List of professional sports leagues

This is a list of professional sports leagues.

A sports league is a professional body that governs the competition of its teams.^{[clarification needed]} 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.^{[clarification needed]}

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.

England

National Badminton League

India

Premier Badminton League

Indonesia

Northern Hemisphere Summer

Americas

United States and Canada

Puerto Rico

Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente

Cuba

Cuban National Series

Dominican Republic

Dominican Summer League

Venezuela

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League

Mexico

Argentina

Argentine Baseball League

Asia-Pacific

Japan

Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB)
- Major Leagues:
  - Central League
  - Pacific League
- Minor Leagues:
  - Eastern League
  - Western League
Administered by 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)
Independent:

South Korea

Major League:
- KBO League
Minor League:
- KBO Futures League

People's Republic of China

China National Baseball League

Taiwan

Major League:
- Chinese Professional Baseball League
Minor League:
- Chinese Professional Baseball League, Division 2
Independent League:
- Popcorn League

Philippines

Philippine Baseball League

Europe

Europe

European Champions Cup - first-tier continental cup
European Confederation Cup - second-tier continental cup
European Federation Cup - third-tier continental cup

Italy

Italian Baseball League

Ireland

Irish Baseball League

Netherlands

Czech Republic

Czech Baseball Extraliga (officially semi-professional but contains several professional teams)
Ceskomoravská

France

Division Élite (officially semi-professional but contains several professional teams)

Germany

Baseball-Bundesliga (officially semi-professional but contains several professional teams)

Spain

División de Honor de Béisbol (officially semi-professional but contains several professional teams)

Sweden

Elitserien (baseball)

Poland

Ekstraliga Baseball (semi-professional)

Portugal

Portuguese Atlantic Baseball League (semi-professional)

Turkey

Turkish Baseball League (semi-professional)