Soccer has taken over from cricket as the most popular team sport played in Australia, new research shows.

The high profile 2002 World Cup in Japan and the prominence of Australian soccer stars overseas have contributed to the rise in the sport's popularity.

It is a hit with both genders, being the most popular team sport for males, while only netball is more popular as a team sport for females.

The Roy Morgan Sponsor MAP interviewed around 100,000 people aged 14 or over during the past four years.

It found there were 1.22 million people playing soccer nationwide in March this year, ahead of cricket (1.06 million) and basketball (892,000).

The sport has grown steadily over the past three years, up from 831,000 players in March 2000.

Soccer participation has grown across all states, particularly in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

The sharpest increase in participation was in the 18-24 age group, growing from 181,000 in 2000 to 372,000 this year.

Those 14 to 17-year-olds playing soccer represent 41 per cent of the population in that age group, suggesting it is a popular school sport.

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