Greece Sports – The Most Popular Sports in Greece
Wondering what sports the Greeks like to play?
Discover everything about the most popular sports in Greece in this post. ⚽️
The Most Popular Greek Sports
Find below Greece national sports, ranked by popularity:
| Rank | Sport |
|---|---|
| 1 | Football |
| 2 | Basketball |
| 3 | Athletics |
| 4 | Water Polo |
| 5 | Volleyball |
| 6 | Swimming |
| 7 | Weightlifting |
| 8 | Wrestling |
| 9 | Sailing and Rowing |
So there you have them, the most popular sports played in Greece! Keep reading below for more information about each sport in Greece.
What is the National Sport of Greece?
The national sport of Greece is football. Everyone in Greece loves playing football. And even though the country is not specifically good in the sport, it is truly a national passion and the most popular pastime.
Learn More About Greece Popular Sports
Greece is a country located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa, in Southeast Europe, and it is bordered by Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Its capital city is Athens, which counts more than 644,000 inhabitants (but more than 3,090,000 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 Greece’s popular sports, and I hope you will love them:
Football
The most popular sport in Greece is, like in most countries around the globe, football.
Football in Greece is overseen by the Hellenic Football Federation, which was founded in 1926. Most Greek people do not really like watching the national league though, as they would rather watch the English Premier League or the Spanish La Liga.
The national team however made history in 2004, after having shocked the world and being crowned UEFA Euro Champions. They beat successively France (defending champions), Czech Republic, and Portugal (on home soil) during the knockout stage.
Famous Greek Football players: Giorgos Karagounis, Theodoros Zagorakis, Kostas Katsouranis, Vasilis Torosidis, Stratos Apostolakis, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Antonis Nikopolidis
Basketball
The second most popular sport in Greece is basketball. Basketball has always been part of Greek sports traditions. The country has been widely successful in the discipline, and it was one of the eight founding members of FIBA in 1932.
The Greek national basketball team is ranked amongst the top 10 teams worldwide, and they have won the European Championship twice. Some of the greatest NBA players, especially Giánnis “Greek Freak” Antetokoúnmpo, come from Greece. Also, the national league is one of the most competitive ones in all of Europe.
Famous Greek Basketball players: Giánnis Antetokoúnmpo, Vasílios Spanoúlis, Níkos Gális, Thanásis Antetokoúnmpo, Antónios Fótsis, Kóstas Antetokoúnmpo, Panayótis Yannákis, Yórgos Príntezis
Athletics
The third most popular sport in Greece is athletics. In ancient times, Greece was the world center for athletics, being the organizer of the Olympic Games (which come from the city of Olympia).
Nowadays, the country is very successful in this sport. In total, Greek athletes have won 29 medals at the Olympic Games, and 19 medals at the World Championships in Athletics. Some athletes, like Fani Chalkia, Periklis Iakovakis, and Anastasia Kelesidou, have also reached worldwide fame with their records.
Famous Greek Athletics players: Ekaterini Thanou, Katerina Stefanidi, Georgia Abatzidou, Charikleia Bouda, Adonios Mastoras, Emmanouil Karalis, Alexi Pappas, Paraskevi Papachristou
Water Polo
The fourth most popular Greek sport is water polo. Believe it or not, Greece is again very, very good at another sport: water polo. Makes you wonder why football is so popular, right?
In both men’s and women’s water polo, the country is said to be an international powerhouse. Both national clubs and the Greek team have achieved a hefty amount of distinctions in worldwide competitions. The national league is one of the top European leagues, and its most successful club is Olympiacos, the only Greek club to have been crowned European champion.
Famous Greek Water Polo players: Christódoulos Kolómvos, Christos Afroudakis, Konstantinos Genidounias, Ioannis Fountoulis, Argyris Theodoropoulos, Angelos Vlachopoulos, Dimitrios Skoumpakis
Volleyball
The fifth most popular sport in Greece is volleyball. Many young Greeks like to play the sport that they usually discover in middle school or in high school, and the sport is overseen by the Hellenic Volleyball Federation.
The best achievements of the Greek men’s national volleyball team are 2 bronze medals (in the European Volleyball Championship and in the European Volleyball League), 6th place at the World Championship, and 5th place at the Olympic Games. Again, the national league (the A1 Ethniki) is very competitive and counts some of the most successful clubs in Europe.
Famous Greek Volleyball players: Olga Strantzali, Anthí Vasilantonáki, Ionna Vlachou, Athina Papafotiou, Maria Oikonomidou, Eleftheria Chatzinikou, Eléni Kiósi, Tzína Lamproúsi, Georgia Tzanakaki
Swimming
The sixth most popular sport in Greece is swimming.
Greece is a wonderful country. From the high mountains in the center of the country to the pristine sandy beaches on the Mediterranean coast, there are tons of amazing landscapes. And with a stunning coastline of 13,676 km / 8,498 mi, no wonder swimming is one of the most popular sports in the country.
Many swimmers and divers from Greece have achieved great wins at the Olympic Games, as well as the European and World Championships.
Famous Greek Swimming players: Romanos Alyfantis, Nery Mantey Niangkouara, Ioannis Drymonakos, Spyridon Chazapis, Efstathios ChorafasAristeidis Grigoriadis, Romanos Alyfantis
Weightlifting
The seventh most popular sport in Greece is weightlifting.
Despite all the sports Greece is already good at, weightlifting is their most proficient individual sport. The national team has won many gold medals at the Olympics (15 total medals, including 6 golds, 5 silvers, and 4 bronzes).
The most famous Greek weightlifter is without a single doubt, Pyrros Dimas. The sportsman is a legend, three-time Olympic champion, and multiple World and European champions. He is the most successful weightlifter of the Olympic Games and is considered one of the greatest athletes in the history of the sport.
Famous Greek Weightlifting players: Pyrros Dimas, Periklis Kakousis, Sotirios Versis, Dimitrios Tofalos, Panagiotis Drakopoulos, Serafim Grammatikopoulos, Leonidas Sabanis, Alexandros Nikolopoulos
Wrestling
The eighth most popular sport in Greece is wrestling. Wrestling used to be one of the favorite sports in Ancient Greece. It was not only for soldiers but also for everyday life.
Nowadays, the sport is on the decline, but Greece still won 11 medals at the modern Olympic games. The most famous Greek wrestlers competed a while ago, from 1896 (for Georgios Tsitas who won a gold medal) to the most recent one in 2004 (for Artiom Kiouregkian who won a bronze medal).
Famous Greek Wrestling players: Stelios Mygiakis, Georgios Tsitas, Petros Galaktopoulos, Ioannis Artoumanidis, Artiom Kiouregkian, Spiros Arion, Tony Kontellis, Jim Londos, Andreas Lambrakis, Despina Montagas
Sailing and Rowing
The ninth most popular sport in Greece is sailing and rowing.
This list will be rounded out with yet another water sport. There are in fact 3 seas bordering Greece, the Aegean Sea, the Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. All of these are commonly used by Greek athletes for sailing and rowing.
There are again many successful Greek sailors and rowers, like Anastasios Bountouris and Sofia Bekatorou (sailing) and Vaileios Polymeros and Dimitrios Mougios (rowing).
Famous Greek Sailing and Rowing players: Nikolaos Kaklamanakis, Anastasios Bountouris, Sofia Bekatorou, Georgios Zaimis, Vasileios Polymeros, Dimitrios Mougios
So there you have them, these were all the most popular sports in Greece. 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 Greece sports facts? Want to see what sports are the most popular in other countries?
Then check out these posts:
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