List of Top 10 Most Popular Sports in Italy
Last Updated :
18 Mar, 2024
Top 10 Most Popular Sports in Italy: Football is considered the most popular sport in Italy. Italy ranks among the top 10 most Olympic medal holders around the globe. Sports in Italy have acquired an important place. Italy has a good number of players, who are representing their nation very well. Italy has focused on both team sports and individual games.
The top 10 most popular sports in Italy are Football, Basketball, Volleyball, Cycling, Skiing, Athletics, Combat Sports, Motor Sports, Tennis, and Rugby. This article provides the top 10 list of the most popular sports in Italy with a brief description of these sports.
List of Top 10 Most Popular Sports in Italy
The following table lists the top 10 most popular sports in Italy:
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Sl. No.
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Sport Name
|
|
1
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Football
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|
2
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Basketball
|
|
3
|
Volleyball
|
|
4
|
Cycling
|
|
5
|
Skiing
|
|
6
|
Athletics
|
|
7
|
Combat Sports
|
|
8
|
Motor Sports
|
|
9
|
Tennis
|
|
10
|
Rugby
|
Tenth Most Popular Sport in Italy – Rugby
Rugby is a team sport, also known as rugby union. This sport is considered as a close contact team game. It is a game in when a person has to run with a ball in hand. The sport is played between two teams, in which each team contains 15 players.
- In Italy, rugby was introduced in the early years of 1900s.
- The governing body of Rugby Union in Italy is Italian Rugby Federation.
- Ange Capuozzo is considered as the top player of rugby in Italy.
Ninth Most Popular Sport in Italy – Tennis
The governing body of Tennis is Italian Tennis and Padel Federation. Almost 1 million of Italy’s population practice tennis. It is a racket sport which is played by two players as a single match and a team of two players as doubles.
- Currently, Jannik Sinner is considered as the top player of tennis who holds almost 12 titles in Tennis.
- 88 tournaments have been won by players of Italy till February month 2024.
Eighth Most Popular Sport in Italy – Motorsports
Motor sport is very famous sports in Italy. Italy first involved in the motorsport in 1904, in the Gordon Bennett Cup. The first motor race which took place in Italy was Targa Florio in 1906 in Sicily Island.
- Today, Italy is well known for racing venues for motor sports, manufacturing of the motor cars and teams.
- Italy organizes MotoGp, Formula one, and also World Touring Car Cup which comes under the most famous racing events.
Seventh Most Popular Sport in Italy – Combat Sports
The roots of the culture of sports in Italy are recognized by this sport. Combat sport is usually known as a fighting sport. This sport can be also said as the contact sport, which has one-on-one combat. Boxing also comes under the combat sports.
- Different techniques are used by the players in this sport to defeat the person standing against him.
- Fencing is considered to be the most popular combat sport played in Italy.
Sixth Most Popular Sport in Italy – Athletics
Athletics is the sixth most popular sport in Italy. More than 1 million participate in athletics every year. Alex Schwazer, Simone Collio, Fiona May, Alessia Trost, Libania Grenot, and Zahra Bania are some of the best athletics in Italy.
- The governing body of this sport is Federazione Italiana di Atletica Leggera.
- Both women and men participate in this sport with full enthusiasm and energy.
Fifth Most Popular Sport in Italy – Skiing
Italy holds a very old and long tradition to doing skiing as a winter sport. The Dolomites of Italy are very well known for peaks, where skiing is performed. More than 2 million of the skiers are there in Italy.
- Cortina is a ski resort in Italy, which is considered as the most expensive resort available for skiing in Italy.
- November to January is the months considered best for doing skiing in Italy.
Fourth Most Popular Sport in Italy – Cycling
This sport is considered as one of the gem among the sports in Italy. Italy has won many of the championships in cycling. The cycling sport is considered to be the coolest sports performed in Italy. Giro d’Italia is the cycling competition held in Italy.
- The most famous players of the sports were Michele Bartoli, Gianni Bugno, and many others, who were considered as the legends players of the sport.
- For people who are interested in this sport, Italy is best place for them to visit and have a great experience of cycling there.
Third Most Popular Sport in Italy – Volleyball
Volleyball is considered to be the most practiced sport of Italy. Italy has one of the most successful team of volleyball from worldwide in both the male team and female team. Volleyball is also referred to by another name as pallavolo.
- In 1875, first volleyball club was formed in Italy, and that was the time when volleyball was also established in Genoa.
- Till late 1930s, volleyball became so popular sport in Italy and in 1970s, the volleyball team of Italy already was winning the World Cup of Volleyball.
Second Most Popular Sport in Italy – Basketball
The sports became popular in 1900s, in Italy. The FIP (Italian Basketball Federation) was founded in the year 1921. The men’s basket ball team of Italy is commonly recognized by the name “The Azzurri”. Around 6 lakh people in Italy are engaged in this game and wanted to make a good carrier in it.
- The National Basketball Team has not done well enough on international platforms but consists of very talented players.
- The basketball team has claimed 2 Olympic medals of silver and 10 FIBA Euro-Basket medals from which two are gold medals.
Another name for the sport is Soccer. The National Team of football in Italy is recognized as the best team of football from around the globe. The first match of football was played in 1898 in Italy, many years ago. The governing body if Italian Football Federation, written in short form as FIGC.
- Football is considered as the national sport of Italy and is most popular sport played in Italy by the youth.
- The National Football Team has won the FIFA World Cup 4 times and has also won 2 times in European Championships.
Conclusion – Top 10 Most Popular Sports in Italy
Italy is very focused in the field of sports. Soccer is the most famous sports played by Italians. There are number of sports played in Italy and top ten most popular sports are mentioned in the article. Italy is not only good in outdoor sports but also good in water sports. Most of the youth in Italy wants to make a good carrier in the field of sports. Many tourists go Italy to watch live matches and also visit sports museums for better understanding of the sports culture in Italy.
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FAQs on Top 10 Most Popular Sports in Italy
Write top 5 most popular sports in Italy.
The top 5 most popular sports in Italy are mentioned below:
- Football
- Basketball
- Volleyball
- Cycling
- Rugby
Is tennis most popular sport in Italy?
Yes, tennis has a significant following in Italy.
Is soccer the first most famous sport in Italy?
Yes, soccer is considered to be the first most famous sports in Italy.
Name any two famous basketball players from Italy.
Andrea Bargnani and Danilo Gallinari are most famous basketball players from Italy.
Do Italians participate in water Sports?
Yes, water polo is a popular sport in Italy.
Is youth development in sports a priority in Italy?
Yes, Italy places a strong emphasis on youth development in sports.
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