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National sport

Sport or other physical activity with particular significance in a nation

Sport or other physical activity with particular significance in a nation

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 recognitionBasisRefArgentinaCanadaChileColombiaMexicoNepalPhilippinesPuerto RicoSouth KoreaSri LankaUruguay
Pato1953Argentina Decree Nº 17468
Ice hockey (winter)
Lacrosse (summer)1994National Sports of Canada Act
Chilean Rodeo1962Official letter No. 269 of the Consejo Nacional de Deportes and Chilean Olympic Committee
Tejo2000Colombia Law 613
Charrería1933Presidential decree by Abelardo L. Rodríguez
Volleyball2017Cabinet of Nepal decisionurl=https://english.onlinekhabar.com/2017/05/23/400702title=It's official: Volleyball is the national sport of Nepaldate=23 May 2017work=OnlineKhabararchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523093611/https://english.onlinekhabar.com/2017/05/23/400702archive-date=2017-05-23quote=The government on Monday decided to recognize volleyball as the national sport of Nepal.}}
Arnis2009Republic Act No. 9850
Paso Fino1966Puerto Rico Act 64 of 2000
Taekwondo2018National Sport Designation Act for Taekwondo
Volleyball1991Declared by committee of the Ministry of Sports
Destrezas 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/TerritorySportAfghanistanAnguillaAntigua and BarbudaAustriaBangladeshBarbadosBermudaBhutanBrazilCambodiaCataloniaChinaCook IslandsCubaCzech RepublicDenmarkDominican RepublicEnglandEstoniaFijiFinlandGeorgiaGrenadaGuyanaHaitiIndiaIndonesiaIranIrelandItalyJamaicaJapanLatviaLithuaniaMadagascarMalaysiaMauritiusMongoliaMontenegroMyanmarNauruNepalNew ZealandNorwayPakistanPanamaPapua New GuineaPeruPhilippinesPolandRomaniaRussiaSaudi ArabiaScotlandSerbiaSloveniaSpainSwedenTaiwanTajikistanThailandTurkeyTurks and Caicos IslandsUkraineUnited StatesVenezuelaWales
Buzkashi
Boat racing
Cricket
Alpine skiing
Kabaddi
Cricket
Cricket
Archery
Capoeira
Bokator
Roller hockey
Table tennis
Rugby league
Baseball
Ice Hockey
Association football
Baseball
url=http://projectbritain.com/sport.htmltitle=Sports Played in Britainwebsite=projectbritain.comaccess-date=11 March 2023}} cricket
title=Lonely Planet Eastern Europeurl=https://archive.org/details/lonelyplaneteast00masturl-access=limitededition=9publisher= Lonely Planetyear= 2007page=[319](https://archive.org/details/lonelyplaneteast00mast/page/n168)isbn=978-1-74104-476-8quote=Basketball is the unofficial national sport}} Rallying
Rugby union
Pesäpallo
Rugby union
Cricket
Cricket
Association football
title=Govt has not declared any sport as national game: RTI replyurl=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/more-sports/others/govt-has-not-declared-any-sport-as-national-game-rti-reply/articleshow/74120667.cmsaccess-date=25 October 2021work=The Times of Indiadate=13 February 2020language=enquote=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)}} field hockey, kabaddi
Badminton, pencak silat
Freestyle wrestling
Gaelic games
Association football
Cricket
Sumo, baseball
Ice hockey
Basketball
Rugby union
Sepak takraw
Association football
Archery, horse racing, Mongolian wrestling
Water polo
Chinlone
Australian rules football
Dandibiyo,
Rugby union
Cross-country skiing
url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-19182961title=Pakistan's Olympic humiliation in national sportwork=BBCdate=8 August 2012access-date=5 December 2016first=M. Ilyaslast=Khan}}
Baseball
Rugby league
Paleta frontón
Basketball, sipa
Motorcycle speedway, volleyball
Oina
url=http://eng.tatar-inform.ru/news/2011/01/21/33986/title=Russian bandy players blessed for victory at world championship in Kazandate=21 January 2011publisher=Tatar-Informaccess-date=31 August 2009archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424230703/http://eng.tatar-inform.ru/news/2011/01/21/33986/archive-date=24 April 2012 }}
title=Sports And Recreation The Embassy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabiaurl=https://www.saudiembassy.net/sports-and-recreationaccess-date=2023-06-21website=www.saudiembassy.net}} falconry
Golf
Basketball
title=Skiing Nation: Towards an Anthropology of Slovenia's National Sportdoi=10.1111/j.1754-9469.2007.tb00118.xvolume=7issue=2journal=Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalismpages=56–78year = 2008last1 = Kotnikfirst1 = Vlado}}
Association football
Association football, cross-country skiing, ice hockey{{Cite webtitle=Vilken är egentligen Sveriges nationalsport?publisher=Sveriges Radiolanguage=svdate=October 19, 2018access-date=January 17, 2025first=Malinlast=Rimfors}}
Baseball
Gushtigiri
Muay Thai
Cirit, oil wrestling
Cricket
Association football{{Cite webtitle=Футбол – найпопулярніший вид спорту для українцівurl=https://tsn.ua/prosport/futbol-naypopulyarnishiy-vid-sportu-dlya-ukrayinciv-87-obirayut-bezkoshtovniy-pereglyad-matchiv-doslidzhennya-gradus-2156074.htmldate=September 12, 2022access-date=August 18, 2025}}
American football, baseball
Baseball
Rugby union

References

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