Sport in Spain has been highly successful through the late 20th century and early 21st century, in a wide variety of disciplines. The most popular and high profile sport in Spain is football. Other sports in which Spain is prolific include tennis, basketball, cycling, padel, handball, rugby union, rally, motorcycling, judo, Formula One, water sports, dancing, rhythmic gymnastics, bullfighting, golf, and skiing.
High profile Spanish sporting achievements of the 21st century include: Rafael Nadal's 22 major singles titles in tennis; Carlos Alcaraz's 7 major singles titles in tennis; six Davis Cup victories; team victories at the 2006 and the 2019 World Basketball Championships; the FIBA EuroBasket in 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2022; Fernando Alonso's 2005 and 2006 championships in Formula One; twelve premier class titles in MotoGP, led by Marc Márquez with seven; and Óscar Pereiro, Alberto Contador and Carlos Sastre's 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 triumphs in the Tour de France. The Spanish men's football team won the Euros in 2008, 2012, and 2024, alongside the 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the women's team won the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. Success has also continued for historic Spanish football clubs such as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Some observers have claimed that Spain is enjoying something of a sporting "Golden Age" similar to the Spanish 17th century achievements in painting and literature.
Spain has also hosted many major international sporting events, such as the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Spain will host the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside co-hosts Morocco and Portugal.
Popularity
In 2014, the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) asked which sport or sports people in Spain participated in and which ones they were particularly interested in, even if they did not practice them. Allowing the respondent to give 3 answers to each question.
+ Sports Participation and Interest Sport Participating Interested In Gym 29.3% 10.7% Cycling 19.5% 11.1% Swimming 17% 11.9% Football 14.9% 48% Athletics 7.6% 5.7% Basketball 5.1% 17.1% Futsal 4.3% 2.1% Tennis 4.1% 21.6% Winter sports 2.7% 1.7% Motorcycle racing 0.9% 10.5% Auto racing 0.4% 8.4% Mountaineering 11.4% 3.8% Skating 1.1% 3.6% Handball 0.1% 2.6% Nothing NA 12.7%
As of 2022, padel is the second most popular participation sport in Spain behind football. As of 2022, there were five million players in Spain and more than 20,000 courts.How the Spanish sport Padel is winning over the world, 2023
Host of events Big events 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona 1982 FIFA World Cup 1999 World Athletics Championships in Seville 2030 FIFA World Cup with Morocco and Portugal
World championships
Olympic sports Competition Sport Place 2005 World Archery Championships Archery Madrid 1986 FIBA World Championship Basketball 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup Basketball 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Basketball Canary Islands 1999 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships Canoeing La Seu d'Urgell 2002 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships Canoeing Seville 2013 World Aquatics Championships Cycling Barcelona 1965 UCI Road World Championships Cycling San Sebastián 1965 UCI Track Cycling World Championships Cycling San Sebastián 1973 UCI Road World Championships Cycling Barcelona 1973 UCI Track Cycling World Championships Cycling San Sebastián 1984 UCI Track Cycling World Championships Cycling Barcelona 1992 UCI Road World Championships Cycling Benidorm 1992 UCI Track Cycling World Championships Cycling Valencia 1997 UCI Road World Championships Cycling San Sebastián 2000 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships Cycling Sierra Nevada 2005 UCI Road World Championships Cycling Madrid 2007 UCI Track Cycling World Championships Cycling Palma 2014 UCI Road World Championships Cycling Ponferrada 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games Equestrian Jerez de la Frontera 1985 World Fencing Championships Fencing Barcelona 1971 Men's Hockey World Cup Field hockey Barcelona 1978 Women's Hockey World Cup Field hockey Madrid 2006 Women's Hockey World Cup Field hockey Madrid 1975 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships Gymnastics Madrid 1985 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships Gymnastics Valladolid 1993 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships Gymnastics Alicante 2001 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships Gymnastics Madrid 2023 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships Gymnastics Valencia2025 World Trampoline Gymnastics ChampionshipsGymnasticsPamplona 2013 World Men's Handball Championship Handball 2021 World Women's Handball Championship Handball 1991 World Judo Championships Judo Barcelona 2002 World Rowing Championships Rowing Seville 2004 World Rowing Championships Rowing Banyoles 2003 ISAF Sailing World Championships Sailing Cádiz 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships Sailing Santander FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1996 Skiing Granada 1986 World Aquatics Championships Swimming Madrid 2013 World Aquatics Championships Swimming Barcelona 2005 World Taekwondo Championships Taekwondo Madrid
Other sports Competition Sport Place 1952 Basque Pelota World Championships Basque Pelota San Sebastián 1962 Basque Pelota World Championships Basque Pelota Pamplona 1970 Basque Pelota World Championships Basque Pelota San Sebastián 1986 Basque Pelota World Championships Basque Pelota Vitoria-Gasteiz 2002 Basque Pelota World Championships Basque Pelota Pamplona 2018 Basque Pelota World Championships Basque Pelota Barcelona World Chess Championship 1987 Chess Seville 1985 AMF Futsal Men's World Cup Futsal 1996 FIFA Futsal World Championship Futsal 2008 AMF Futsal Women's World Cup Futsal Catalonia 2017 AMF Futsal Women's World Cup Futsal Catalonia 1992 Padel World Championship Padel Madrid 1996 Padel World Championship Padel Madrid 2006 Padel World Championship Padel Murcia 2012 Padel World Championship Padel Barcelona 2013 Padel World Championship Padel Bilbao 2014 Padel World Championship Padel Palma de Mallorca 2015 Padel World Championship Padel Málaga 1951 Roller Hockey World Cup Roller hockey Barcelona 1954 Roller Hockey World Cup Roller hockey Barcelona 1960 Roller Hockey World Cup Roller hockey Madrid 1964 Roller Hockey World Cup Roller hockey Barcelona 1972 Roller Hockey World Cup Roller hockey A Coruña 1976 Roller Hockey World Cup Roller hockey Oviedo 1988 Roller Hockey World Cup Roller hockey A Coruña 1999 Rink Hockey World Championship Roller hockey Reus 2009 Rink Hockey World Championship Roller hockey Vigo 2010 FIRS Women's Roller Hockey World Cup Roller hockey Alcobendas 2019 Roller Hockey World Cup Roller hockey Barcelona 2019 Women's Roller Hockey World Cup Roller hockey Barcelona 2002 Women's Rugby World Cup Rugby Catalonia 1987 World Taekwondo Championships Taekwondo Barcelona
Spanish sports calendar The following are major sporting events held annually in Spain: Vuelta Ciclista a España Volta a Catalunya Euskal Herriko Itzulia (Tour of Basque Country) Emakumeen Euskal Bira Clásica de San Sebastián Spanish Grand Prix Rally de Catalunya
Main team sports
Football
Association football, commonly known as football (or soccer), (), is the most popular sport in Spain. Football is a widespread passion among the people of Spain, and most people in Spain have at least some sort of connection to the sport. Football is the sport with the most registered players (a total of 1,063,090 of which 997,106 are men and 77,461 women, a 55% rise in women since 2014), and highest number of registered clubs (a total of 29,205) among all Spanish sport federations according to data issued by the sports administration of Spain's government in 2020.
La Liga or Primera División (The Spanish League) is considered to be one of the world's best competitions in men's football. Successful teams in recent European competitions are Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao, Valencia CF and Atlético Madrid. Real Madrid and Barcelona have dominated for much of their history, and created an intimate rivalry, which is known as El Clásico. Real Madrid has been dubbed by many pundits as the most successful club in the world, having won the UEFA Champions League a record 15 times, almost all other UEFA club competitions at least once, and La Liga a record 35 times. Barcelona has been European champions 5 times, and won La Liga on 26 occasions. Other teams such as Atlético Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia have also gained prominence by winning the UEFA Europa League, with 9 titles going to Spanish teams since 2004.
Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are the two most popular sports clubs on social media in the world as of 7 February 2024:
# Sports club Country Sport Followers 1 Real Madrid Spain Football 360.5 million 2 FC Barcelona Spain Football 318.8 million 3 Manchester United United Kingdom Football 207 million 4 Paris Saint-Germain France Football 163 million 5 Juventus Italy Football 147.4 million 6 Manchester City United Kingdom Football 139.7 million 7 Chelsea FC United Kingdom Football 136.7 million 8 Liverpool FC United Kingdom Football 131.6 million 9 Bayern Munich Germany Football 126.5 million 10 Arsenal FC United Kingdom Football 99.2 million
Liga F is the highest league for women's football in the country and is one of the most important leagues in Europe. FC Barcelona are the dominant team, winning the league 8 times. Barcelona has also won the Champions League three times in the last four years.
The Spain men's national team has been successful and has qualified for the FIFA World Cup tournament fifteen times since 1934. In 2010, Spain defeated the Netherlands in the final to win the tournament for the first time. 16 years later in 2026, they won the tournament again defeating Argentina 1-0 in extra time. In the European Championship they were champions in 1964, 2008, 2012 and 2024, and runners-up in 1984. Spain has won three medals in football Olympic Games tournaments. They have won two silver medals at the Sydney 2000 and at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, as well as two gold medals at the Barcelona 1992 and at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Women's football in Spain has seen a massive increase in popularity after being banned until the late 1970s. The Spain women's national team were champions in the 2023 World Cup. In 2026, after the men's team won the Men's World Cup, Spain became the first nation to have both of their national teams simultaneously as world champions.
The women's youth teams have been dominant. The national U-17 team won the U-17 European Championship in 2010, 2011, 2015, and 2018, as well as becoming champions at the 2018 and 2022 U-17 World Cups, and finalists in the 2014 U-17 World Cup. The U-19 national team won the UEFA U-19 European Championship in 2004, 2017, 2018, 2022, and 2023. The U-20 national team were runner-ups at the 2018 U-20 World Cup and then champions at the 2022 U-20 World Cup. By winning the 2022 U-17 World Cup, 2022 U-20 World Cup, and the 2023 World Cup, Spain become the first country to hold all three women's championships at the same time.
The men's youth teams have also been successful in the past. The U-20 team won the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1999 and were runners-up in 1985 and 2003. The U-17 team was runners-up three times and won third place in 1997 in the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Futsal
The Spanish futsal league is divided into divisions. The top teams play in the Primera División (also called Liga Nacional de Fútbol Sala). In each division, a team plays all other teams twice, once at home and once away.
The Spanish league teams compete in Europe under UEFA, most notably in the UEFA Futsal Cup with great success, being the national league holding more continental titles. The teams also compete in a domestic cup competition each year, called the Copa del Rey. The winner of the División de Honor plays against the winner of the Copa del Rey in the Supercopa de España (Super Cup).