Sport in Nepal is an important part of Nepalese culture, encompassing both traditional Nepalese games and modern international disciplines. While Nepal has a long history of traditional sports, the contemporary era is dominated by cricket, football, and volleyball.
On May 23, 2017, the Government of Nepal officially declared volleyball as the national sport, succeeding traditional games like dandi biyo and kabaddi, which were previously considered the de facto national games.
Since the establishment of the National Sports Council in 1959, Nepalese athletes made their Olympic Games debut at the 1964 Summer Olympics and their Paralympic Games debut at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. However, Nepal had not secured an official medal in either event, until taekwondo athlete Palesha Goverdhan made history by winning a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. For this achievement, Palesha Goverdhan was awarded by the Nepalese prime minister KP Oli on behalf of the Government of Nepal on 13 September 2024.
History International competition Olympics
Nepal first competed in the summer Olympics at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and has competed in eleven straight summer Olympics since the 1972 Munich Olympics. Nepal has also competed in four winter Olympic events, first in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, and last competed in the event at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. As of 2018, Nepal had not won a medal in any of the Olympic events.
Asian Games
Nepal competed at first Asian Games in 1951 at New Delhi, and won its first medal at the event in the 1986 Seoul Games, winning eight bronze medals. As of 2018, Nepal had won two silver medals and 22 bronze medals at the event.
South Asian Games
Nepal has competed in every edition of the South Asian Games, and has hosted the event in 1984, 1999 and 2019. As of 2019, Nepal was the fourth-most successful country, winning 679 medals: 130 gold, 182 silver and 367 bronze.
National competition National Games of Nepal
The Nepal Olympic Committee and the National Sports Council host the National Games of Nepal every two or three years. The event is meant to identify talent for the South Asian Games, Asian Games and Olympic Games, as well as develop sporting infrastructure throughout the country. The National Games have been held eight times, with the first event in 1982 at Kathmandu.
National sports leagues Franchise league SportDomestic leagueMenTeamsWomenTeams Cricket Prime Minister One Day Cup10Prime Minister Women's T20 Cup9Nepal Premier League (NPL)8Lalitpur Mayors Cup5 Football Nepal Super League(NSL)9ANFA Women's League10A Division League14B Division League14C Division League14VolleyballPM Cup NVA Volleyball League 8PM Cup NVA Volleyball League6Nepal Volleyball League(NVL)6Everest Women's Volleyball League(EWVL)6BasketballNepal Basketball League (NBL)8Nepal Women's Basketball League (NBL)4Futsal'A' Division National Futsal League10GolfSurya Nepal Premier Golf ChampionshipCyclingNepalese National ChampionshipsShootingNational Shooting Championship Field hockey National Men's Hockey Tournament_ National Women's Hockey Tournament_ Aquatics Nepal Aquatics Championship Rugby union Nepal 15s Rugby League _Rugby National Women's Tournament_Rugby 7S National Tournament_Kabaddi Nepal Kabaddi League (NKL)6__
Main sports
Football
Football, also known as soccer, is the most popular sport in Nepal. The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) is the governing body of Nepalese football that organizes the men's and women's national teams.
Football was introduced to Nepal during the Rana regime in the 1921. Since its introduction, play was mostly limited to the Kathmandu Valley, but since the turn of the millennium, more tournaments have started to be organized throughout the country. The Martyr's Memorial A-Division League is the premier football league in Nepal and has been organized since 1955.
The Nepal national team was organized in 1972 after being affiliated to FIFA in 1971. They lost to China in their first official match. Nepal regularly participates in tournaments organized by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and was the winner of the 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup.
Cricket
Cricket is the second most popular sport in Nepal. It rapidly grew in popularity in the mid-2010s, following the slight successes of the Nepalese cricket team as well as the country's explosive rise in social media and television viewing influence from neighboring country India.
The Nepal national cricket team is controlled by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), which was founded in 1946. CAN became a member of the National Sports Council in 1961. It was awarded affiliate status by the International Cricket Council in 1988, and since 1996, has been recognized as an associate member. Nepal has been successful in regional events organized by the Asian Cricket Council, placing first in the ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament in 2006/07, and sharing the title with the United Arab Emirates in the 2012 ACC Trophy Elite. The women's team made their debut in 2007, and qualified for the Women's Asia Cup in 2012 and 2016.
Nepal qualified for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, which was the only appearance by the senior men's team at a major ICC event, which also gave them Twenty20 International (T20I) status until 2015. The national under-19 team has qualified for the Under-19 Cricket World Cup seven times, including winning the Plate Championship in 2006. Nepal qualified and played in the ICC World Twenty20 2024.
Nepal claimed One Day International (ODI) status for the first time with their six wicket win over Papua New Guinea in the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier playoff encounter on 15 March 2018. The men's and women's team both currently have T20I status, as a result of an ICC decision to expand the status to all member nations.
Volleyball
Volleyball, the third most popular sport in Nepal, was declared the national sport of Nepal on 22 May 2017 (2074 Jestha 8). The Nepal Volleyball Association (NVA) is the governing body of volleyball in Nepal and organizes the men's and women's national teams. Nepal competes in tournaments organized by the Central Asian Zonal Volleyball Association, which operates under the Asian Volleyball Confederation.
As in many other countries, women's volleyball is more popular than men's. it is played in all 77 districts, which means all parts of Nepal.
Administration
National teams
Sport National team AssociationBadminton (M & W)NBABaseball (M & W)NBSABasketball (M, W)NeBACricket (M, W)CANField hockey (M, W)NHAFootball (M, W)ANFA Futsal (M)ANFAHandball (M, W)NHAKabaddi (M, W )ANKAKho Kho (M, W)NKKARugby Union (M)NRAVolleyball (M, W)NVA
International sports events held in Nepal
The following is a list of international sports events held in Nepal.
International sports events hosting record Sport Event Year/date Venue Multi-sport event South Asian Games 1984 Kathmandu Taekwondo Asian Taekwondo Championships 1988 Kathmandu Football South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup 1997 Kathmandu Cricket ACC Trophy 1998 Multiple venues Multi-sport event South Asian Games 1999 Kathmandu AthleticsAsian Cross Country Championships2001Kathmandu Cricket ACC Under 19 Cup 2005 Multiple venues Football AFC Challenge League 2005 Kathmandu Cricket World Cricket League2010 Multiple venues Cricket ACC Twenty20 Cup 2011 Multiple venues Football AFC Challenge League 2011 Multiple venues Football SAFF U-17 Championship 2011 Kathmandu Football AFC Challenge Cup 2012 Kathmandu Cricket ACC Twenty20 Cup 2013 Multiple venues Football SAFF Championship 2013 Kathmandu Football SAFF U-16 Championship 2013 Multiple venues Basketball SABA Championship 2014 Kathmandu Football SAFF U-19 Championship 2015 Lalitpur, Nepal Basketball SABA Women's Championship2016 Kathmandu Football SAFF U-15 Championship 2017 Multiple venues Football SAFF U-15 Championship 2018 Lalitpur, Nepal Multi-sport event South Asian Games 2019 Kathmandu Football SAFF U-18 Championship 2019 Kathmandu Football SAFF Women's Championship 2019 Kathmandu Football SAFF Women's Championship 2022 Kathmandu Cricket ACC Premier Cup 2023 Multiple venues AthleticsAsian Cross Country Championships2023Kathmandu Cricket ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2023 Multiple venues Football SAFF U-16 Women's Championship 2024 Lalitpur, Nepal
Sports awards NSJF Sports Award Pokhara Sports Award NNIPA Sports Award
References
Further reading
External links National Sports Commission of Nepal Ministry of Youth and Sports, Nepal