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A national sport 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 sumo is in Japan and Gaelic games are in Ireland and field hockey in Pakistan, while others are de jure (established by law) national sports, as taekwondo is in South Korea.

Official recognition of national sports

Sports declared as national sport by a law or through any other official means.

Country/Territory Sport Year defined as
national sport 		Basis Reference
 Argentina Pato 1953 Argentina Decree Nº 17468 [1]
 Canada Ice hockey (winter)
Lacrosse (summer) 		1994 National Sports of Canada Act [2]
 Chile 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
(Creole [i.e. gaucho] Skills[12]) 		2006 National Law Nº 17958 [13]

Unofficial national sports

The following is a list of de facto/unofficial national sport(s) by country. As opposed to a de jure national sport, the status of a de facto/unofficial national sport is informal and is provided with no legal recognition of being a national sport. Although some countries have an official national sport defined by law, other sources may also consider another sport to be a de facto/unofficial national sport of the country.

Country/Territory Sport
 Afghanistan Buzkashi[14]
 Anguilla Boat racing[15]
 Antigua and Barbuda Cricket[16]
 Austria Alpine skiing[17]
 Bangladesh Kabaddi[18]
 Barbados Cricket[19]
 Bermuda Cricket[20]
 Bhutan Archery[21][22]
 Brazil Capoeira[23]
 Cambodia Bokator[24]
 China Table tennis[25]
 Cuba Baseball[26][27][28]
 Dagestan Wrestling[29]
 Dominican Republic Baseball[30]
 England Cricket[31][better source needed]
 Estonia Basketball (summer)[32]
Ice hockey (winter)
 Fiji Rugby union[33]
 Finland Pesäpallo[34]
 Georgia Rugby union[35]
 Grenada Cricket[36]
 Guyana Cricket[37][38]
 Haiti Association football[39]
 India Cricket,[40] Field hockey,[41] Kabaddi[40]
 Indonesia Pencak Silat[42]
 Ireland Gaelic games[43][44][45]
 Jamaica Cricket[46]
 Japan Sumo[47][48]
 Latvia Ice hockey[49]
 Lithuania Basketball[50][51]
 Madagascar Rugby union[52][53]
 Malaysia Sepak takraw[54][55]
 Mauritius Football[56]
 Mongolia Archery, Horse racing, Mongolian wrestling[57][58]
 Montenegro Water polo[59]
   Nepal Kabaddi,[7] Volleyball[60]
 New Zealand Rugby union[61][62]
 Norway Cross-country skiing (winter)[63][64]
 Pakistan Field hockey[65][66]
 Panama Baseball[65][66]
 Papua New Guinea Rugby league[67][68]
 Peru Paleta Frontón[69]
 Philippines Basketball,[70][71] Sipa[72]
 Poland Volleyball[73][74][75][76][77]
 Romania Oina[78]
 Russia Bandy[79]
 Scotland Golf[80]
 Serbia Basketball[81][82][83][84]
 Slovenia Alpine skiing,[85]
 Spain Football[86]
 Sri Lanka Volleyball[87]
 Taiwan Baseball[88][89]
 Tajikistan Gushtigiri[90]
 Thailand Muay Thai[91]
 Turkey Cirit,[92] Oil wrestling[93]
 Turks and Caicos Islands Cricket[94]
 United States Baseball[95][96][97]
 Venezuela Baseball[98]
 Wales Rugby union[99]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Argentina Decree Nº 17468 of 16 September 1953". Federación Argentina de Pato. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  2. ^ "National Sports of Canada Act S.C. 1994, c. 16". Justice Laws Website. 12 May 1994. Retrieved 28 June 2021. 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 lacrosse is hereby recognized and declared to be the national summer sport of Canada.
  3. ^ Moreira Recchione, Alberto (December 2007). "La Medialuna: un edificio para Chile". Revista de Urbanismo (in Spanish) (17). ISSN 0717-5051. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2008. 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]
  4. ^ Sherriff, Lucy (9 September 2021). "Gunpowder and beer: Playing Colombia's national sport of tejo". CNN Travel. Retrieved 25 October 2021. 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.
  5. ^ "Colombia Law 613 of 4 September 2000". Global Legal Information Network. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
  6. ^ "La Charrería "Nuestro Deporte Nacional"" (in Spanish). Mexican Department of Tourism. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2008. 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.
  7. ^ a b "It's official: Volleyball is the national sport of Nepal". OnlineKhabar. 23 May 2017. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. The government on Monday decided to recognize volleyball as the national sport of Nepal.
  8. ^ "Republic Act No. 9850: An Act declaring Arnis as the national martial art and sport of the Philippines". Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  9. ^ "Puerto Rico Act 64 of 2000, S.B. 1856" (PDF). Office of Legislative Services of Puerto Rico. 11 April 2000. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2008. 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.
  10. ^ "Taekwondo designated as South Korea's flagbearing national sport". insidethegames. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Taekwondo is Korea's national martial art - now by law". The Korea Times. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2021. 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.
  12. ^ Aeberhard, Danny; Andrew Benson; Lucy Phillips; et al. (2001). The Rough Guide to Argentina. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-85828-569-6. displays of traditional gaucho skills (destrezas criollas)
  13. ^ "Uruguay Law 17958 of 21 April 2006". Global Legal Information Network. Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
  14. ^ "Buzkashi: The National Game of Afghanis". Embassy of Afghanistan, Canberra. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
  15. ^ "Boat Racing Season Officially Opens". The Anguillian. 3 March 2007. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2008. 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.
  16. ^ "Antiguans and Barbudans". everyculture.com. Retrieved 10 July 2008. Cricket, a left-over from the British rule, is the national sport of Antigua and Barbuda.
  17. ^ "Teurer Pistenspaß: Das kostet unser Nationalsport".
  18. ^ Faroqi, Gofran (2012). "Kabadi". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Ha-du-du was given the name kabadi and the status of National Game in 1972.
  19. ^ "Barbados: Sports". Government of Barbados. Archived from the original on 13 November 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2008. The national sport of Barbados is cricket
  20. ^ Luke, Will (March 2007). "Cricket by association". The Wisden Cricketer. Retrieved 21 July 2008. Bermuda are one of the few sides who count cricket as a national sport.
  21. ^ Bisht, Ramesh Chandra (January 2008). International Encyclopaedia of Himalayas. Mittal Publications. p. 134. ISBN 978-81-8324-265-3. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
  22. ^ "In Bhutan, archery is a national sport with a difference | DW | 01.03.2011". DW.COM. Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 28 June 2021. However, it (archery) was only declared as a national sport in 1971
  23. ^ Lowell, John (1992). Ring of Liberation: Deceptive Discourse in Brazilian Capoeira. University of Chicago Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-226-47683-4. In 1972, capoeira was officially proclaimed a Brazilian national sport, under the jurisdiction of the Federacao Barsileiro de Pugilismo
  24. ^ Kun, Khmer (8 August 2012). "Cambodia". The Atlantic. 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"
  25. ^ Gao, Helen (8 August 2012). "China, Still the World Champ, Is Falling Out of Love With Table Tennis". The Atlantic. Retrieved 25 October 2021. 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."
  26. ^ Gonzalez Echevarria, Roberto (1999). "A Cuban Belle Époque". The Pride of Havana: A History of Cuban Baseball. Oxford University Press. pp. 76. ISBN 978-0-19-514605-9. Baseball is so ingrained in Cuba that it has thrived as the "national sport" through forty years of a bitterly anti-American revolution.
  27. ^ Mckinley, James C., Jr (26 March 1999). "Baseball; Clash of Cultures, Pride and Passion". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 July 2008. 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.
  28. ^ Castro, Fidel (13 August 1999). "Speech at a meeting with Pan American Games delegation members". cuba.cu. Retrieved 24 July 2008. the game that […] is […] our national sport […] I am talking of baseball
  29. ^ Johny Payne (17 July 2021). "Islam Makhachev explains why Dagestani fighters excel in wrestling". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  30. ^ "Some facts about the Dominican Republic". Embassy of the Dominican Republic, Washington. Retrieved 22 July 2008. Baseball is the Dominican Republic's national sport.
  31. ^ "What sports do you play in Britain?".
  32. ^ Lonely Planet Eastern Europe (9 ed.). Lonely Planet. 2007. p. 319. Basketball is the unofficial national sport
  33. ^ "Sport". rugby (or Rakavi) is the national sport
  34. ^ "About Finland: General information: Sports". Embassy of Finland, Washington. 11 June 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2008. the national sport, "pesäpallo"[dead link]
  35. ^ There is far more to savour in European rugby union than just the Six Nations The Guardian
  36. ^ "Batting For Grenada". Grenada Life. Grenada Board of Tourism. March 2007. p. 38. Retrieved 21 July 2008. 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]
  37. ^ "Games". Guyana Tourism Authority. Archived from the original on 6 June 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008. Cricket lovely Cricket! One cannot miss out on Guyana's national sport without participating in a game of cricket while in Guyana.
  38. ^ Wagg, Stephen; Andrews, David L., eds. (2007). East Plays West: Sport and the Cold War. London/New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-35926-9. [E]ven though soccer football was and is considered the Hungarian national pastime
  39. ^ Graves, Kerry A. (August 2006). Haiti. Capstone. ISBN 978-0736869614.
  40. ^ a b Ansari, Aarish. "Did you know that India does not have a national game!". Retrieved 11 February 2022. 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.
  41. ^ "Govt has not declared any sport as national game: RTI reply". The Times of India. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2021. 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)
  42. ^ "Pencak Silat: More Than Just A Fight". Indonesia Expat. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  43. ^ "RTÉ Secures Comprehensive GAA Championship Coverage Until 2010". RTÉ Online. 19 February 2008. Archived from the original on 2 July 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2009. Today's announcement ensures that the public will enjoy quality coverage of our national games across all of RTÉ's media platforms.
  44. ^ "Adjournment Matters. - Eurathlon Programme". Seanad Éireann. 22 November 1995. pp. Volume 145. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  45. ^ Farrelly, Hugh (15 September 2009). "The most progressive team in Ireland". Scrum.com. Retrieved 17 September 2009. 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.
  46. ^ "History of Jamaica". Jamaican Embassy, Washington. Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008. The legacy of Britain also lives on in Jamaica in many ways […] the game of cricket is the national sport.
  47. ^ "What Is Sumo?". Kids Web Japan sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  48. ^ "Yoroku: The pride of Japan's 'national sport'". The Mainichi. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  49. ^ "Sports". [Latvia.eu]. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  50. ^ Adamkus, Valdas (28 July 2005). "Address at Charles University, Prague". President of Lithuania official website. Archived from the original on 5 October 2006. Retrieved 24 July 2008. Lithuania is a country that loves basketball. It is our national sport and we are proud to be reigning European Champions.
  51. ^ Winn, Luke (15 August 2011). "Lithuania Calling". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 24 August 2011. 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.
  52. ^ "Madagascar take Sevens honours". Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  53. ^ "14-place jump for Madagascar". Archived from the original on 18 November 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  54. ^ "Official Sepaktakraw Website – Malaysian Sepaktakraw Association (PSM) pays official visit to ISTAF and Asia Sports Ventures". Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  55. ^ Editions Didier Millet (1 February 2010), Malaysia at Random, Editions Didier Millet, pp. 62–, ISBN 978-981-4217-95-8
  56. ^ Richards, Alexandra.Mauritius: Rodrigues, Réunion. Bradt Travel Guides, 2009, p.90
  57. ^ Metawise LLC. "A wrestling competition dedicated to the Wonder of Mongolian National Wrestling". infomongolia.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  58. ^ "Mongolian Embassy in the USA". Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  59. ^ "Water Polo Is The Most Popular Sport in Montenegro". total-waterpolo.com. Total Waterpolo. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  60. ^ "Nepal's' 'national sport' we never had: Five things you didn't know about dandi-biyo". Online Khabar. Archived from the original on 5 June 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2020. If you went to school in the 90s in Nepal, chances are that you were taught that dandi-biyo is Nepal's national sport.
  61. ^ Alves, Thalita. "How Rugby Became New Zealand's National Sport". Culture Trip. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  62. ^ Palenski, Ron (1 September 2016). "Rugby union". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 14 April 2020. Regarded as New Zealand's national game from the early 20th century, when the All Blacks swept triumphantly across Britain, rugby remains hugely popular.
  63. ^ Mølster, Odd (1996). "Skiing and the Creation of a Norwegian Identity – part 2". News of Norway, issue 2. Norwegian Embassy, Washington. Retrieved 21 July 2008. 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
  64. ^ Berglund, Nina (20 February 2006). "Few cheers for Norway". Aftenposten. Archived from the original on 21 February 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2008. The scoreboard shows how the Norwegians placed, a performance considered much too poor in a country where cross-country skiing is a national sport.
  65. ^ a b Khan, M. Ilyas (8 August 2012). "Pakistan's Olympic humiliation in national sport". BBC. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  66. ^ a b Abbott, David (2015). Changing World: Pakistan. Encyclopædia Britannica. p. 21. ISBN 978-1625133212.
  67. ^ "PNG vow to upset World Cup odds". Rugby League. Federación Peruana de Frontón. 15 October 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2009. 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.
  68. ^ "PNG seal 2010 Four Nations place". BBC. 1 November 2009.
  69. ^ "Paleta-Frontón". Club Regatas Lima. Club Regatas Lima. 31 August 2009. Archived from the original on 25 June 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  70. ^ "Philippines". Teen Life in Asia (illustrated ed.). Greenwood Publishing Group. 2004. p. 182. ISBN 0313315329. Retrieved 5 May 2020. Basketball is the major national sport in the Philippines.
  71. ^ Gems, Gerald; Borish, Linda; Pfister, Gertrud (10 April 2017). "Sport as Symbol: Acculturation and Imperialism". American History: From Colonization to Globalization (2 ed.). Human Kinetics. p. 213. ISBN 978-1492586142. The Filipinos adpted basketball as their national sport, and Filipino boxers...
  72. ^ "Sipa and sepak takraw kicking in". Rappler. David Lozada. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  73. ^ "Siatkówka - polski sport narodowy? Historia szaleństwa, które wkrótce może dosięgnąć każdego". 16 August 2014.
  74. ^ "Jak siatkówka stała się narodowa". 1 September 2014.
  75. ^ "Siatkówka: nasz sport narodowy". 8 March 2021.
  76. ^ "Polska ma swój skarb narodowy. Od dwóch milionów do półtora miliarda. Fenomen". 28 September 2021.
  77. ^ "Królowa polskich gier. O tym, jak i dlaczego siatkówka staje się naszym narodowym skarbem". 13 September 2022.
  78. ^ "Oina – sportul naţional uitat" (in Romanian). Adevărul Holding. 18 September 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2012. Dar nici deciziile luate de autorităţile comuniste nu au salvat sportul naţional românesc de la uitare.
  79. ^ "Russian bandy players blessed for victory at world championship in Kazan". Tatar-Inform. 21 January 2011. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  80. ^ "Alex Salmond quote". Sport Scotland. 31 August 2009. Archived from the original on 28 October 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  81. ^ "Košarka je nacionalni sport Srbije". Glas javnosti. Retrieved 16 July 2019. Basketball is the national sport of Serbia
  82. ^ "Nacionalno sport broj 1 – Košarka je u Srbiji religija". Blic. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2019. National sport No.1 – In Serbia, basketball is a religion
  83. ^ "Serbian coach Djordjevic knows what it takes to make a transition from "names" to "legends"". FIBA. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019. 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
  84. ^ "Svečana akademija Košarkaškog saveza Srbije za pamćenje!". Basketball Federation of Serbia. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019. 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".
  85. ^ Kotnik, Vlado (2008). "Skiing Nation: Towards an Anthropology of Slovenia's National Sport". Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism. 7 (2): 56–78. doi:10.1111/j.1754-9469.2007.tb00118.x.
  86. ^ "Football in Spain". Just Landed.
  87. ^ DK Eyewitness Sri Lanka. DK Publishing. 29 September 2016. p. 23. ISBN 9781465496461. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  88. ^ "101 of Taiwan's Baseball". Taiwan e-Learning and Digital Archives Program. Government of the Republic of China. Retrieved 25 October 2021. Baseball can be called Taiwan's national sport
  89. ^ 林伯修; 林國棟 (1 September 2012). "媒體再現與臺灣國球的系譜". 體育學報. 45 (3): P227 - 245. doi:10.6222/pej.4503.201209.0706.
  90. ^ Ibbotson, Sophie; Lovell-Hoare, Max (2013). Tajikistan. Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 978-1841624556. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  91. ^ "Q: Could you tell me more about the history of Muay Thai and is there a place where I can take up Muay Thai in Singapore?". Thai Embassy in Singapore. 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.
  92. ^ "Ata Sporu – Cirit". Kalem.biz. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  93. ^ "Ata Sporu – Güreş". Alaturka.info. Archived from the original on 23 December 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  94. ^ "ICC Members: Turks and Caicos Islands". International Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  95. ^ Duquette, Jerold J. (1999). Regulating the National Pastime: Baseball and Antitrust. Greenwood. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-275-96535-8. Retrieved 21 July 2008. Baseball justified its privileged legal status by citing the special nature and cultural significance of America's national pastime.
  96. ^ Schrag, Myles (2003). "Baseball as National Pastime Revisted: And a Little Town Shall Lead Them". In Peter Carino (ed.). Baseball/literature/culture: Essays, 1995–2001. McFarland. p. Chp.13 p.140. ISBN 978-0-7864-1643-1. Tradition – that quality so instrumental in elevating baseball to its century-old status as national pastime – has become less important
  97. ^ Gmelch, George (1 January 2006). Baseball Without Borders: The International Pastime. p. 308. ISBN 9780803256064. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  98. ^ Gmelch, George (1 January 2006). Baseball Without Borders: The International Pastime. p. 308. ISBN 9780803256064. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  99. ^ Harris, John (Summer 2006). "(Re)Presenting Wales: National Identity and Celebrity in the Postmodern Rugby World" (PDF). North American Journal of Welsh Studies. 6 (2). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2008. Retrieved 14 July 2008. 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.
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