National sport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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[edit]

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 official national sports:

Country/territory Sport Year of official recognition Basis Ref
Argentina Pato 1953 Argentina Decree Nº 17468 [1]
Canada Ice hockey (winter)
Lacrosse (summer)
1994 National Sports of Canada Act [2]
Chile Chilean 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 2006 National Law Nº 17958 [12][13]

Unofficial national sports[edit]

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/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]
Cook Islands Rugby league[26]
Cuba Baseball[27][28][29]
Dagestan Wrestling[30]
Denmark Association football[31]
Dominican Republic Baseball[32]
England Association football[33][34][better source needed], Rugby Union, Cricket[33]
Estonia Basketball[35]
Fiji Rugby union[36]
Finland Pesäpallo[37]
Georgia Rugby union[38]
Grenada Cricket[39]
Guyana Cricket[40][41]
Haiti Association football[42]
India Cricket,[43] field hockey,[44] kabaddi[43]
Indonesia Pencak silat[45]
Ireland Gaelic games[46][47][48]
Jamaica Cricket[49]
Japan Sumo[50][51]
Latvia Ice hockey[52]
Lithuania Basketball[53][54]
Madagascar Rugby union[55][56]
Malaysia Sepak takraw[57][58]
Mauritius Association football[59]
Mongolia Archery, horse racing, Mongolian wrestling[60][61]
Montenegro Water polo[62]
Nepal Kabaddi,[7] volleyball[63]
New Zealand Rugby union[64][65]
Norway Cross-country skiing[66][67]
Pakistan Field hockey[68][69]
Panama Baseball[68][69]
Papua New Guinea Rugby league[70][71]
Peru Paleta frontón[72]
Philippines Basketball,[73][74] sipa[75]
Poland Motorcycle speedway,[76] volleyball[77][78][79][80][81]
Romania Oina[82]
Russia Bandy[83]
Saudi Arabia Camel racing,[84] horse racing,[84] falconry[84]
Scotland Golf[85]
Serbia Basketball[86][87][88][89]
Slovenia Alpine skiing[90]
Spain Association football[91]
Sri Lanka Volleyball[92]
Taiwan Baseball[93][94]
Tajikistan Gushtigiri[95]
Thailand Muay Thai[96]
Turkey Cirit,[97] oil wrestling[98]
Turks and Caicos Islands Cricket[99]
United States Baseball[100][101][102]
Venezuela Baseball[103]
Wales Rugby union[104]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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  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 Hockey and 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.
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  12. ^ "Uruguay Law 17958 of 21 April 2006". Global Legal Information Network. Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
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  39. ^ "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]
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  104. ^ 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.