The Most Popular Sports in Uruguay (Top 15 Ranked)

Soccer leads Uruguay, ahead of Basketball and Rugby union. Ranking of 15 sports.

This page ranks the sports of Uruguay by the evidence behind each one, because no single participation or membership survey covering the full list of sports below could be retrieved live in this session, so no numeric basis is used. Rank order rests on federation presence, national team results, and league infrastructure instead of a comparable count.

Soccer is on top, followed by Basketball and Rugby union. 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 Uruguay

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	AUF runs the men’s and women’s national teams, the Liga AUF Uruguaya, and youth and futsal structures; its site confirms it is the sport’s active governing body in the country.
2	Basketball	FUBB organizes the Liga Uruguaya de Basquetbol, a second division (Liga de Ascenso), and a women’s league, showing an active multi tier competition structure.
3	Rugby union	URU’s site lists an active national team program (Los Teros), club competitions organized by Montevideo and Interior regions, and youth divisions from under 14 to under 19.
4	Volleyball	Volleyball has an established national federation and school level programs, but no live source for its current standing could be checked in this session.
5	Boxing	Boxing has a long amateur and professional club tradition in Uruguay, though no live source for current federation figures could be checked this session.
6	Cycling	Road cycling has an active domestic race calendar and club structure in Uruguay, though no live source for current figures could be checked this session.
7	Athletics	Track and field runs through school and club meets under a national federation, though no live source for current figures could be checked this session.
8	Tennis	Tennis is played at private clubs across Uruguay under a national association, though no live source for current figures could be checked this session.
9	Handball	Handball has a national federation and domestic league in Uruguay, though no live source for current figures could be checked this session.
10	Field hockey	Field hockey is played at club level in Uruguay, mostly by women’s teams, under a national federation, though no live source for current figures could be checked this session.
11	Padel	Padel has expanded rapidly at Uruguayan clubs in recent years, following the same regional growth trend seen across South America, though no live source for current figures could b
12	Swimming	Swimming is organized through clubs and a national federation in Uruguay, though no live source for current figures could be checked this session.
13	Judo	Judo has an established club base and national federation in Uruguay, though no live source for current figures could be checked this session.
14	Motorsport	Motorsport events, including rally and circuit racing, run under Uruguayan motoring associations, though no live source for current figures could be checked this session.
15	Golf	Golf is played at a small number of private clubs in Uruguay under a national association, though no live source for current figures could be checked this session.

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
Soccer		Matches between Uruguay’s two largest clubs, Penarol and Nacional, and men’s national team fixtures at Estadio Centenario are the country’s best attended sporting events.

Is There a National Sport of Uruguay?

Uruguay has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. No law or government decree naming an official national sport of Uruguay is known, and none could be confirmed on the Secretaria Nacional del Deporte site in this session.

• Soccer. Soccer functions as Uruguay’s de facto national sport through its historical role, its two FIFA World Cup titles, and its central place in national identity.

#1 Soccer

• Governing body: Uruguayan Football Association (Asociacion Uruguaya de Futbol, AUF)
• Top national league: Liga AUF Uruguaya (Primera Division)
• Best known athlete: Luis Suarez. Uruguay’s all time leading scorer for the men’s national team and a starter across four World Cups (2010, 2014, 2018, 2022), including the 2010 semifinal run

Soccer is the dominant sport in Uruguay, organized nationally by the Asociacion Uruguaya de Futbol and played from neighborhood clubs up through the professional Liga AUF Uruguaya. The men’s national team won the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 and again in 1950, results that still anchor the sport’s status in the country.

Clubs such as Penarol and Nacional draw the largest domestic followings, and their matches, along with national team fixtures, are the most watched sporting events in the country. Youth academies and futsal programs run under the same federation feed talent into professional and international competition.

#2 Basketball

• Governing body: Uruguayan Basketball Federation (Federacion Uruguaya de Basketball, FUBB)
• Top national league: Liga Uruguaya de Basquetbol
• Best known athlete: Esteban Batista. Uruguayan center who built a long professional career in Spain’s top division (ACB), including spells at Real Madrid and Joventut, and represented the national team internationally

Basketball has a long organized history in Uruguay through the Federacion Uruguaya de Basketball, which runs the men’s Liga Uruguaya de Basquetbol along with a promotion division and a women’s league. The sport has periods of strong international results going back to the mid twentieth century.

Montevideo clubs form the core of the domestic league, and a number of Uruguayan players have gone on to professional careers in Spain and elsewhere, which keeps the sport visible internationally even when the domestic league draws smaller crowds than soccer.

#3 Rugby union

• Governing body: Uruguay Rugby Union (Union de Rugby del Uruguay, URU)
• Top national league: Torneo URU (club competition)

Rugby union has grown quickly in Uruguay over the past two decades under the Union de Rugby del Uruguay. The men’s national team, known as Los Teros, qualified for the Rugby World Cup in both 2019 and 2023, which raised the sport’s profile beyond its traditional base in Montevideo.

Club rugby is organized in divisions covering Montevideo, the interior of the country, and school level competition, with a full pathway of youth age grades feeding the senior clubs and the national team program.

#4 Volleyball

• Governing body: Uruguayan Volleyball Federation (Federacion Uruguaya de Voleibol)

Volleyball is played widely in Uruguayan schools and clubs and has a national federation overseeing domestic competition and youth development.

The sport does not carry the professional infrastructure of soccer or basketball in Uruguay, but it remains a common participation sport at the school and club level.

#5 Boxing

• Governing body: Uruguayan Boxing Federation (Federacion Uruguaya de Box)

Boxing has a long standing club tradition in Uruguay, with amateur clubs training fighters who compete domestically and, in some cases, internationally.

The sport is organized through a national federation but operates with a smaller public profile than soccer, basketball, or rugby in current Uruguayan sports coverage.

#6 Cycling

• Governing body: Uruguayan Cycling Federation (Federacion Ciclista Uruguaya)

Road cycling has an active club and race calendar in Uruguay, with events organized regionally and nationally throughout the year.

It is a participation sport with a dedicated but smaller following compared to the country’s team sports.

#7 Athletics

• Governing body: Uruguayan Athletics Confederation (Confederacion Atletica del Uruguay)

Athletics in Uruguay is organized through school and club level meets under a national federation, covering track, field, and road running events.

Road running in particular has a visible public following through city races, even where the sport’s organized club base is smaller than in team sports.

#8 Tennis

• Governing body: Uruguayan Tennis Association (Asociacion Uruguaya de Tenis)

Tennis in Uruguay is centered on private and municipal clubs, mainly in Montevideo and other larger cities, under the national tennis association.

It functions as a club participation sport rather than a mass spectator sport in the country.

#9 Handball

• Governing body: Uruguayan Handball Federation (Federacion Uruguaya de Handball)

Handball is organized nationally in Uruguay with club competition mainly concentrated in Montevideo.

It has a smaller following than the country’s leading team sports but maintains an active youth and club base.

#10 Field hockey

• Governing body: Uruguayan Hockey Federation (Federacion Uruguaya de Hockey)

Field hockey in Uruguay is played mainly at club level, with a national federation overseeing domestic competition that is predominantly a women’s sport in the country.

It has a smaller and more localized following, concentrated in clubs in and around Montevideo.

#11 Padel

• Governing body: Uruguayan Padel Federation (Federacion Uruguaya de Padel)

Padel has grown quickly in Uruguay over the past decade, with new courts added at existing tennis and sports clubs across Montevideo and other cities.

The sport’s rise mirrors a broader regional trend in South America and has made it one of the fastest growing club sports in the country by court numbers.

#12 Swimming

• Governing body: Uruguayan Swimming Federation (Federacion Uruguaya de Natacion)

Swimming in Uruguay is organized through club programs and a national federation that runs age group and open competition.

It functions mainly as a participation and youth development sport rather than a major spectator draw.

#13 Judo

• Governing body: Uruguayan Judo Federation (Federacion Uruguaya de Judo)

Judo has an established presence in Uruguay through dojos and a national federation that sends competitors to regional and international events.

It remains a smaller sport by public visibility but maintains steady club level participation.

#14 Motorsport

• Governing body: Uruguayan Automobile Club (Automovil Club del Uruguay)

Motorsport in Uruguay includes circuit racing and rally events organized under national motoring associations, with a following concentrated among enthusiasts rather than the general public.

Events draw dedicated crowds at tracks and rally stages, but the sport does not have the mass reach of soccer or basketball in the country.

#15 Golf

• Governing body: Uruguayan Golf Association (Asociacion Uruguaya de Golf)

Golf in Uruguay is concentrated at a limited number of private clubs, mainly around Montevideo and Punta del Este, under a national association.

Participation is smaller in scale than the country’s team sports and centers on club membership rather than mass spectator interest.

Sources

• Asociacion Uruguaya de Futbol (AUF)
• Federacion Uruguaya de Basketball (FUBB)
• Union de Rugby del Uruguay (URU)
• Secretaria Nacional del Deporte de Uruguay

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.

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