Soccer leads Egypt, ahead of Squash and Handball. Ranking of 15 sports.
This page ranks the sports of Egypt by the evidence behind each one, because no single comparable membership, license or participation figure with a session verified current source could be established for sports in Egypt. The ranking instead reflects documented competitive results such as Olympic medals, world rankings and world championship hosting, plus organized league or federation presence.
Soccer is on top, followed by Squash and Handball. The full table below covers 15 sports, and every section further down names the source for the figure it uses.
The Most Popular Sports in Egypt
The table counts evidence, 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.
| # | Sport | Basis for the placing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soccer | Egypt’s top domestic clubs, led by Al Ahly and Zamalek, and a national team known as the Pharaohs draw by far the largest fan following and media coverage of any sport in the count |
| 2 | Squash | Egyptian men and women have held the world number one squash ranking for most of the past two decades, and the country hosts marquee professional tour events, including exhibition |
| 3 | Handball | Egypt’s national handball team is the leading side in Africa, has qualified for the Olympic tournament multiple times, and hosted matches of the IHF Men’s World Championship across |
| 4 | Volleyball | Egyptian club and national volleyball is organized through a long standing league structure, and the men’s national team is a regular participant in African championship competitio |
| 5 | Basketball | Egypt has one of Africa’s oldest organized basketball leagues, and its national team has repeatedly reached the final rounds of the AfroBasket continental championship. |
| 6 | Wrestling | Wrestling has produced multiple Egyptian Olympic medalists across the Greco Roman and freestyle disciplines and is organized nationally through club level competition. |
| 7 | Weightlifting | Weightlifting is one of Egypt’s most consistent Olympic medal sports, run through a national federation with junior and senior competition structures. |
| 8 | Taekwondo | Taekwondo is organized nationally as an Olympic sport in Egypt and has produced repeated Olympic medal success in the women’s competition. |
| 9 | Karate | Karate is organized nationally in Egypt and produced an Olympic medal for the country at the sport’s first appearance on the Olympic program. |
| 10 | Swimming | Competitive swimming is organized through a national federation and club system, and Egyptian swimmers have reached world championship podiums in sprint events. |
| 11 | Field hockey | Egypt’s men’s field hockey team won multiple Olympic medals in the early twentieth century and the sport retains an organized domestic club structure. |
| 12 | Tennis | Tennis is organized through a national federation with a growing junior competition circuit and an increasing number of Egyptian players competing on international professional tou |
| 13 | Table tennis | Table tennis has an organized national league in Egypt and Egyptian players regularly compete at African championship level. |
| 14 | Padel | Padel has expanded rapidly in Cairo and other Egyptian cities in recent years, with new dedicated courts and club facilities opening across the country. |
| 15 | Rugby | Rugby union is played through a small but organized club competition in Egypt and the national team competes in regional African tournament divisions. |
Is There a National Sport of Egypt?
Egypt has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. Egypt has no sport formally designated as its national sport by law or government decree.
- Soccer. Soccer functions as Egypt’s de facto national sport, drawing by far the largest fan base, media coverage and public investment of any discipline in the country.
Sports That Were Invented in Egypt
- Wrestling. Wall paintings in the Beni Hasan tombs in Middle Egypt, dating to the Middle Kingdom period, depict hundreds of wrestling holds and are considered among the earliest surviving detailed records of organized wrestling technique.
#1 Soccer
- Governing body: Egyptian Football Association
- Top national league: Egyptian Premier League
- Best known athlete: Mohamed Salah. Salah is Egypt’s most decorated modern footballer, a Liverpool forward who has won the Premier League Golden Boot on multiple occasions and been named CAF African Player of the Year more than once
Soccer sits well above every other sport in Egypt in terms of public attention, sponsorship money and media coverage. Domestic matches between the country’s leading clubs draw the largest crowds and television audiences of any sporting fixture.
The national team carries deep cultural significance and its matches at continental tournaments are treated as major public events. Youth participation in the sport is organized through club academies attached to the country’s biggest teams.
Latest Posts about Soccer
#2 Squash
- Governing body: Egyptian Squash Federation
- Best known athlete: Ali Farag. Farag has held the world number one ranking and won the PSA World Championship title more than once, part of an unbroken run of Egyptian dominance in the sport since the 2000s
Squash is the sport in which Egypt has the strongest claim to global dominance. A succession of Egyptian men and women have occupied the top of the world rankings, and the national program is regarded as the deepest talent pipeline in the sport.
Cairo hosts high profile professional tournaments that draw international broadcast attention, and junior squash academies in the city are credited with producing consecutive generations of world class players.
Latest Posts about Squash
#3 Handball
- Governing body: Egyptian Handball Federation
Handball has grown into one of Egypt’s strongest team sports at the international level. The men’s national team is consistently the top ranked side in Africa and a regular qualifier for global tournaments.
Domestic handball is organized through club leagues in Cairo and other major cities, and the sport benefited from significant public attention when Egypt served as a World Championship host nation.
Latest Posts about Handball
#4 Volleyball
- Governing body: Egyptian Volleyball Federation
Volleyball has a well established organized presence in Egypt, with domestic club competition running alongside a national team program that competes regularly at the continental level.
The sport is played widely at school and university level, which feeds a steady pipeline of players into the country’s club league system.
Latest Posts about Volleyball
#5 Basketball
- Governing body: Egyptian Basketball Federation
Basketball has a long organizational history in Egypt, with domestic clubs competing in one of the continent’s oldest league structures.
The national team is a recurring participant in continental championship competition, and the sport maintains a steady following in major cities alongside soccer and squash.
Latest Posts about Basketball
#6 Wrestling
- Governing body: Egyptian Wrestling Federation
- Best known athlete: Karam Gaber. Gaber won Egypt’s Greco Roman wrestling gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, one of the country’s most significant Olympic sporting achievements
Wrestling has a deep organized tradition in Egypt and remains one of the country’s most reliable sources of Olympic success outside soccer.
The sport is taught through a national club and federation structure that has repeatedly produced medal winning athletes across multiple Olympic cycles.
Latest Posts about Wrestling
#7 Weightlifting
- Governing body: Egyptian Weightlifting Federation
- Best known athlete: Sara Ahmed. Ahmed won an Olympic bronze medal in weightlifting at the 2016 Rio Games, becoming the first Arab woman to win an Olympic medal in the sport
Weightlifting occupies a prominent place among Egypt’s Olympic sports, with a national federation that runs structured competition from junior through senior levels.
The sport has produced Olympic medal winning athletes across both men’s and women’s divisions, reinforcing its status as one of Egypt’s stronger competitive disciplines.
Latest Posts about Weightlifting
#8 Taekwondo
- Governing body: Egyptian Taekwondo Federation
- Best known athlete: Hedaya Malak. Malak won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Games and an Olympic silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games in taekwondo, making her Egypt’s most decorated athlete in the sport
Taekwondo has grown into a strong Olympic sport for Egypt, with a national federation supporting competitive training from an early age.
Its women’s program in particular has become a recurring source of Olympic medals, raising the sport’s profile within the country’s broader athletic system.
Latest Posts about Taekwondo
#9 Karate
- Governing body: Egyptian Karate Federation
- Best known athlete: Feryal Abdelaziz. Abdelaziz won a bronze medal in karate at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the sport’s Olympic debut
Karate has an organized national federation structure in Egypt and gained wider recognition after the sport’s Olympic debut brought the country international medal success.
Training is concentrated in dedicated clubs in major cities, and the sport continues to attract younger athletes following its Olympic breakthrough.
Latest Posts about Karate
#10 Swimming
- Governing body: Egyptian Swimming Federation
- Best known athlete: Farida Osman. Osman won medals in the fifty meter butterfly at multiple FINA World Championships, making her Egypt’s most successful competitive swimmer
Competitive swimming in Egypt is built around a national federation and club system concentrated in Cairo and Alexandria.
The sport gained international visibility through world championship level results in sprint events, which raised participation interest among younger swimmers.
Latest Posts about Swimming
#11 Field hockey
- Governing body: Egyptian Hockey Federation
Field hockey has a historic place in Egyptian sport, tracing back to a period when the national team was among the strongest in the world.
The sport today is smaller than it once was but continues through an organized domestic club and federation structure.
Latest Posts about Field Hockey
#12 Tennis
- Governing body: Egyptian Tennis Federation
Tennis has expanded steadily in Egypt through club facilities and a national federation that runs junior development programs.
A growing number of Egyptian players now compete on international professional tours, gradually raising the sport’s domestic profile.
Latest Posts about Tennis
#13 Table tennis
- Governing body: Egyptian Table Tennis Federation
Table tennis is played through an organized domestic league structure that feeds players into national team selection.
Egyptian players compete regularly at African championship level, giving the sport a consistent though modest competitive profile.
Latest Posts about Table Tennis
#14 Padel
Padel is the fastest growing recreational sport in Egypt’s major cities, driven by a wave of new dedicated court facilities.
Its growth has largely been club and membership driven rather than built around a long standing national federation, unlike Egypt’s older organized sports.
#15 Rugby
- Governing body: Egyptian Rugby Federation
Rugby union remains a small sport in Egypt compared with the country’s leading disciplines, but it is organized through a domestic club competition.
The national team competes in regional African tournament divisions, and participation is concentrated in a handful of clubs in the largest cities.
Latest Posts about Rugby
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 Egypt?
Soccer is by far the most popular sport in Egypt. The men’s national team and the domestic Egyptian Premier League, led by clubs such as Al Ahly and Zamalek, command the country’s largest fan followings and media coverage.
What is Egypt’s national sport?
Egypt has no sport officially designated as its national sport by law or government decree. Soccer functions as the de facto national sport because of its dominant popularity and media attention.
What are some popular sports in Egypt?
Beyond soccer, Egypt has strong followings in squash, handball, wrestling, weightlifting and taekwondo, sports in which Egyptian athletes have reached the world number one ranking or won Olympic medals.
What sports is Egypt known for internationally?
Internationally, Egypt is best known for squash, where its players have held the world number one ranking for extended periods, and for handball, where the national team is the leading side in Africa.
What are popular sports in Cairo?
In Cairo, the soccer clubs Al Ahly and Zamalek draw the largest followings, and the city also hosts organized squash, handball, volleyball and basketball competition.
