Fifty international sports federations followed the @insidethegames Twitter account in 2019, five more than nearest rival Around the Rings.

Thirty-eight followed NBC Olympics and 30 followed Sportcal and BBC Sport.

insidethegames also finished at the top of the 2016, 2017 and 2018 rankings.

The table is part of the 2019 International Sports Federations Social Media Ranking, an annual survey carried out by Burson Cohn & Wolfe Sports Practice.

Social media use by governing bodies on platforms including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram is monitored.

FIFA had the highest number of Twitter followers in 2019 and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) had the highest number of Facebook page likes.

World Rugby had the highest number of Instagram followers and the most followed federation leader on Twitter was World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.

There was a three-way tie for the most followed active athlete by federations, between tennis players Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal and footballer Neymar Jr.

The Instagram post with the "most impact" was a World Athletics video of Guinea-Bissau's Braima Suncar Dabo helping Aruba's Jonathan Busby to the line in the men's 5,000 metres at the World Championships in Doha.

A FIBA post about The Philippines winning men's and women's gold at the Southeast Asian Games was the most impactful on Facebook.  

Key general findings include Instagram taking the lead in interactions and reach with younger audiences, including athletes, volunteers and fans.

Facebook is the primary focus of most sport organisations' social media efforts, while Twitter is mainly used as a news-sharing platform rather than for engaging with followers.

To read the full survey, click here.