Sport in Europe tends to be highly organized with many sports having professional leagues. The origins of many of the world's most popular sports today lie in the codification of many traditional games, especially in the United Kingdom. However, a paradoxical feature of European sport is the extent to which local, regional and national variations continue to exist, and even in some instances to predominate.
Main events European Games European Championship European Para Championships European Championships (multi-sport event) European Youth Olympic Festival European Para Youth Games
Region events Mediterranean Games Games of the Small States of Europe and Championship Commonwealth Games and Championship (Commonwealth of Nations) CIS Games (2021 CIS Games - 2023 CIS Games) (Commonwealth of Independent States) Island Games Balkan Games and Championship Black Sea Games and Championship European Union Championship Alpe Adriatic Championship Nordic (Scandinavic) Championship (Nordic) Baltic Championship Central European Championship (Central European Weightlifting Federation) West European Championship East European Championship South European Championship North European Championship Benelux Championship Eurasia Cup Intercontinental Cup
Team sports Football
Football is the most popular sport in almost all countries of Europe. European national teams have won 13 of 23 editions of the FIFA World Cup. Italy and Germany have won four titles each, followed by France and Spain with two titles each and England, which won the World Cup once. UEFA, the governing body for European football, has hosted the UEFA European Championship since 1960, and the UEFA Women's Championship since 1984.
The most popular and successful football leagues are the Big Five: the English Premier League; the Spanish La Liga; the German Bundesliga; the Italian Serie A; and the French Ligue 1. Other main football leagues on the continent include the Portuguese Primeira Liga, the Dutch Eredivisie, the Russian Premier League and the Turkish Süper Lig. The top clubs in each league play the UEFA Champions League, while lower-ranked clubs compete in UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League.
Followers
As of 2024, the top 10 most popular sports clubs on social media are all football clubs from Europe:
Attendances
The UEFA clubs with an average home league attendance of at least 20,000 in the 2024-25 and 2025 seasons:
# Club Country Average 1 Borussia Dortmund Germany 81,365 2 Bayern München Germany 75,000 3 Manchester United England 73,747 4 Real Madrid Spain 72,701 5 AC Milan Italy 71,544 6 Internazionale Italy 70,129 7 Olympique de Marseille France 63,553 8 West Ham United England 62,464 9 AS Roma Italy 62,435 10 Schalke Germany 61,639 11 Tottenham Hotspur England 61,127 12 Atlético de Madrid Spain 60,883 13 Liverpool FC England 60,330 14 Arsenal England 60,251 15 VfB Stuttgart Germany 59,265 16 Celtic Scotland 58,903 17 Benfica Portugal 58,746 18 Eintracht Frankfurt Germany 57,600 19 HSV Germany 56,324 20 Ajax Netherlands 54,263 21 Hertha Germany 53,191 22 Borussia Mönchengladbach Germany 53,078 23 Manchester City England 52,591 24 Newcastle United England 52,187 25 Real Betis Spain 51,542 26 Olympique lyonnais France 50,994 27 SSC Napoli Italy 50,989 28 1. FC Köln Germany 49,929 29 Athletic Club Spain 48,401 30 Rangers Scotland 48,255 31 Paris Saint-Germain France 47,603 32 Feyenoord Netherlands 47,235 33 1. FC Kaiserslautern Germany 46,348 34 FC Barcelona Spain 46,005 35 RB Leipzig Germany 45,045 36 Lazio Italy 44,786 37 Valencia CF Spain 43,042 38 Galatasaray Turkey 43,039 39 Sporting Portugal 42,529 40 LOSC France 42,417 41 Aston Villa England 42,079 42 Fortuna 95 Germany 41,488 43 Werder Bremen Germany 41,403 44 FC Porto Portugal 40,609 45 Sunderland AFC England 40,425 46 Juventus Italy 40,237 47 Chelsea England 39,611 48 Everton England 39,173 49 Hannover 96 Germany 38,300 50 RC Lens France 37,936 51 1. FC Nürnberg Germany 37,408 52 Leeds United England 36,134 53 Zenit Russia 35,691 54 Sevilla FC Spain 35,574 55 PSV Netherlands 34,338 56 SC Freiburg Germany 34,188 57 Fenerbahçe Turkey 33,571 58 Mainz 05 Germany 32,390 59 Brighton & Hove Albion England 31,482 60 Leicester City England 31,448 61 Southampton FC England 30,865 62 Wolverhampton Wanderers England 30,660 63 AS Saint-Étienne France 30,288 64 FC Nantes France 30,269 65 Nottingham Forest England 30,059 66 Bayer Leverkusen Germany 29,961 67 Genoa CFC Italy 29,898 68 Real Sociedad Spain 29,877 69 FC Augsburg Germany 29,820 70 Ipswich Town England 29,742 71 Twente Netherlands 29,662 72 St. Pauli Germany 29,506 73 Karlsruher SC Germany 29,492 74 Derby County England 29,018 75 Dynamo Dresden Germany 28,991 76 Lech Poznań Poland 28,947 77 AIK Sweden 28,589 78 Young Boys Switzerland 28,482 79 Beşiktaş Turkey 28,393 80 FC København Denmark 28,205 81 Sheffield United England 28,087 82 Bologna FC Italy 28,007 83 Coventry City England 27,816 84 FC Krasnodar Russia 27,561 85 Stade rennais France 27,375 86 Olympiacos Greece 26,969 87 Fulham England 26,826 88 Sheffield Wednesday England 26,636 89 Norwich City England 26,316 90 Birmingham City England 26,283 91 FC Basel Switzerland 26,150 92 US Lecce Italy 26,007 93 Alemannia Germany 25,861 94 Espanyol Spain 25,640 95 Toulouse FC France 25,566 96 VfL Bochum Germany 25,546 97 Middlesbrough FC England 25,416 98 1899 Hoffenheim Germany 25,309 99 1. FC Magdeburg Germany 25,300 100 Crystal Palace England 25,064 101 West Bromwich Albion England 25,057 102 Hellas Verona Italy 24,882 103 Legia Warszawa Poland 24,867 104 Málaga CF Spain 24,857 105 VfL Wolfsburg Germany 24,596 106 OGC Nice France 24,299 107 Hansa Rostock Germany 24,269 108 AEK Greece 23,943 109 Hammarby Sweden 23,579 110 sc Heerenveen Netherlands 23,389 111 UD Las Palmas Spain 23,010 112 Maccabi Haifa Israel 22,953 113 Torino FC Italy 22,947 114 Stoke City England 22,804 115 Atalanta Italy 22,700 116 Club Brugge Belgium 22,496 117 Bristol City England 22,423 118 FC Groningen Netherlands 22,231 119 Sampdoria Italy 22,077 120 Hajduk Split Croatia 22,028 121 1. FC Union Germany 21,953 122 Udinese Italy 21,834 123 Brøndby IF Denmark 21,659 124 Deportivo de La Coruña Spain 21,571 125 Celta de Vigo Spain 21,504 126 Bolton Wanderers England 21,325 127 Hull City England 21,323 128 Arminia Bielefeld Germany 21,245 129 Real Sporting Spain 21,131 130 BTSV Eintracht Germany 21,080 131 Palermo FC Italy 20,730 132 Real Oviedo Spain 20,673 133 FC Utrecht Netherlands 20,658 134 Osasuna Spain 20,476 135 Maccabi Tel Aviv Israel 20,442 136 Fiorentina Italy 20,390 137 Malmö FF Sweden 20,273 138 Portsmouth FC England 20,263 139 Le Havre AC France 20,218 140 Real Racing Club Spain 20,212
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Basketball
Basketball originated in America. It was invented in 1891 by Canadian James Naismith in Massachusetts. In Europe, basketball is the second most popular team sport in many countries, including Greece, Serbia, Turkey and Spain. In Lithuania, it is the national sport. It is also very popular in Italy, France, Germany, Belgium and all the ex-Yugoslavia countries.
The EuroBasket is the main European basketball competition for men's national teams, first held in 1935. The Soviet Union and Yugoslavia have won the most titles, with Spain claiming three championships since the late 2000s.
The EuroLeague is the most prestigious club basketball competition in Europe. It was founded as the FIBA European Champions Cup in 1958, but is organised by the Euroleague Basketball association since 2000. It is the second most popular basketball club competition in the world after the NBA.
Attendances
In the 2024–25 European basketball season, the following clubs recorded an average home league attendance of at least 15,000:
# Club Country Average 1 Partizan Mozzart Bet Serbia 18,486 2 Crvena zvezda Meridianbet Serbia 18,239 3 Panathinaikos AKTOR Greece 17,111
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Cricket
Cricket is a popular summer sport in the United Kingdom and has been exported to other parts of the former British Empire. Cricket has its origins in south east Britain. It is popular throughout England and Wales, and parts of the Netherlands, Scotland and Ireland. Cricket is also popular in other areas and also played in Northwest Europe.
The England cricket team and Ireland cricket team are the only European teams with Test status. England's main rival is Australia, and they play each other in The Ashes series. England won the Cricket World Cup in 2019 and the ICC World Twenty20 in 2010 and 2022.
Ireland has recently received Test status in 2017. Ireland traditionally rivalled Scotland, and thereafter the Netherlands before Ireland gained full test status, while more latterly have added ongoing rivalries with Afghanistan who rose to test status with them, Zimbabwe, Pakistan (who they first hosted for test cricket) and the West Indies.
Field hockey
Field hockey is from England and is one of the most popular sports in Western Europe, The Netherlands and Germany have been champions in both world cups, Belgium has also been champion in the men's tournament, Germany is the most recent champion in Men's Hockey World Cup and The Netherlands is the most recent champion in Women's Hockey World Cup.
In the Olympics, Great Britain, The Netherlands and Germany have been champions in both tournaments, Spain has been the winner in the 1992 Women's tournament, Belgium is the most recent winner in the Men's tournament and The Netherlands is the most recent winner in the Women's tournament.
Handball
Handball is played professionally in many European countries. The European Handball Federation organizes continental competitions for men's and women's. European teams have dominated the IHF World Men's Handball Championship and have won all medals except one silver medal, and have also won most editions of the IHF World Women's Handball Championship. The top men's teams include France, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Croatia and Germany. The top women's teams include Norway, Denmark and France.
The EHF Champions League and the EHF Women's Champions League is the most important handball club competitions for men's and women's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. In the 21/22 season, the men's competition experienced a record viewership of 1.1 billion people across all streaming platforms around the world. While the 2024 European Championship saw more than 1 million people buying tickets to the competition.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey is the most popular or one of the most popular sports in many European nations, including Czechia, Switzerland, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Slovakia, Latvia, Belarus, and northern and central Europe, where it rivals association football in popularity. It is also popular at a professional level in Germany, Norway, Austria, most of Western Europe and isolated parts of the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.
The Kontinental Hockey League originated from Russia but currently features teams from eight other countries. The Austrian Hockey League, Czech Extraliga, Deutsche Eishockey Liga, SM-Liiga, National League A and Swedish Hockey League are other professional leagues, whose top teams meet at the Champions Hockey League.
The Ice Hockey European Championships for national teams was played from 1910 to 1932. National teams currently play the Ice Hockey World Championships, where Russia / Soviet Union have claimed a combined 27 titles, the Czech Republic / Czechoslovakia 12 and Sweden 11.
Attendances
In the 2024–25 European ice hockey season, the following clubs recorded an average home league attendance of at least 15,000:
# Club Country Average 1 Kölner Haie Germany 17,829 2 SKA Russia 17,648 3 SC Bern Switzerland 15,821
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Rugby union