A national sport or national pastime is a sport or game that is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are de facto (not established by law) national sports, as baseball is in the United States and cricket is in England, while others are de jure (established by law) national sports, as lacrosse and ice hockey are in Canada. These sports do not have to be necessarily the most played or most followed, which would be either association football or basketball in all but a few countries, but are widely considered to be important to the country or significant for its culture.