden Boy Promotions Don King Promotions DiBella Entertainment Premier Boxing Champions Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship BYB Extreme Fighting Series Zuffa Boxing Sauerland Events Misfits Boxing Matchroom Boxing Queensberry Promotions Boxxer D&L Events (formerly Duco Events) Super Boxing League Hardcore Fighting Championship Top Dog Fighting Championship Gromda Fight Club
Major sanctioning bodies
World Boxing Association (WBA) World Boxing Council (WBC) International Boxing Federation (IBF) World Boxing Organization (WBO) The Ring Magazine (unofficial sanctioning body)
Combat sports: Grappling & Professional wrestling
United States WWE NXT – WWE's development circuit All Elite Wrestling Ring of Honor – shares ownership with All Elite Wrestling, but remains a separate legal entity Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Major League Wrestling National Wrestling Alliance Women of Wrestling Game Changer Wrestling Japan New Japan Pro-Wrestling World Wonder Ring Stardom – New Japan Pro-Wrestling's women's wrestling circuit All Japan Pro Wrestling DDT Pro-Wrestling Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling Noah Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling Mexico Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide International Wrestling Revolution Group The Crash Lucha Libre Australia World Series Wrestling International ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship
Combat sports: Fencing American Fencing League
Combat sports: Kickboxing : Glory : K-1 : King of Kings : Kunlun Fight : Wu Lin Feng
Combat sports: Mixed martial arts
: Ultimate Fighting Championship (Premier American/International Organization) : Professional Fighters League (Second Tier American Organization) : Legacy Fighting Alliance (Minor American Organization) : King of the Cage (Minor American Organization) : Titan Fighting Championships (Minor American Organization) : Invicta Fighting Championships (Minor American Organization) Japan: Rizin FF (Premier Japanese Organization) Japan: Shooto (Second Tier Japanese Organization) Japan: Pancrase (Second Tier Japanese Organization) Japan: DEEP (Minor Japanese Organization) Japan: ZST (Minor Japanese Organization) Japan: GLEAT (Minor Japanese Organization) Russia: Absolute Championship Akhmat (Premier Russian-based Organization) Russia: Fight Nights Global (Premier Russian-based Organization) Russia: M-1 Global (Second Tier Russian-based Organization) Mexico: LUX Fight League (Premier Mexican Organization) Mexico: Ultimate Warrior Challenge Mexico (Second Tier Mexican Organization) Mexico: Budo Sento Championship (Second Tier Mexican Organization) Brazil: Jungle Fight (Premier Brazilian Organization) Brazil: Shooto Brasil (Second Tier Brazilian Organization) South Korea: Road Fighting Championship (Premier Korean Organization) South Korea: Top Fighting Championship (Second Tier Korean Organization) Singapore: ONE Championship (Premier Singaporean Organization) Poland: Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (Premier Polish-based Organization) United Kingdom: Cage Warriors (Premier British Organization) Netherlands: United Glory (Premier Dutch Organization) China: Kunlun Fight (Premier Chinese Organization) Hong Kong: Legend Fighting Championship (Premier Hong Kong-based Organization) Philippines: Universal Reality Combat Championship (Premier Filipino Organization) Lithuania: MMA Bushido (Premier Lithuanian Organization) India: Super Fight League (Premier Indian Organization)
Competitive eating Major League Eating
Curling World Curling Tour
Cycling
Coppa Italia di ciclismo (the Italian Road Cycling Cup) International UCI World Tour
Extreme Sports X Games
Football: Association football
International FIFA Club World Cup UEFA Champions League Copa Libertadores
Beach soccer
Ukrainian Beach Soccer Premier League International Euro Winners Cup Women's Euro Winners Cup Copa Libertadores de Beach Soccer
Futsal
International UEFA Futsal Champions League Asian Premier Futsal Championship AFC Futsal Club Championship Copa Libertadores de Futsal CONCACAF Futsal Club Championship Intercontinental Futsal Cup
Austrian Futsal Liga
Argentine División de Honor de Futsal
Belarusian Futsal Premier League
Liga Nacional de Futsal
Premier Futsal League of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Czech Futsal First League
Chinese Futsal League
Futsal-Regionalliga Süd Futsal-Bayernliga
Championnat de France de Futsal
Indonesia Pro Futsal League
Israeli Futsal League
Iranian Futsal Super League
Serie A1
Latvian Futsal Premier League
Malaysia Premier Futsal League Malaysia Premier Futsal League (Women)
Myanmar Futsal League
Kyrgyzstan Futsal League
F.League
FK-League
Serbian Prva Futsal Liga
Ekstraklasa (futsal)
Liga Portuguesa de Futsal
Primera División de Futsal
Swedish Futsal League
Swiss Futsal Championship
Russian Futsal Super League Russian Women's Futsal Super League
Futsal Thai League
Turkish Futsal League
Uzbekistan Futsal League
Professional Futsal League
National Futsal Series National Futsal League Scottish Futsal League
Vietnam Futsal League
Extra-Liga
Indoor soccer
Major Arena Soccer League Major Arena Soccer League 2 Western Indoor Soccer League Arena Soccer League
Football: Australian rules football Asia Asian Australian Football Championships Europe Euro Cup (AFL) AFL Europe Championship Oceania
Australian Football League AFL Women's South Australian National Football League Victorian Football League West Australian Football League
Football: Gridiron football Includes American and Canadian Football and their variants.
North America
National Football League United Football League Gridiron Developmental Football League