Official National Sports of Different Countries

While plenty of countries seem to have favorite sports, only a handful have an official sport. Some are more obvious than others, some have roots dating back centuries, and some even involve alcohol. Let's take a look at the only countries with official national sports.

Introduced by West Africans to the country more than 500 years ago, Brazil’s national sport of Capoeira involves a combination of martial arts, music, and dance filled with fast, powerful kicks and other self-defense techniques. In the 16th century, the Portuguese took advantage of slaves from Angola and Congo when settling in Brazil. A few of these slaves escaped and developed Capoeira to use in self-defense against their colonial oppressors. As Brazil's economy grew, so did Capoeira. Often used in criminal and violent insurrections against the government over the years, at one point Capoeira was banned. By the 1900s, though, it had lost its stigma as a martial art associated with criminality, and many Capoeira schools started opening around the country. Today, the sport is deeply ingrained in Brazilian culture and involves a full-on, varied physical workout: It was officially named Brazil's national sport by UNESCO in 2014.

Though archery has been Bhutan's national sport only since 1971, it has deep roots in the country's culture dating back to 600 BC, when archers were prominent in battle. The sport of archery became particularly popular when Bhutan's second king reigned in the 1920s. As former Prime Minister Kinzang Dorji, president of the Bhutan Archery Federation, told DW: "It's not just sport but [also a] celebration of the way of life and an expression of our rich culture and heritage." The activity also involves singing, dancing, and socializing with family members, making archery more than just a sporting event. In addition, it is one of the few sports in which drinking alcohol is permitted during competition, a tradition that has been passed down through the generations in Bhutan. However, there's a rule that discourages imbibing too much when there are a large number of spectators in attendance.

Canada has not one but two official national sports, with ice hockey declared the national winter sport and lacrosse the national summer sport in 1994. Canadian J.G.A. Creighton is credited with developing the first hockey game with modern rules in Montreal in 1875. And though the sport initially involved men only, women were eventually welcomed into the fold. The Canadian men’s and women’s hockey teams both won gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics, and the sport has also produced many of Canada's most famous athletes, including Wayne Gretzky. As for lacrosse, it originated with the Native people of Canada, primarily as a spiritual activity that was often used to settle disputes between tribes. Non-Native clubs started forming in the late 1850s and early 1860s, and by the turn of the century, it was Canada’s top sport. "The Canadian game known as box lacrosse is played both indoors and outdoors, normally in the same enclosure used for hockey in the winter."

Declared the national sport of the Philippines in 2009, Arnis dates back to the year 900. It was developed by the country's indigenous people for self-defense with knives and sticks. As detailed by Sportsmatik, this particular martial art also involves hand-to-hand combat and grappling. Its long history entered a new phase of adaptation around the turn of the 19th century, when Filipinos were under Spanish rule. Largely disarmed by their colonial rulers, Filipino Arnis practitioners couldn’t access bladed weapons, so they started using rattan sticks instead. It didn't take them too long to realize that the stick was a very effective fighting tool even in comparison to the sword, so they combined stick and knife techniques, giving the sport its modern form. Regarded as a dangerous sport, Arnis is distinguished by its use of rattan and hardwood weaponry.

In 2018, following a proposal from a ninth-degree black belt with an interest in preserving its legal status, South Korea made Taekwondo the national sport. While it has its roots in South Korea, the country's embassy in Norway reports that millions of people globally practice this martial art, making it one of the most-popular martial arts worldwide. Taekwondo translates into, quote, "the way of the foot and fist" or, quote, "the art of kicking and punching," and it’s accordingly defined by a series of kicks and punches, varying in complexity. With roots dating back hundreds of years, Taekwondo grew in popularity after being demonstrated at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, becoming an official Olympic sport in 2000. The 2018 decision to make it the national sport of South Korea has also kept it in the Olympics.

Freestyle wrestling is the national sport of Iran, and has a tradition dating back to an ancient Persian sport, one that mixes wrestling with strength training and meditation. That's why, as reported by The Atlantic, Iranians also do well in professional weight lifting. In addition, Taekwondo's popularity in Iran may owe itself to the prevalence of wrestling. This holistic series of activities brings together cultural influences from different eras in Iran's history. While wrestling may be considered an aggressive activity, the Iranian tradition that incorporates it involves the mind, body, and spirit, as well as acting in a chivalrous manner. Topend Sports reports that wrestling is popular with Iranian youth, while the country's current style of wrestling is practiced almost the same way as it was in ancient times. Iran’s wrestling team has been very successful over the years, winning international tournaments and racking up Olympic gold medals. In the spring of 2021, Iran's national freestyle team won the Asian Wrestling Championship, as reported by the Iran Press News Agency. The country's national Greco-Roman wrestling team also won first place in that championship.

In 2017, the government of Nepal made volleyball the country's national sport. According to Online Khabar, the Nepal Volleyball Association helped convince officials to pass the legislation, noting that the game can be played in all types of locations and is accessible to most of the country's citizens. Though currently people play volleyball in each of Nepal's 77 districts, it's unclear exactly how or when volleyball got its start in the country, other than that the British introduced it to Nepal in the early 1930s. The sport became popular with college students in the 1960s, and the Nepalese were competing internationally by the 1970s.

Argentina's national sport is called juego del pato or just simply pato, which translates to "duck," and as Globe Trotting explains, it combines horseback riding with a little bit of basketball and polo. The game involves two teams of four riders who try to get the pato into netted hoops. Four centuries ago, players used a dead bird, such as a duck, wrapped in leather, but today, they use a leather ball with six handles. Historically, the game was quite brutal and was occasionally outlawed. These days, the game has set rules, but players must be in peak physical condition in order to participate, as pato requires considerable strength. Sometimes compared to the fantastical game of Quidditch from the Harry Potter books, it involves horses instead of broomsticks. Pato is played at both the amateur and pro levels.

As ESPN reports, it was a bit of a surprise when Bangladeshi officials chose the contact sport kabaddi, instead of football or cricket, as the country's national sport in 1972. However, since the country had just gained its independence, those involved in the decision-making process likely wanted to choose a sport that was part of the country's pre-colonial history. While the choice was a bit controversial, popular player Abdul Jalil said of the decision, "This was an easy game to understand, and it was what the farmers played in the villages during Eid and other festivities." The game is simple to play and has stayed true to its roots, and though within Bangladesh kabaddi is more popular among rural residents than city dwellers, it's now an international sport. Bangladesh has won several medals over the years, including third place in the Kabaddi World Cup in 2004 and 2007. But kabaddi doesn't have the monetary backing of football or cricket and as a result, the players must have day jobs to support themselves, playing kabaddi on the side.

Colombia's national sport tejo involves booze, gunpowder, and steel projectiles, making it one of the most-interesting sports in the world. Created by the country's indigenous population roughly 500 years ago, it became Colombia's national sport in 2000. Yoani Vela Bernal, mayor of Turmequé, explained to CNN in 2018 that “[Tejo is] an achievement that was not wiped out by the colonial conquistadors, and it makes up a unique link between our past and our present." Played outdoors or inside a bar while the players drink a lot of alcohol, it's both an individual and team sport that involves throwing a heavy steel puck at a board that's 20 yards away. The goal is to land the puck in the center of the target, which emits gunpowder from paper pouches when that happens. Also, the board is covered in clay, adding a messy element to the game. Most Colombians have played tejo, and it's becoming increasingly popular in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. However, some people want to remove alcohol from the sport so it can become part of the Olympics. But the drinking aspect will be hard to remove for many aficionados. “Players don’t even pay to play tejo – the courts are free as long as you drink beer.” It's just one of the key elements that make tejo unique as an expression of Colombian culture. As teacher Juan González told CNN: "It's quite Colombian in that way: lots of fun, a little craziness, and of course, good beer.”

Charrería has been the official sport of Mexico since 1933. Similar to rodeo, the sport centers on teams of horseback riders, with games typically played on Sundays. Now very popular among certain communities in Mexico, charrería arose in the western part of the country after the Spanish imported horses in the 16th century. Farm workers participated in the games, known as charreadas, to demonstrate their horse-riding skills. The National Charro Association was established in 1921. Today, the games feature nine different events, known as suertes as well as a riding event for women. Participants get their start in the sport when they're as young as three and master skills involving speed and precision. Knowing how to control a horse and getting it to perform a variety of tasks - such as abruptly stopping - are critical skills in this sport. Tejo's popularity extends north of the border too - it's also played in parts of the US that used to be part of the Mexican Republic, including Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

The Chilean Olympic committee declared Chilean Rodeo as the country's national sport in 1962, but citizens have been participating in the activity for at least four centuries, according to Chile Off Track. The sport was developed around the middle of the 16th century, when cowboys and horseback riders known as huasos herded animals from the Andes back to Santiago, where the calves were branded and sorted. Back then, the rodeos took place over several days, so the huasos eventually created a point system and made a game out of the activity. Partly because it takes considerable time to train a horse thoroughly, participants need roughly five years to become proficient in the sport. These days, Chilean rodeos take place on Saturdays and Sundays between September and April, culminating with the National Rodeo Championship Finals in the Monumental Stadium of Rancagua. The stadium has a 20,000-person seating capacity and is the biggest equestrian event venue on Earth.