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.
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:
^"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 Hockey and Lacrosse is hereby recognized and declared to be the national summer sport of Canada.
^Moreira Recchione, Alberto (December 2007). "La Medialuna: un edificio para Chile". Revista de Urbanismo (in Spanish) (17). ISSN0717-5051. 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]
^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.
^"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.
^"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.
^"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.
^"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.
^"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.
^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.
^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"
^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."
^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.
^"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]
^"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.
^Wagg, Stephen; Andrews, David L., eds. (2007). East Plays West: Sport and the Cold War. London/New York: Routledge. ISBN978-0-415-35926-9. [E]ven though soccer football was and is considered the Hungarian national pastime
^"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)
^ abAnsari, 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.
^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.
^Hamil, Sean; Chadwick, Simon (2010). Managing football: an international perspective (1st ed., dodr. ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 285. ISBN978-1-85617-544-9.
^"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.
^"What Is Sumo?". Kids Web Japan sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
^"Sports". [Latvia.eu]. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
^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.
^Winn, Luke (15 August 2011). "Lithuania Calling". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. 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.
^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.
^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
^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.
^ abAbbott, David (2015). Changing World: Pakistan. Encyclopædia Britannica. p. 21. ISBN978-1-62513-321-2.
^"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.
^"Paleta-Frontón". Club Regatas Lima. 31 August 2009. Archived from the original on 25 June 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
^"Philippines". Teen Life in Asia (illustrated ed.). Greenwood Publishing Group. 2004. p. 182. ISBN0-313-31532-9. Retrieved 5 May 2020. Basketball is the major national sport in the Philippines.
^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. ISBN978-1-4925-8614-2. The Filipinos adpted basketball as their national sport, and Filipino boxers...
^"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.
^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.
^"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
^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.