Chile Sports – The Most Popular Sports in Chile

The Most Popular Chilean Sports

Find below Chile national sports, ranked by popularity:

So there you have them, the most popular Chilean sports! Keep reading below for more information about each sport in Chile.

What is the National Sport of Chile?

The national sport of Chile is the Chilean rodeo. Quite surprisingly, the national sport in Chile is not football (though it is the most popular one), but Chilean rodeo. It is officially the national sport of the country since 1962, but it has been played for over 400 years!

Learn More About Chile Popular Sports

Chile is the southernmost country of the world that is on the mainland, and it is bordered by Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Its capital city is Santiago, which counts more than 6,269,000 inhabitants (but more than 6,903,000 if you include the metropolitan area).

An interesting part of the country that I wanted to tackle is its most popular sports. In light of that, I have listed all Chilean popular sports, and I hope you will love them:

Football

Just like in many South American countries, fútbol is sacred in Chile, and it is by far the most popular sport in the country.

From kids to grown-ups, everyone loves both playing and watching football in the country, from the muddy streets of Puente Alto to the prestigious stadiums of Santiago.

The oldest football club in the country is the Valparaiso Football Club, from the city of Valparaiso. The Federación de Fútbol de Chile oversees everything related to football in the country, and it was founded in 1895. There are two national teams in the country, both men’s and women’s.

Famous Chilean Football players: Arturo Vidal, Alexis Sánchez, Marcelo Salas, Iván Zamorano, Elías Figueroa, Claudio Bravo, Gary Medel, Carlos Caszely, Leonel Sánchez

Baseball

The second most popular sport in Chile is baseball. You might not expect to find baseball in a South American country, but it is very popular in Chile, mostly in the northern region of the country.

It was first introduced to Chile by Americans living in the area at the beginning of the 20th century.

Now, the country is quite successful in terms of competitive baseball: Chile was ranked amongst the top 10 in the Junior World Championship in 1989. Also, the city of Tocopilla has won the national title more than 18 times in a row!

Famous Chilean Baseball players: Pablo Ossandón, Alejandro Pérez, Antonio Vergara, Lois Solar, Juan Canque, Patricio Morales, Jonathan Castroo, Kentaro Abguillerm

Cricket

The third most popular sport in Chile is cricket. Cricket has been played in the country since 1829! The first club in the country also comes from the city of Valparaiso: it is the Valparaiso Cricket Club, and it was created in 1860.

The popularity of cricket in Chile vastly decreased after World War II, and it was only in 2002 that the country joined the International Cricket Council.

Now, beach cricket is also becoming more and more popular, especially in the central part of the coast, during summer.

Famous Chilean Cricket players: Major Mandy, Kamlesh Gupta, Aresh Srivastav, Hardev Singh

Volleyball

The fourth Chile favorite sport is volleyball. Compared to other sports, volleyball is a bit more recent in Chile, as it dates back to the 1920s. The first volleyball tournament in the country was organized in 1932, and the National Volleyball Association was founded ten years later.

The biggest challenge the national volleyball team has to face is that they are not very famous, considering how successful their Brazilian and Argentine neighbors are in the sport.

Famous Chilean Volleyball players: Ignacia Cabrera, Magdalena Delano, Isidora Steinmetz, Florencia Garrido, Carla Ruz, Isidora Santa María, Pilar Mardones

Chilean Rodeo

The fifth most popular sport in Chile is the Chilean rodeo. As I already told you, Chilean rodeo is the national sport of the country. It has been played for more than 400 years, and the National Sports Council, as well as the Olympic Committee of Chile, established it as the official national sport in 1962.

The sport is mostly practiced in the rural parts of the country, and there is even a National Championship that is held annually. The greatest Chilean rodeo rider in history is Ramón Cardemil.

Famous Chilean Rodeo players: Ramón Cardemil, Juan Carlos Loaiza, Eduardo Tamayo

Cycling

The sixth most popular sport in Chile is cycling. Cycling is more of a leisure sport in the country, but it is one of the most popular ones.

On an international level, the country has not been very successful, and on the national level, there is a principal competition named Vuelta Ciclista de Chile, in which several international teams participate.

The most famous Chilean cyclist is probably Marco Arriagada, who has participated in three Olympic Games and won many medals in other international tournaments. The city of Curicó is considered the capital of cycling in Chile since the best national riders come from there.

Famous Chilean Cycling players: Marco Arriagada, Marcelo Arriagada, Héctor Mellado, Eduardo Cuevas, Miguel Droguett, Jorge Guerra, Cárlos Koller, José Antonio Urquijo

Golf

The seventh most popular sport in Chile is golf. The popularity of golf in Chile is quite recent, and it is now played in every major city, especially in the central and southern areas of the country. As usual with golf though, it is only practiced by the upper class as well as the upper-middle class, since simply participating in the game is extremely expensive.

A major golf tournament is held in Chile, the Chile Open, and some golfers like Nicole Perrot and Felipe Aguilar are very successful.

Famous Chilean Golf players: Nicole Perrot, Felipe Aguilar, Joaquín Niemann, Benjamín Alvarado, Matías Domínguez, Guillermo Encina, Mark Tullo, Toto Gana

Rugby union

The eighth most popular sport in Chile is rugby union. Rugby union has been played in Chile since the 1880s, and it was introduced to the country by the British. The Chile Rugby Union was subsequently created in 1935, before its name changed to the Rugby Federation of Chile, seven years later.

Nowadays, the sport is growing in popularity quite fast, especially in higher learning institutions. The national rugby team is called “The Condors”, and it has never qualified for the World Cup for now, even though it is currently ranked 24th worldwide.

Number of Rugby union licensed players in Chile: 3,000

Famous Chilean Rugby union players: Ignacio Silva, Marcelo Torrealba, Rodrigo Fernández, Nicolás Herreros, Agustín Pérez, Matías Dittus, Diego Escobar, Augusto Böhme

Roller hockey

The ninth most popular sport in Chile is roller hockey. Roller hockey was played as a recreational sport until the 1930s, specifically in Santa Licía Hill and in the Salón Merced. The Santiago Association, which oversees everything related to roller hockey, was created in 1938.

The Chilean men’s national team has earned 4th place in the Men’s World Roller Hockey Championship three times. The country hosted the Men’s World Championship twice, once in 1962 and once in 1980. More recently, the Women’s World Championship was both hosted and won by Chile in 2006.

Famous Chilean Roller hockey players: Macarena Ramos, Lucio Armijo, Felipe Castro, Camilo Illanes, Jorge Salgado, Gonzalo Andrade

Tennis

The tenth most popular sport in Chile is tennis. While it is not that popular compared to other sports, it is Chile’s most successful sport! The national team won the World Team Cup clay tournament twice in a row, in 2003 and 2004, and they are the pride of the country when it comes to sports. The country also won 3 medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

In 1998, Chilean tennisman Marcelo Ríos became the first Latin American man to reach the number 1 spot in the ATP singles rankings.

Famous Chilean Tennis players: Marcelo Ríos, Fernando González, Nicolás Massú, Nicolás Jarry, Paul Capdeville, Cristian Garín, Jaime Fillol, Hans Gildemesiter

Handball

The eleventh most popular sport in Chile is handball. Handball is not very popular in Chile, but it is still practiced in the country.

In fact, the Chilean women’s national handball team qualified for the Women’s World Handball Championship in 2009, greatly contributing to the popularity of the sport.

The ruling authority of handball in Chile is the Federación Chilena de Handball, which partnered with many organizations, like the International Handball Federation and the Pan American Handball Federation.

Famous Chilean Handball players: Emil Feuchtmann, Marco Oneto, Felipe Barrientos, Rodrigo Salinas, Patricio Martínez, Erwin Feuchtmann

Surfing

The twelfth most popular sport in Chile is surfing. Surfing is also practiced in Chile, not very surprising considering the incredibly long coastline the country has (6,435 km / 3,999 mi).

With all the fantastic beaches, especially in the northern part of the country (because of its good weather), lots of surfers from around the globe are coming to Chile. The best place to surf in the country is the Pichilemu region, southwest of Santiago.

Famous Chilean Surfing players: Manuel Selman, Lorena Fica, Cristián Merello, Rafaella Montesi, Estela López

So there you have them, these were all the most popular sports in Chile. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today.

In case you want to learn more about sports in other countries, feel free to keep reading, as I still have lots of things to tell you about:

More Sport Facts!

Loved these Chile sports facts? Want to see what sports are the most popular in other countries?

Then check out these posts:

• Famous Sports in Brazil
• Famous Sports in Venezuela
• Famous Sports in Panama

Or click here to see ALL the facts up on the blog! Spoiler alert: there’s A LOT of them.

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