National sport


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.

Official national sports

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 of official national sports:
Country/territorySportYear of official recognitionBasis
ArgentinaPato1953Argentina Decree Nº 17468
CanadaIce hockey
Lacrosse 		1994National Sports of Canada Act
ChileChilean Rodeo1962Official letter No. 269 of the Consejo Nacional de Deportes and Chilean Olympic Committee
ColombiaTejo2000Colombia Law 613
MexicoCharrería1933Presidential decree by Abelardo L. Rodríguez
NepalVolleyball2017Cabinet of Nepal decision
PhilippinesArnis2009Republic Act No. 9850
Puerto RicoPaso Fino1966Puerto Rico Act 64 of 2000
South KoreaTaekwondo2018National Sport Designation Act for Taekwondo
Sri LankaVolleyball1991Declared by committee of the Ministry of Sports
UruguayDestrezas Criollas2006National Law Nº 17958

Unofficial national sports

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:
Country/TerritorySport
AfghanistanBuzkashi
AnguillaBoat racing
Antigua and BarbudaCricket
AustriaAlpine skiing
BangladeshKabaddi
BarbadosCricket
BermudaCricket
BhutanArchery
BrazilCapoeira
CambodiaBokator
CataloniaRoller hockey
ChinaTable tennis
Cook IslandsRugby league
CubaBaseball
Czech RepublicIce Hockey
DenmarkAssociation football
Dominican RepublicBaseball
EnglandAssociation football cricket
EstoniaBasketball, Rallying
FijiRugby union
FinlandPesäpallo
GeorgiaRugby union
GrenadaCricket
GuyanaCricket
HaitiAssociation football
IndiaCricket, field hockey, kabaddi
IndonesiaBadminton, pencak silat
IranFreestyle wrestling
IrelandGaelic games
ItalyAssociation football
JamaicaCricket
JapanSumo, baseball
LatviaIce hockey
LithuaniaBasketball
MadagascarRugby union
MalaysiaSepak takraw
MauritiusAssociation football
MongoliaArchery, horse racing, Mongolian wrestling
MontenegroWater polo
MyanmarChinlone
NauruAustralian rules football
NepalDandibiyo, volleyball
New ZealandRugby union
NorwayCross-country skiing
PakistanField hockey
PanamaBaseball
Papua New GuineaRugby league
PeruPaleta frontón
PhilippinesBasketball, sipa
PolandMotorcycle speedway, volleyball
RomaniaOina
RussiaBandy
Saudi ArabiaCamel racing, horse racing, falconry
ScotlandGolf
SerbiaBasketball
SloveniaAlpine skiing
SpainAssociation football
SwedenAssociation football, cross-country skiing, ice hockey
TaiwanBaseball
TajikistanGushtigiri
ThailandMuay Thai
TurkeyCirit, oil wrestling
Turks and Caicos IslandsCricket
UkraineAssociation football
United StatesAmerican football, baseball
VenezuelaBaseball
WalesRugby union