NATIONAL SPORT

A 'national sport' is a sport or game that is considered to be a popularly intrinsic part of the culture or is the most popular sport of a country or nation.^[1] In American English the term 'national pastime' is often used.
Although there are normally no official parameters towards defining what is a national sport, there are some general characteristics that most national sports share:

★ The rules and objectives of the sport or game are known in fairly great detail in the country or nation.

★ The game or sport is widely played or watched in the country or nation.

★ The game or sport has a long history of popularity or extreme current popularity in the country or nation.
In some countries, sport or game can become the official national pastime by mandate of the government, such as with Canada and lacrosse in 1995. In other countries, where the sport or game has such a long history, such as with baseball in the United States or sumo wrestling in Japan, the sport or game is often considered a ''de facto'' "official" national pastime. This article generally goes by the popularity of the sports in all the countries.

Contents

List of countries' national sports

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

P

R

S

T

U

V

Z

Countries by most popular sport

American Football (1)

Archery (1)

Australian rules football (1)

Baseball (8)

Basketball (3)

Cricket (18)

Football (soccer) (126)

Gaelic Football (2)

Horse Racing (1)

Ice Hockey (2)

Kick Boxing (2)

Table Tennis (1)

Rugby League (1)

Rugby Union (7)

Wrestling (1)

References

List of countries' national sports

A

★ Afghanistan - Buzkashi is the traditional sport but Football (soccer) is the most popular, Boxing and kung fu are also popular.^[2]

★ Albania - football (soccer).^[3]

★ Antigua and Barbuda - Cricket is the national and most popular sport.^[4]

★ Angola - Football.^[5]

★ Anguilla - Sailing, Anguilla is unique in this regard as it is the only former British Colony in the West Indies in which the National Sport is not Cricket.

★ Argentina - football (soccer) is the national passion. Rugby Union and Basketball are also popular. Pato is the national traditional sport while the nation has had historically the best Polo players and tournaments in the world. Cricket is also growing fast.^[6]

★ Armenia - Football is most popular; competitively