Costa Rica Sports – The Most Popular Sports in Costa Rica
Wondering what sports the Costa Ricans like to play?
Discover everything about the most popular sports in Costa Rica in this post. ⚽️
The Most Popular Costa Rican Sports
Find below Costa Rica national sports, ranked by popularity:
| Rank | Sport |
|---|---|
| 1 | Football |
| 2 | Bullfighting |
| 3 | Surfing |
| 4 | Nature Sports |
| 5 | Sport Fishing |
| 6 | Volleyball |
| 7 | Cycling |
| 8 | Golf |
So there you have them, the most popular sports of Costa Rica! Keep reading below for more information about each sport in Costa Rica.
What is the National Sport of Costa Rica?
The national sport of Costa Rica is football. Just like in many other South American countries, football is sacred in Costa Rica. It is a national pride and a passion, mostly because it is very accessible, even to the poorest children. Most Costa Ricans enjoy both playing and watching football.
Learn More About Costa Rica Popular Sports
Costa Rica is a Spanish-speaking country located in Central America, and it is bordered by Panama and Ecuador. Its capital city is San José, which counts more than 1,543,000 inhabitants (but more than 2,150,000 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 Costa Rican popular sports, and I hope you will love them:
Football
Football is by far the most popular sport in Costa Rica. The country has long been considered an international exporter of great footballers within Central America: 19 Costa Rican players were in European professional football leagues in the year 2006.
There are three leagues in Costa Rica: Primera División, Segunda División de Costa Rica and Torneo LINAFA. Between each of these, one club goes up and one goes down every year.
The national team made history in 2014 when it qualified for the FIFA World Cup quarter finals after beating 3 former world champions: Uruguay, Italy, and England. Also, they only lost in penalties after a 0-0 score against the Netherlands.
Famous Costa Rican Football players: Keylor Navas, Joel Campbell, Rolando Fonseca, Paulo Wanchope, Bryan Ruiz, Celso Borges, Luis Gabelo Conejo, Walter Centeno, Christian Bolaños
Bullfighting
The second most popular sport in Costa Rica is bullfighting. This is a very traditional sport in the country. During the summer months, which corresponds to the dry season, almost every town has its own festival, with parades, carnival rides, games, dances, live music, and traditional bullfighting.
Opposite to Spanish bullfighting, in Costa Rica, it is more of a deathly dance: Costa Ricans never attack or kill the bull, as they do not want to glorify the man’s power over a beast.
Surfing
The third most popular sport in Costa Rica is surfing. Geographically speaking, Costa Rica is the perfect place for surfers. The country is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the West, and by the Caribbean Sea to the East. With a warm climate and pristine sand beaches, millions of tourists are drawn to Costa Rica every day, especially surfers.
In fact, the country’s authorities are promoting the development of surfing by opening special surf schools and surf camps, developing the infrastructure, and attracting as many tourists as possible.
Famous Costa Rican Surfing players: Carlos Muñoz, Noe Mar McGonagle, Tomas King, Jason Torres, Marcel Oliveira, Rolando Herrera, Valeria Salustri
Nature Sports
The fourth most popular sport in Costa Rica is nature sports, which includes zip-lining, mountain biking, and white-water rafting. If you are looking for amazing adventures in Central America (and even America as a whole), you should definitely head to Costa Rica: the country is an international hub for outdoor activities.
Many activities like mountain biking are exploding in popularity, and the river Pacuare is one of the best places to raft in the country! These sports mostly interest tourists though.
Sport Fishing
The fifth most popular sport in Costa Rica is sport fishing. You might think of fishing as a relatively calm activity, but Costa Rica takes it to a whole other level. Sportfishing is quite popular in the country, and many people from all around the world specifically come to Costa Rica just to participate in sport fishing.
Despite this, the sport slowly but steadily lost its popularity over the years, and it is now at an all-time low, compared to its previous success.
Volleyball
The sixth most popular sport in Costa Rica is volleyball. The vast majority of volleyball players in Costa Rica is a young population. Schools, colleges, and universities all teach students how to play the sport, and some Costa Ricans carry on to the professional level.
The national teams of the country regularly join world championships and the Olympics, among others. The women’s team is more successful than the men’s: they won the Central American Games 8 times, and silver and bronze medals.
Famous Costa Rican Volleyball players: Karen Cope, Mijal Hines Cuza, Paola Ramírez, Mariela Quesada, Dionisia Thompson, Irene Fonseca, Onikca Pinnock, Susana Chávez González
Cycling
The seventh most popular sport in Costa Rica is cycling. Costa Rica is not all about beaches. There are also wonderful winding roads that any cyclist would appreciate. Because of this, locals and tourists who have the time to go for a bike tour do it whenever they can.
There is also an international multi-day race called the Tour of Costa Rica. It brings together professionals from all around the world and has been held in the country for many years now.
Famous Costa Rican Cycling players: Andrey Amador, Stephan Atencio, Andrey Fonseca, Henry Raabe, José Manuel Soto, Román Villalobos, Federico Ramírez
Golf
Finally, the eighth most popular sport in Costa Rica is golf. Similar to other South American countries like Chile or Colombia, golf is only accessible to the upper-class, and the upper-middle-class in Costa Rica. The rest of the population simply cannot afford to go golfing.
As a consequence, the sport is not that popular, but the climate of the country is still ideal, so it attracts many golf lovers. Just like for surfing, local authorities have invested in better infrastructure, like hotels, around golf resorts.
Famous Costa Rican Golf players: Robert Twine, Juan Marín, Alejandro Duque, David Van Horn, Valentín Quirós
So there you have them, these were all the popular sports played in Costa Rica. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today. Keep reading to get a few more facts.
What is a popular sports team in Costa Rica?
In fact, there are three very popular sports teams in Costa Rica, and they are all football clubs. The three most successful sports clubs in Costa Rica are Deportivo Saprissa, LD Alajuelense, and CS Herediano. They have a great rivalry in the country, and they are nicknamed “The Big Three”.
Is volleyball popular in Costa Rica?
Volleyball is quite popular in Costa Rica, but this has to be put into perspective: the vast majority of volleyball fans and players are youngsters.
It is mostly because they have volleyball courses at school or at college that they practice the sport. Older people usually prefer football or bullfighting.
More Sport Facts!
Loved these Costa Rica sports facts? Want to see what sports are the most popular in other countries?
Then check out these posts:
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