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A national sport is a physical activity or sport that is culturally significant or deeply embedded in a nation, serving as a national symbol and an intrinsic element to a nation's identity and culture.
Several sovereign states and constituent states have formally recognized a specific activity as their national sport, typically favouring sports with origins stemming from their own countries. Conversely, in many other nations, the designation of a national sport is an informal acknowledgment bestowed upon an activity that is either widely embraced or holds historical and cultural significance to that nation.
An official national sport is an activity that has been formally recognized and designated as a national sport of a particular nation by government authorities. This recognition often comes through legislation or decrees.
The following is a list official national sports:
Country/territory | Sport | Year of official recognition | Basis | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
Argentina | Pato | 1953 | Argentina Decree Nº 17468 | [1] |
Canada | Ice hockey (winter) Lacrosse (summer) | 1994 | National Sports of Canada Act | [2] |
Chile | Chilean Rodeo | 1962 | Official letter No. 269 of the Consejo Nacional de Deportes and Chilean Olympic Committee | [3] |
Colombia | Tejo | 2000 | Colombia Law 613 | [4] [5] |
Mexico | Charrería | 1933 | Presidential decree by Abelardo L. Rodríguez | [6] |
Nepal | Volleyball | 2017 | Cabinet of Nepal decision | [7] |
Philippines | Arnis | 2009 | Republic Act No. 9850 | [8] |
Puerto Rico | Paso Fino | 1966 | Puerto Rico Act 64 of 2000 | [9] |
South Korea | Taekwondo | 2018 | National Sport Designation Act for Taekwondo | [10] [11] |
Uruguay | Destrezas Criollas | 2006 | National Law Nº 17958 | [12] [13] |
An unofficial national sport is an activity that holds significant popularity or cultural and historical significance within a particular nation but lacks legal recognition as the official national sport. These informal national sports typically reflect a nation's preferences and their perceived connection to the nation's culture and identity. The designation of an unofficial national sport can be contentious, as it can vary within a nation based on regional preferences and traditions.
The following is a list of unofficial national sports:
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate.
Sports in Japan are a significant part of Japanese culture. Traditional sports, such as sumo and martial arts, as well as Western imports like baseball, association football, basketball and tennis are popular with both participants and spectators.
The history of baseball can be broken down into various aspects: by era, by locale, by organizational-type, game evolution, as well as by political and cultural influence. The game evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. By the late 19th century, baseball was widely recognized as the national sport of the United States, and had begun to spread throughout the Pacific Rim and the Americas. Today, baseball is popular in North America and parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, and East Asia, particularly in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Sport in Ireland plays an important role in Irish society. The many sports played and followed in Ireland include Gaelic games, association football, horse racing, show jumping, greyhound racing, basketball, fishing, motorsport, boxing, tennis, hockey, golf, rowing, cricket, and rugby union.
Stoolball is a sport that dates back to at least the 15th century, originating in Sussex, southern England. It is considered a "traditional striking and fielding sport" and may be an ancestor of cricket, baseball, softball, and rounders. The sport has been called "cricket in the air". There is evidence to suggest that it was played as a tradition by milkmaids who used their milking stools as a "wicket" and the bittle, or milk bowl as a bat, hence its archaic name of bittle-battle.
Sport in the United Kingdom plays an important role in British culture and the United Kingdom has played a significant role in the organisation and spread of sporting culture globally. In the infancy of many organised sports, the Home Nations were heavily involved in setting out the formal rules of many sports and formed among the earliest separate governing bodies, national teams and domestic league competitions. After Partition of Ireland in 1922, some sports formed separate bodies for Northern Ireland, though many continued to be organised on an all-Ireland basis. For this reason, in many though not all sports, most domestic and international sport is carried on a Home Nations basis, and England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland are recognised as national entities. This is in contrast to the majority of other states that participate in international sports which field a single national team to represent the entire polity.
Sports in Canada consist of a wide variety of games. The roots of organized sports in Canada date back to the 1770s. Canada's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse. Other major professional games include curling, basketball, baseball, soccer, and football. Great achievements in Canadian sports are recognized by numerous "Halls of Fame" and museums, such as Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
Baseball at the Summer Olympics unofficially debuted at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, and was first contested as a demonstration sport at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. It became an official Olympic sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, then was played at each Olympiad through the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The sport was then dropped from the Summer Olympic program, until being revived for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo for a single appearance. It is next expected to be part of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Sports in the United States are an important part of the nation's culture. Historically, the national sport has been baseball. However, in more recent decades, American football has been the most popular sport in terms of broadcast viewership audience. Basketball has grown into the mainstream American sports scene since the 1980s, with ice hockey and soccer doing the same around the turn of the 21st century. These sports comprise the "Big Five".
Sport is an important part of Australia that dates back to the early colonial period. Australian rules football, rugby league, rugby union, association football, cricket and tennis are among the earliest organised sports in Australia. Sport has shaped the Australian national identity through events such as the Melbourne Cup and the America's Cup.
Sports in the Philippines is an important part of the country's culture. There are six major sports in the Philippines: basketball, boxing, tennis, football, billiards, and volleyball.
Sports in Pittsburgh have been played dating back to the American Civil War. Baseball, hockey, and the first professional American football game had been played in the city by 1892. Pittsburgh was first known as the "City of Champions" when the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Panthers football team, and Pittsburgh Steelers won multiple championships in the 1970s. Today, the city has three major professional sports franchises, the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins; while the University of Pittsburgh Panthers compete in a Division I Power Five conference, the highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States, in both football and basketball. Local universities Duquesne and Robert Morris also field Division I teams in men's and women's basketball and Division I FCS teams in football. Robert Morris also fields Division I men's and women's ice hockey teams.
Sport in Wales plays a prominent role in Welsh culture. Like the other countries of the United Kingdom, Wales enjoys independent representation in major world sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and in the Rugby World Cup, but competes as part of Great Britain in some other competitions, including the Olympics.
Sport in Cardiff is dictated by, amongst other things, its position as the capital city of Wales, meaning that national home sporting fixtures are nearly always played in the city. All of Wales' multi-sports agencies and many of the country's sports governing bodies have their headquarters in Cardiff and the city's many top-quality venues have attracted world-famous sport events, sometimes unrelated to Cardiff or to Wales.
India has a history of sports dating back to the Vedic period, with Western sports having been imported during British rule. Cricket is the most popular spectator sport; it generates the highest television viewership, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) being the most-followed league in the country. Football has also gained popularity, with the Indian Super League (ISL) being the highest level of domestic football, and the national team winning multiple gold medals at the Asian and South Asian Games. Additional football accomplishments include India having reached the Groupstage of the 1960 Olympics, qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, and won the SAFF Championship. Other sports include kabaddi, badminton, tennis, and athletics, with kho-kho becoming the fourth-most viewed sport. India has also had success in field hockey, winning the World Cup and multiple medals in the Olympic Games. Sports such as golf, rugby, boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, motorsport, wrestling, and basketball are featured throughout the country.
Due to historical associations and geographical location with the United States, Cubans participate in American popular sports. While the majority of Latin American nations embrace soccer as the national game and pastime, in Cuba things are different. The country is not known for its soccer programs internationally. Instead, baseball is the most popular team sport along with volleyball, wrestling, basketball, sailing, boxing, and trekking.
Latinos have had a large impact on American sports in a variety of ways and in varying sports. In baseball, Latinos make up the largest minority group and many Latinos have become stars in the league. In 2008, 27 percent of MLB players were of Latino heritage. Other sports such as basketball, hockey, and football are seeing a rise in the participation of Latino/a athletes, although they still remain a minority within the leagues. Latino/as have also been able to make their mark on other sports such as coding, women's talking team, and football, showing that they are a force across many sports and have had a definite impact on their respective games.
Sport in Sri Lanka is a significant part of Sri Lankan culture. Although the Sports Ministry named volleyball the national sport, the most popular sport is Cricket. Rugby union is also popular. Other popular sports are water sports, badminton, athletics, football, basketball and tennis. Sri Lanka's schools and colleges regularly organize sports and athletics teams, competing on provincial and national levels.
The history of sport in Australia dates back to the pre-colonial period of the country.
The North American continent is the birthplace of several organized sports, such as basketball, charrería/rodeo, gridiron football, ice hockey, jaripeo/bull riding, lacrosse, ollamaliztl, mixed martial arts (MMA), padel, pickleball, racquetball, ultimate, and volleyball. The modern versions of baseball and softball, skateboarding, snowboarding, stock car racing, and surfing also developed in North America.
The game commonly known as ice hockey is hereby recognized and declared to be the national winter sport of Canada and the game commonly known as Hockey and Lacrosse is hereby recognized and declared to be the national summer sport of Canada.
A reconocerse, en 1962, el rodeo como deporte nacional y oficial [10 de enero de 1962, oficio N°269 del Consejo Nacional de Deportes y Comité Olímpico de Chile]
The game originated amongst Colombian indigenous groups around 500 years ago and was declared the Latin American country's sport in 2000 under Law 613.
El año de 1933 fue muy importante, ya que el general Abelardo L. Rodríguez, emite un decreto presidencial, dando a la Charrería el título de único Deporte Nacional.
The government on Monday decided to recognize volleyball as the national sport of Nepal.
In 1966, the Public Parks and Recreation Administration and the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee awarded official recognition of the "paso fino" horse riding sport as the autochthonous sport of Puerto Rico.
The National Assembly on Friday passed a revised act on taekwondo promotion, which states that the sport is the South Korean national martial art. / Taekwondo has customarily been perceived as the national martial art but wasn't officially recognized by the law.
displays of traditional gaucho skills (destrezas criollas)
Director of Sports, Alkins Rogers, […] reported that the Government recognizes boat racing as the national sport of Anguilla and was giving financial resources for its development.
Cricket, a left-over from the British rule, is the national sport of Antigua and Barbuda.
Ha-du-du was given the name kabadi and the status of National Game in 1972.
The national sport of Barbados is cricket
Bermuda are one of the few sides who count cricket as a national sport.
However, it (archery) was only declared as a national sport in 1971
In 1972, capoeira was officially proclaimed a Brazilian national sport, under the jurisdiction of the Federacao Barsileiro de Pugilismo
Kun Khmer, root back since ancient time of Khmer Empire, inscripted on stone wall, mark as one of the oldest martial art in Southeast Asia"
Table tennis, China's unofficial national sport since the 1950s, has given millions of Chinese a taste of national glory and prestige long before their country's more recent rise." / "Mao Zedong decreed table tennis the national sport, and invested heavily in cultivating competitive players."
Baseball is so ingrained in Cuba that it has thrived as the "national sport" through forty years of a bitterly anti-American revolution.
Most Cubans, after all, consider baseball to be their national sport, a game entwined in history with their struggle for independence from Spain and the birth of their nation.
the game that […] is […] our national sport […] I am talking of baseball
Baseball is the Dominican Republic's national sport.
Basketball is the unofficial national sport
rugby (or Rakavi) is the national sport
in the first Grenada Cricket Classics [, h]eroes such as Sir Viv Richards, Joel Garner and Curtley Ambrose came together to promote what is considered by many to be the national sport in Grenada.[ permanent dead link ]
Cricket lovely Cricket! One cannot miss out on Guyana's national sport without participating in a game of cricket while in Guyana.
[E]ven though soccer football was and is considered the Hungarian national pastime
The ministry of youth affairs and sports has said that the central government has not declared any sport as the 'national game' of the country (India)
However, in contrast to common perception, hockey is not the national game of India. The next best answer, kabaddi, is also incorrect..." "...And those siding with the currently popular cricket are also mistaken.
Today's announcement ensures that the public will enjoy quality coverage of our national games across all of RTÉ's media platforms.
It's [the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final] a big deal in Ireland, where Gaelic games are the national sport, but the problem for the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is that no-one outside the country, save for committed expatriates, gives a fig.
The legacy of Britain also lives on in Jamaica in many ways […] the game of cricket is the national sport.
Lithuania is a country that loves basketball. It is our national sport and we are proud to be reigning European Champions.
Basketball is the only sport the 3.2 million Lithuanians truly care about—it's their second religion, after Catholicism—and their success is proportionately stunning.
If you went to school in the 90s in Nepal, chances are that you were taught that dandi-biyo is Nepal's national sport.
Regarded as New Zealand's national game from the early 20th century, when the All Blacks swept triumphantly across Britain, rugby remains hugely popular.
the national sport could become a fine weapon in time of war. In 1943, Norway's resistance movement won an epochal victory – on skis, of course
The scoreboard shows how the Norwegians placed, a performance considered much too poor in a country where cross-country skiing is a national sport.
But it would still be one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history if Papua New Guinea – the only country to have rugby league as its national sport – were to qualify for the last four.
Basketball is the major national sport in the Philippines.
The Filipinos adpted basketball as their national sport, and Filipino boxers...
Dar nici deciziile luate de autorităţile comuniste nu au salvat sportul naţional românesc de la uitare.
Basketball is the national sport of Serbia
National sport No.1 – In Serbia, basketball is a religion
The Trophy Tour had Serbia on its schedule in mid-June. But the land of basketball wants to show it to an even bigger crowd, if they win it all in China in September
Today we celebrate 95 years since the first basketball match in Serbia and the 70th birthday of the national federation, which fans of the game all over Europe and the world, describe as "Land of basketball".
Baseball can be called Taiwan's national sport
Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand and is also known as 'The Art of Eight Limbs' as the hands, shins, elbows and knees are used extensively in this art.
Baseball justified its privileged legal status by citing the special nature and cultural significance of America's national pastime.
Tradition – that quality so instrumental in elevating baseball to its century-old status as national pastime – has become less important
rugby used to be the undisputed national sport of Wales […] Rugby Union's assumed position as "the national game" has often been questioned on the basis that it is predominantly a game played and followed in South Wales.