El Salvador Sports – The Most Popular Sports in El Salvador
Wondering what sports the Salvadorans like to play?
Discover everything about the most popular sports in El Salvador in this post. ⚽️
The Most Popular Salvadoran Sports
Find below El Salvador national sports, ranked by popularity:
| Rank | Sport |
|---|---|
| 1 | Football |
| 2 | Basketball |
| 3 | Tennis |
| 4 | Swimming |
| 5 | Baseball |
| 6 | Boxing |
So there you have them, the popular sports played in El Salvador! Keep reading below for more information about each sport in El Salvador.
What is the National Sport of El Salvador?
The national sport of El Salvador is football. Like many other countries, Salvadorans are absolute fans of football. The national professional league, the Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador, is widely appreciated. Even though the country did not see much success internationally, local games are popular.
Learn More About El Salvador Popular Sports
El Salvador is a small country located in Central America. It is bordered by Honduras, Guatemala, and the Pacific Ocean, and its capital city is San Salvador, which has more than 570,000 (but more than 2,100,000 inhabitants 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 El Salvador’s popular sports, and I hope you will love them:
Football
Like in most countries around the world, football is by far the most popular sport in El Salvador.
In fact, it is so popular that it started a historic event: the Soccer War. Believe it or not, the sport actually started a war! There were already lots of tensions between Honduras and El Salvador, and the bitterly contested World Cup qualification matches became a valid reason for each country to rise up in arms.
The national football team qualified for the FIFA World Cup twice in their history, in 1970 and in 1982.
Famous Salvadoran Football players: Mágico González, Dustin Corea, Jaime Alas, Darwin Cerén, E. Burgos, Raúl Díaz Arce, Alexander Larín, Luis Guevara Mora, Rafael Burgos
Basketball
The second most popular sport in El Salvador is basketball. Even though nothing comes close to football in terms of popularity in El Salvador, basketball is still a widely appreciated sport.
The national basketball team joined the FIBA in 1956 and is overseen by the Federación Salvadoreña de Baloncesto. On April 20, 2021, it made history by reaching the second round of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification.
Historically, the Salvadoran basketball team won the 1959 Central American and Caribbean Games and earned 2nd place in the 2013 COCABA championship.
Famous Salvadoran Basketball players: Ronnie Aguilar, James Valladares, Jose Araujo, Joey Bodewig, Anthony Reyes, Mauricio Lahud, Alejandro Arias, Roberto Martinez, Luis Valle
Tennis
The third most popular sport in El Salvador is tennis.
Generally speaking, tennis is often overlooked in many poor countries, because it is usually mostly for the upper and upper-middle classes. El Salvador is no exception to that, and while the sport could be more popular, it is still much appreciated.
There are not many Salvadoran tennis players who saw incredible international fame, but Rafael Arévalo, by far the most famous local tennisman, is still an Olympic player. When it comes to the Davis Team, he plays alongside his brother, Marcelo Arévalo.
Famous Salvadoran Tennis players: Marcelo Arévalo, Rafael Arévalo, Kyle Johnson, Miguel Merz, Sebastián Moreno, Liz Cruz, Ingrid González, Ana Osorio, Marcela Rodezno
Swimming
The fourth most popular sport in El Salvador is swimming.
With a coastline of 307 km / 191 mi, El Salvador has amazing beaches that draw surfers, tourists, and swimmers from all around the world. Because of this, swimming is very popular in the country, even at an Olympic level with many athletes. Some of the best beaches in the country include La Libertad, Playa El Sunzal, and Playa El Tunco.
When it comes to international competition, El Salvador still has to win a single Olympic medal though.
Famous Salvadoran Swimming players: Marcelo Acosta, Pamela Benítez, Arturo Carranza, Ernesto Durón, Francisco Suriano, Rubén Piñeda, María Moreño, Sergio Hasbún, Friedrich Jokisch
Baseball
The fifth most popular sport in El Salvador is baseball.
The sport is governed by the Federación Salvadoreña de Béisbol, and it is ranked 48th in the World Baseball Softball Confederation ranking. It is also a member of the COPABE, the governing body of baseball and softball in the Americas.
The American sport is quite popular in the country, with players like Henry Bonilla, Juan Colato, and Javier Lozano helping keep the fame alive. The team only appeared once during the Pan American Games though, in 1975.
Famous Salvadoran Baseball players: Henry Bonilla, Juan Colato, Javier Lozano, Juan Martinez, Nelson Pereira, William Ponce, Carlos Schonenberg
Boxing
The sixth most popular sport in El Salvador is boxing.
Last but not least, boxing is slowly but steadily becoming more and more popular in the country, like many other fighting sports in the world (especially Mixed Martial Arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championship).
The most famous and successful Salvadoran boxer is Carlos Hernández, now retired. He made boxing history by becoming the featherweight champion by beating David Santos. His record is 43 wins, 8 losses, 1 draw, and 24 knockouts. He later retired on September 28, 2006.
Famous Salvadoran Boxing players: Frank Avelar, Carlos Hernández, Henry Martínez, Yamileth Solorzano, Juan Carlos “Speedy” Flores
So there you have them, these were all the most popular sports in El Salvador. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today. Keep reading to get a few more facts.
What do they call soccer in El Salvador?
Soccer is called “fútbol”, or football, in El Salvador. The influence of Spain on the country might be yet another reason for football to be so popular. It was a Spanish colony from 1524 to 1821, when Independence was proclaimed.
More Sport Facts!
Loved these El Salvador 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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