Kenya Sports – The Most Popular Sports in Kenya
Wondering what sports the Kenyans like to play?
Discover everything about the most popular sports in Kenya in this post. ⚽️
The Most Popular Kenyan Sports
Find below Kenya national sports, ranked by popularity:
| Rank | Sport |
|---|---|
| 1 | Football |
| 2 | Rugby union |
| 3 | Athletics |
| 4 | Basketball |
| 5 | Volleyball |
So there you have it, the top 5 most popular sports in Kenya! Keep reading below for more information about each sport in Kenya.
What is the National Sport of Kenya?
The national sport of Kenya is football.
As in many countries, it is football that grabs the national sport trophy in Kenya. The main reason for that is the poverty of the country, and football is famous for being very easy to play. Everyone, even the disadvantaged kids, can enjoy playing and sometimes even watching football in Kenya.
Learn More About Kenya Popular Sports
Kenya is a country located in Eastern Africa. Its agriculture is very reputed, as well as its wildlife, and its capital city is Nairobi, which counts almost 4.4 million inhabitants (but more than 10,400,000 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 Kenya’s popular sports, and I hope you will love them:
Football
The most popular sport in Kenya is football.
While there are tons of casual and amateur players in Kenya, there is still a governing body of football in Kenya: the Football Kenya Federation. There is even a national league, the Kenyan Premier League, which is in fact the only fully professional league in the country. A smaller league made of professional and semi-professional clubs also exists, and it is called the Kenyan National Super League.
Overall, many Kenyans watch the sport on TV, but it is mostly a sport that people practice instead of watching.
Famous Kenyan Football players: Victor Wanyama, Michael Olunga, Francis Kahata, Duncan Ochieng, James Situma, Dennis Oliech, Allan Wanga, Haron Shakava, Teddy Akumu, David Owino
Rugby union
The second most popular sport in Kenya is rugby union. Maybe this will surprise you, but rugby union is actually very popular in Kenya. As a matter of fact, the country is making a name for itself in the sport.
The main reason for it being so popular is probably the annual Safari Sevens tournament, which is held in the capital city of Nairobi.
The first recorded rugby union game in Kenya dates back to 1909 when British officials played against settlers in Mombasa.
Number of Rugby union licensed players in Kenya: 50,541
Famous Kenyan Rugby union players: Paul Murunga, Manuel Okoth, Edward Rombo, Oscar Osir, Collins Injera, Humphrey Kayange, Victor Oduor, Roger Akena
Athletics
The third most popular sport in Kenya is athletics.
You must have heard of Kenyan athletes. They are overall some of the best ones in the world, in numerous categories.
Athletics was in fact one of the only two modern sports (alongside football) that was formally organized in Kenya. Since their debut, and still, to this day, Kenyan athletes have always dominated the world scene in many athletics variants, including track and field, cross country, and marathons. The most successful Kenyan athlete is probably the four-time women’s Boston Marathon winner and two-time world champion Catherine Ndereba.
Famous Kenyan Athletics players: Eliud Kipchoge, David Rudisha, Kipchoge Keino, Paul Tergat, Catherine Ndereba, Samuel Wanjiru, Pamela Jelimo, Vivian Cheruiyot, Ezekiel Kemboi, Janeth Jepkosgei, Joyce Chepchumba, John Ngugi, Linet Masai, Moses Ndiema Masai
Basketball
The fourth most popular sport in Kenya is basketball.
Basketball is probably the sport that has the biggest growth in Kenya. It is extremely popular among the youth. Kenya has historically been the home to many successful players of the NCAA, the world’s strongest basketball league for university students. Despite this, there are still not many professional Kenyan basketball players in Europe or Asia.
The best years of the Kenyan basketball team were from the mid-80s to the mid-90s, when they qualified for the African Basketball Championship a few times and even reached the semifinals in 1993.
Famous Kenyan Basketball players: Koranga Okall, Ligare Griffin, Abuto Crispin, Bosire Victor, Juma Faheem, Mutoro Erick, Mwangi James, Nyakinda Valentine, Ongoro Joseph, Onono Fredrick, Otieno Shem, Siaji Davis
Volleyball
The fifth most popular sport in Kenya is volleyball.
Last but not least, volleyball is also on the rise in Kenya. Similar to basketball, it is mostly played amongst young Kenyans.
However, the national women’s volleyball team is vastly successful. Since 1991, the country has won 9 continental titles, and is still a powerhouse in Africa, even though it has yet to prove itself at the Olympics and World Championships. Also, Kenyan clubs have won 13 African Championships.
Famous Kenyan Volleyball players: Jane Wairimu, Mercy Moim, Sharon Chepchumba, Leonida Kasaya, Agripina Kundu, Noel Murambi, Lorine Chebet, Violet Makuto, Elizabeth Wanyama
So there you have them, these were all the most popular sports in Kenya. 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 Kenya 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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