Perhaps the best sports are sports that also help in your real life. So with this in mind, we must classify all ball sports as mere tests in hand-eye coordination. Running, swimming, climbing, combat sports (i. e. kickboxing incl. MMA & grappling) & powerlifting are sports that will help you in real life because kicking & catching a ball aren't really things you do in real life.
So a nation could focus on (by order of importance): 1) running, 2) powerlifting, 3) combat sports, 4) swimming & lastly 5) climbing before other indigenous games & global sports.
Of course today, there are popular sports that the youth enjoy & the older generations enjoy watching but if we want to keep things honest, the five abovementioned sporting events are the only true events necessary for a nation's sports sector & general public to maintain health. These sports could be compulsory for physical education class at schools until matriculation with a certain level of competency in them required to pass.