Ecuador Sports – The Most Popular Sports in Ecuador
Wondering what sports the Ecuadorians like to play?
Discover everything about the most popular sports in Ecuador in this post. ⚽️
The Most Popular Ecuadorian Sports
Find below Ecuador national sports, ranked by popularity:
| Rank | Sport |
|---|---|
| 1 | Football |
| 2 | Baseball |
| 3 | Volleyball |
| 4 | Basketball |
| 5 | Tennis |
| 6 | Athletics |
| 7 | Ecuavoley |
| 8 | Surfing |
So there you have them, the most popular sports of Ecuador! Keep reading below for more information about each sport in Ecuador.
What is the National Sport of Ecuador?
The national sport of Ecuador is football. The most popular activity in the country is football, and many local players are quite impressive when it comes to this sport. While other sports and activities are also popular, the streets of the country are mostly filled with football players and aficionados.
Learn More About Ecuador Popular Sports
Ecuador is a Spanish-speaking country located in northwestern South America. It is bordered by Colombia and Peru, and its capital city is Quito, which counts more than 2,011,000 inhabitants (but more than 3,156,000 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 of Ecuador’s popular sports, and I hope you will love them:
Football
Like in most countries of the world, football is by far the most popular sport in Ecuador. The best teams of the country include Barcelona and Emelec (Guayaquil), LDU Quito, Deportivo Quito and El Nacional (Quito), Olmedo (Riobamba), and Deportivo Cuenca (Cuenca).
What most fans love to watch is the national team. Its matches are the most-watched sporting events in the whole country. It qualified for the finals tournaments of 2002, 2006, and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
Famous Ecuadorian Football players: Antonio Valencia, Agustín Delgado, Alex Aguinaga, Iván Hurtado, Édison Méndez, Alberto Spencer, Felipe Caiceo, Ulises de la Cruz, José Cevallos, Enner Valencia
Baseball
The second most popular sport in Ecuador is baseball. Baseball in the country dates back to the 1920s when the National Baseball League of Ecuador was founded. The main reason for that was foreigners who helped develop the sport.
However, with how poor the country is, it is not easy for everyone to afford baseball equipment and to participate in local games, despite how popular the sport is. According to Jaime Jarrín, baseball could actually be a great solution for all kids wandering the streets when their parents are at work: without parks or recreation facilities, they have nothing to do all day.
Famous Ecuadorian Baseball players: Daniel Duran, Raúl Foyaín, Jaime Jarrín, Vicente Maldonado, Juan Mendoza, Alfredo Venegas, Oscar Villamar
Volleyball
The third most popular sport in Ecuador is volleyball.
Volleyball is one of the top sports in Ecuador, probably because of how easy it is to set up: a ball, a net, and motivated players are enough to have a good time, even in the streets of the poor neighborhoods of the country.
As a matter of fact, it has become so popular that a national variant has emerged, which is #7 on this list: Ecuavoley.
Famous Ecuadorian Volleyball players: Stefano Berti, Mario Yáñez, Roberto Vilela, Luis Sánchez, Israel Vera, Juan Carlos Pinzón, Víctor Weir, Manuel Macías, Miguel Valencia
Basketball
The fourth most popular sport in Ecuador is basketball.
While basketball is enjoyed all around the country, at all ages, it is most popular at high school and college levels. These amateur players love this alternative to football and baseball, and the sport is sometimes considered the second sport in the country, behind football.
In terms of international reach, Ecuador took part in the inaugural 1950 FIBA World Championship. While it finished eighth, it was still one of the ten countries invited!
Famous Ecuadorian Basketball players: Jardon Cardenas, Luis Guzman, Luis Riascos, Yasin Vernaza, Juan Pablo Alvarez
Tennis
The fifth most popular sport in Ecuador is tennis. If tennis was not so targeted toward the upper and upper-middle classes, it would probably be more popular in many countries around the globe, including Ecuador. In fact, many poor children and young adults would surely play tennis, but they simply cannot.
When it comes to professional Ecuadorian Tennis players, some of them are reputed nationwide, like Nicolás Lapentti, Francisco Segura, and Andrés Gómez. Also, the Ecuador Open Quito is part of the South-American summer clay-court circuit.
Famous Ecuadorian Tennis players: Nicolás Lapentti, Francisco Segura, Andrés Gómez, Pancho Segura, Irina Falconi, Miguel Olvera, Roberto Quiroz, Ricardo Ycaza, Luis Morejón
Athletics
The sixth most popular sport in Ecuador is athletics. Believe it or not, Ecuador has participated in many Summer Olympic Games, 11 more precisely. They even participated in their first Winter Olympic Games in 2018, and there are several talented athletes in the country.
There is even an Ecuadorian Olympic Committee, which was founded in 1948, and later officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1959.
The first Ecuadorian Olympic medal was won by Jefferson Pérez: a gold medal in the Men’s 20 km walk.
Number of Athletics licensed players in Ecuador: 143 (at an Olympic level)
Famous Ecuadorian Athletics players: Jefferson Pérez, Rolando Vera, Jackson Quiñónez, Bayron Piedra, Sandra Ruales, Martha Tenorio, Silvio Guerra, Franklin Nazareno, Nancy Vallecilla
Ecuavoley
The seventh most popular sport in Ecuador is ecuavoley.
As I already told you above on the volleyball part, ecuavoley is the national variant of volleyball. It is much appreciated in the country, as everyone can participate and the rules are more relaxed: players can hit the ball with the palm of their hand which they usually can’t do, and they often use a football to play.
This variation is played with 3 persons, and it is one of the country’s specialties: it even spread to neighboring countries, and as far as the United States.
Surfing
The eighth most popular sport in Ecuador is surfing.
It is not very surprising to see surfing as a popular sport in Ecuador. In fact, the country has a beautiful and very long coastline: 2,237 km / 1,390 mi of pristine beaches and Pacific Ocean delight.
Because of this, some coastal resorts have been developed as surfing centers, in hopes to attract more tourists and international surfers. Montañita and Ayampe are the most famous of them, and the government is trying to develop the practice of surfing.
So there you have them, these were all the most popular Ecuadorian sports. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today. Keep reading to get a few more facts.
What is the official sport in Ecuador?
Similar to many other countries, football is so popular in Ecuador that it is considered to be the national sport. The sport is a national pastime, and local football heroes are often celebrated with enthusiasm. Also, the national team has seen some success internationally, where they weren’t specifically expected to perform.
Is there baseball in Ecuador?
Baseball is very popular in Ecuador. So popular in fact that only football is more appreciated in the country. There is a National Baseball League of Ecuador, and it was founded in the 1920s. It reached its golden age during the 1950s and the 1960s. Nowadays, there are amateur championships as well.
More Sport Facts!
Loved these Ecuador sports facts? Want to see what sports are the most popular in other countries?
Then check out these posts:
Or click here to see ALL the facts up on the blog! Spoiler alert: there’s A LOT of them.
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