The Most Popular Sports in the United Kingdom (Top 8 Ranked)

Soccer leads the United Kingdom with 1,400,000 registered members of the english national governing body, each in its latest published year. Ranking of

This page ranks the sports of the United Kingdom by one number that is collected the same way for all of them: Every figure counts people formally registered with the sport’s governing body for England. The bodies publish on different schedules, so the table mixes 2024 and 2025 reports. The gaps between the sports are far larger than any single year of change. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own governing bodies and are not counted here. The figures come from The Football Association, Annual Report & Financial Statement 2023-24.

Soccer is on top, followed by Golf and Athletics (running). The full table below covers 8 sports, and every section further down names the source for the figure it uses.

The Most Popular Sports in the United Kingdom

The table counts registered members of the english national governing body, each in its latest published year, not people who say they like a sport. It is the figure that is published the same way for every sport in the list, which is what makes the rows comparable. The reference year is 2024.

#	Sport	Registered members of the English national governing body, each in its latest published year	Governing body
1	Soccer	1,400,000	The Football Association
2	Golf	730,602	England Golf
3	Athletics (running)	177,441	England Athletics
4	Swimming	175,653	Swim England
5	Netball	116,751	England Netball
6	Badminton	37,313	Badminton England
7	Table Tennis	29,307	Table Tennis England
8	Boxing	22,500	England Boxing

One caveat applies to every ranking of this kind: someone who plays two sports is counted twice, once in each federation, and sports people mostly do on their own, such as running or hiking, barely show up at all.

Most Played and Most Watched Are Not the Same Sport

Membership and license numbers tell you what people do. Audience figures tell you what they watch, and the two lists rarely have the same sport on top.

Sport	Figure	What it measures
Football	40,459	Premier League matches drew an average attendance of 40,459 fans per game during the 2024-25 season.
Football	1,450,000,000	An estimated 1.45 billion people watched live Premier League football during the 2024-25 season worldwide.

Is There a National Sport of the United Kingdom?

the United Kingdom has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. There is no sport designated by law or government decision as the official national sport of the United Kingdom or of England.

Cricket. Cricket is the sport most often regarded as England’s de facto national sport, despite having no official status.

Sports That Were Invented in the United Kingdom

Football (Association Football). The Football Association, English football’s governing body and the world’s oldest football association, was formed in 1863.
Badminton. The modern game of badminton was invented at Badminton House in Gloucestershire around 1863.
Boxing (Queensberry Rules). The Marquess of Queensberry Rules, which gave modern boxing its regulated structure, were drawn up and first enforced in the United Kingdom from 1865.

#1 Soccer

Registered members of the English national governing body, each in its latest published year: 1,400,000 (The Football Association, 2024)
Top national league: Premier League
Best known athlete: Harry Kane. Kane overtook Wayne Rooney in March 2023 to become England’s all-time record men’s goalscorer, reaching 54 international goals in 81 appearances

The Football Association reported that player registration had grown by 71,000 during the 2023-24 season, bringing the total past 1.4 million players. That is the largest registered participation figure of any sport’s national governing body covered in this ranking.

England’s captain Harry Kane holds the men’s national team’s all-time scoring record. The Premier League is the country’s top professional football competition and draws clubs from across England.

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#2 Golf

Registered members of the English national governing body, each in its latest published year: 730,602 (England Golf, 2024)
Best known athlete: Justin Rose. Rose won Olympic gold in golf at the Rio 2016 Games, becoming the first Olympic golf champion since Canada’s George Lyon in 1904

England Golf, the sport’s national governing body, reported total membership of 730,602 for 2024, a figure that continued rising to 750,071 in 2025. That places golf as the second largest sport by registered membership in this ranking.

Justin Rose is one of the sport’s most prominent English players and an Olympic gold medalist in golf. Golf in England is organized primarily through county unions and affiliated private and public clubs.

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#3 Athletics (running)

Registered members of the English national governing body, each in its latest published year: 177,441 (England Athletics, 2025)
Best known athlete: Mo Farah. Farah completed the Olympic distance-running double at both London 2012 and Rio 2016, defending both of his titles in Rio

England Athletics counted 177,441 registered athletes and runners during the 2024-25 season, continuing growth from the prior year. The governing body oversees affiliated running and athletics clubs across the country.

Mo Farah is among the country’s best known distance runners, having defended Olympic titles at consecutive Games. England Athletics also supports club, school and community running programs.

#4 Swimming

Registered members of the English national governing body, each in its latest published year: 175,653 (Swim England, 2024)
Best known athlete: Adam Peaty. Peaty has won multiple Olympic gold and silver medals in swimming for Great Britain, according to Team GB’s official athlete profile

Swim England reported 175,653 club members as of December 2024, the basis for this entry. The federation also counts affiliated clubs and other membership categories separately.

Adam Peaty has won Olympic medals in swimming for Great Britain across several Olympic Games. Swim England is the recognized national governing body for competitive swimming in the country.

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#5 Netball

Registered members of the English national governing body, each in its latest published year: 116,751 (England Netball, 2024)
Top national league: Netball Super League

England Netball recorded 116,751 individual members by the end of March 2024, a year on year increase the federation described as record breaking. Membership spans club, school and social categories.

The Netball Super League is the sport’s top domestic competition in England. England Netball is the recognized national governing body for the sport.

#6 Badminton

Registered members of the English national governing body, each in its latest published year: 37,313 (Badminton England, 2025)
Best known athlete: Gail Emms. Emms won an Olympic silver medal in mixed doubles badminton for Great Britain at the Athens 2004 Games, partnering Nathan Robertson

Badminton England reported 37,313 members as of the end of the 2024-25 season. The federation is the recognized national governing body for the sport in England.

Gail Emms won an Olympic silver medal in mixed doubles badminton for Great Britain. She remains one of the sport’s best known English players.

Latest Posts about Badminton

#7 Table Tennis

Registered members of the English national governing body, each in its latest published year: 29,307 (Table Tennis England, 2025)
Best known athlete: Desmond Douglas. Douglas was described by Sky Sports as Britain’s most successful post-war table tennis player and represented Great Britain at the 1988 Seoul Olympics

Table Tennis England’s total membership reached 29,307 for the 2024-25 season, a six percent increase on the prior year. Membership is split across several categories including club play and competitive levels.

Desmond Douglas was described by Sky Sports as Britain’s most successful post-war table tennis player. He remains a prominent figure in the sport’s English history.

Latest Posts about Table Tennis

#8 Boxing

Registered members of the English national governing body, each in its latest published year: 22,500 (England Boxing, 2024)
Best known athlete: Anthony Joshua. Joshua won Olympic super heavyweight boxing gold for Great Britain at the London 2012 Games before becoming a two-time unified professional world heavyweight champion

England Boxing reported 22,500 registered boxers for the 2023-24 season, up from 20,000 the previous year. The federation described the total as a record level.

Anthony Joshua won Olympic gold in the super heavyweight division for Great Britain before becoming a professional world heavyweight champion. England Boxing is the recognized national governing body for amateur boxing in England.

Latest Posts about Boxing

Sources

Figures on this page come from national federations and statistics offices and are only as current as their latest published report. Last reviewed: August 2026.

FAQ

What is the most popular sport in the UK?

By registered participation, football is the most popular sport in the United Kingdom. The Football Association reported that player registration had grown past 1.4 million players by the 2023-24 season, more than any other sport’s governing body membership figure in this ranking.

What sports are played in the UK?

Widely played sports in England with substantial registered participation include football, golf, athletics and running, swimming, netball, badminton, table tennis and boxing, based on each sport’s English national governing body membership figures.

What is the UK national sport?

There is no sport designated by law or government decision as the official national sport of the United Kingdom. Cricket is sometimes regarded as England’s de facto national sport, though this is not an official designation.

What are the most watched sports in the UK?

Football draws the largest audiences of any UK sport. Premier League matches averaged 40,459 fans in attendance per game during the 2024-25 season, and an estimated 1.45 billion people watched live Premier League football that season worldwide.

What sports originated in the UK?

Football, badminton and the modern rules of boxing all originated in the United Kingdom. The Football Association was formed in 1863, the game of badminton was invented at Badminton House around the same year, and the Marquess of Queensberry boxing rules were first adopted from 1865.