Switzerland Sports – The Most Popular Sports in Switzerland
Wondering what sports the Swiss like to play?
Discover everything about the most popular sports in Switzerland in this post. ⚽️
The Most Popular Swiss Sports
Find below Switzerland national sports, ranked by popularity:
| Rank | Sport |
|---|---|
| 1 | Football |
| 2 | Ice hockey |
| 3 | Winter sports |
| 4 | Basketball |
| 5 | Tennis |
| 6 | Motorsport |
| 7 | Rugby union |
| 8 | Cycling |
So there you have them, the main sports played in Switzerland! Keep reading below for more information about each sport in Switzerland.
What is the National Sport of Switzerland?
The national sport of Switzerland is Skiing. The main thing you must know about Switzerland is the Alps. The mountain range shapes the country as we know it today, and it is a huge part of the national identity. Therefore, winter sports like skiing are a major pastime, and Swiss people are crazy about it. They are also very good in the competitive scene.
Learn More About Switzerland Popular Sports
Switzerland is a small landlocked country located in the middle of Central, Southern, and Western Europe. It is bordered by France, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Liechtenstein, and the whole country is majorly shaped by the Alps. Its capital city is Bern, which counts more than 133,000 inhabitants.
An interesting part of the country that I wanted to tackle is its most popular sports. In light of that, I have listed all Switzerland popular sports, and I hope you will love them:
Football
The most popular sport in Switzerland is by far football.
Europe as a whole is a major fan of football, and Switzerland is no exception to that. Many Swiss people love playing and watching the game, and the national team (nicknamed the “Nati”) is widely supported. It has participated in 11 different FIFA World Cups and 5 different UEFA European Championships. Recently, it shocked the football world by eliminating the World Cup champions, France, in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Euro.
Famous Swiss Football players: Alexander Frei, Stéphane Chapuisat, Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Heinz Hermann, Stéphane Henchoz, Yann Sommer, Kevin Mbabu, Hakan Yakın, Admir Mehmedi, Diego Benaglio, Philippe Senderos, Tranquillo Barnetta, Fabian Schär
Ice hockey
The second most popular sport in Switzerland is ice hockey. While winter sports as a whole are very popular, none of them come close to ice hockey, and it is a sport of its own. The National League is made of 12 teams, and most Swiss people follow it closely. In fact, it is the most attended European ice hockey league, and also one of the best.
Switzerland hosted the Ice Hockey World Championships 10 times, the last time in 2009. Besides, the national ice hockey team won 2 silver medals at the 2013 World Ice Hockey Championships, and at the 2018 edition.
Number of Ice hockey licensed players in Switzerland: 30,655
Famous Swiss Ice hockey players: Roman Josi, Nino Niederreiter, Mark Streit, Yannick Weber, Raphael Diaz, Jonas Hiller, Martin Gerber, David Aebischer, Luca Sbisa, Reto Berra
Winter sports
The third most popular sport in Switzerland is winter sports. You probably know Switzerland for being the land of the Alps. The country is shaped by the mountain range, and it is located in the middle of it. Because of this, it is not very surprising for winter sports to be top-notch in the country.
Both skiing and mountaineering are extremely popular in Switzerland, both amongst locals and tourists. More specifically, alpine skiing is a widely appreciated discipline, counting world-class champions like Vreni Schneider or Pirmin Zurbriggen.
Number of Winter sports licensed players in Switzerland: 97,000 (only for skiing)
Famous Swiss Winter sports players: Pirmin Zurbriggen, Madeleine Berthod, Bernhard Russi, Vreni Schneider, Walter Steiner, Marie-Theres Nadig, Simon Ammann, Erika Hess
Basketball
The fourth most popular sport in Switzerland is basketball. Basketball might not be the most popular sport in Switzerland, but it is definitely on the rise. Supported by a huge portion of the youth, the sport has only been getting more and more popular in the past couple of years.
Clint Capela, a Swiss basketball player in the NBA, is the highest-paid team athlete in the history of the country. Switzerland used to be an international powerhouse when it came to basketball, but it is not anymore.
Famous Swiss Basketball players: Thabo Sefolosha, Clint Capela, Roberto Kovac, Jonathan Kazadi, Dušan Mlađan, Arnaud Cotture, Michel-Ofik Nzege, Marko Mlađan, Jonathan Dubas
Tennis
The fifth most popular sport in Switzerland is tennis. Even without knowing anything about tennis, you must know about superstar Roger Federer. The trio he makes with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will forever be legendary, as they absolutely dominated the worldwide scene. Now, the Swiss tennisman is on the decline, currently ranked 11th, and he will probably retire soon, even though his legacy will be remembered.
He is not the only successful tennis player from Switzerland though, as names like Stanislas Wawrinka and Martina Hingis might ring a bell.
Famous Swiss Tennis players: Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka, Martina Hingis, Marc Rosset, Jakob Hlasek, Patty Schnyder, Timea Bacsinszky, Heinz Günthardt, Emmanuelle Gagliardi
Motorsport
The sixth most popular sport in Switzerland is motorsport. 1955 was a tragic year: not only did the Le Mans disaster kill many spectators, but it also had repercussions all around Europe. In the aftermath, Switzerland decided to ban circuit racing. Now, only electric vehicles are allowed, but they are much less popular.
Despite this, many successful Swiss road racing drivers have emerged over the years, most notably Clay Regazzoni, Jo Siffert, and Alain Menu. Other motorsports are now on the rise, like rallying, motocross, and trials.
Famous Swiss Motorsport players: Alain Menu, Sandro Zeller, Stefano Comini, Sébastien Buemi, Rolf Ineichen, Neel Jani, Marcel Fässler, Alexandre Imperatori, Mathias Schläppi, Clay Regazzoni, Jo Siffert
Rugby union
The seventh most popular sport in Switzerland is rugby union. Rugby union was introduced to Switzerland more than a century ago. While it is not one of the most popular sports, it still has a decent following.
The governing body of rugby union in the country is the Swiss Rugby Federation, and it was founded in 1972. 16 years later, it joined the IRFB, and there are now 26 clubs and around 5,000 registered players.
Number of Rugby union licensed players in Switzerland: 5,000
Famous Swiss Rugby union players: Eric Planes, Jean-Marc Morand, Viktor von Burg, Nicolas Guyou, Donovan O’Grady, Loïc Verreman, Pedro Dubois, Ludovic Keller, Didier Richard
Cycling
The eighth most popular sport in Switzerland is cycling.
The most famous Swiss cyclist is surely Fabian Cancellara, who was nicknamed “Spartacus”. He is one of the best road racers of modern times and has won Paris-Roubaix 3 times, as well as Milan-San Remo once. On top of this, he also won the opening stage of the Tour de France 5 times, and even though he never won the Tour, he has led the race for a total of 28 days, which is the most for anyone who did not win.
Famous Swiss Cycling players: Hugo Koblet, Ferdinand Kübler, Fabian Cancellara, Fritz Schär, Alex Zülle, Gianni Bugno, Pascal Richard, Jakob Fuglsang, Mauro Gianetti, Oscar Camenzind
So there you have them, these were all the major sports in Switzerland. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today. Keep reading to get a few more facts.
What is Switzerland known for in sports?
Switzerland is very famous in tennis, just for its top 2 players: Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka. These two, especially Federer, have been on the top of the table for many years, and they are definitely what Switzerland is most known for.
Other than that, Switzerland is also broadly known for having successful alpine skiers, like Vreni Schneider or Pirmin Zurbriggen.
Is Formula One banned in Switzerland?
The Swiss Grand Prix is the local Formula One race. It was first held in 1934 and used to be part of the Formula One World Championship in 1950.
A few years later, in 1955, the Swiss government decided to ban circuit motor racing in the country, because of the Le Mans disaster. In 2007, a lift was voted by the Swiss legislature, but it was not ratified by the Swiss Council of States. A relaxation was allowed in 2015, permitting electric vehicles only. So yes, Formula One is banned in Switzerland.
More Sport Facts!
Loved these Switzerland 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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