The Most Popular Sports in Belgium (Top 22 Ranked)

Soccer leads Belgium with 331,183 registered sport club members (Flanders) in 2024, ahead of Cycling and Tennis. Ranking of 22 sports.

This page ranks the sports of Belgium by one number that is collected the same way for all of them: The number of people counted as active sporting members of a club affiliated with a recognized Flemish sports federation, the only per-sport, dated and directly comparable membership figure published by any Belgian sport authority; Belgium has no single national federation, only separate Flemish (Sport Vlaanderen) and francophone (ADEPS) structures, and ADEPS’s most recent comparable per-sport breakdown is from 2022 and could not be reconciled with the 2024 Flemish figures without mixing years and metrics, so this dataset uses Flanders, roughly 57 percent of Belgium’s population, as documented in hinweise. The figures come from Sport Vlaanderen, Kennisplatform Sport Vlaanderen: Sportende leden, trainers en sportclubs in Vlaanderen – Cijfers 2024.

Soccer is on top, followed by Cycling and Tennis. The full table below covers 22 sports, and every section further down names the source for the figure it uses.

The Most Popular Sports in Belgium

The table counts registered sport club members (Flanders), 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 listed sports account for 1,462,542 unique sporting club members across all 73 recognized Flemish sport federations combined, 2024 in total. The reference year is 2024.

#	Sport	Registered sport club members (Flanders)	Governing body
1	Soccer	331,183	Voetbal Vlaanderen (Flemish Football Federation)
2	Cycling	191,407	Cycling Vlaanderen
3	Tennis	151,227	Tennis en Padel Vlaanderen
4	Gymnastics	145,342	Gymfed (Flemish Gymnastics Federation)
5	Dance sport	91,927	Danssport Vlaanderen
6	Padel	91,576	Tennis en Padel Vlaanderen
7	Swimming	78,167	Vlaamse Zwemfederatie (Zwemfed)
8	Volleyball	54,083	Volley Vlaanderen
9	Golf	49,907	Golf Vlaanderen
10	Athletics	49,415	Vlaamse Atletiekliga
11	Equestrian sport	46,228	Paardensport Vlaanderen
12	Basketball	45,936	Basketbal Vlaanderen
13	Petanque	37,357	Petanque Federatie Vlaanderen
14	Badminton	33,182	Badminton Vlaanderen
15	Sport shooting	30,575	Sportschutters Vlaanderen
16	Field hockey	30,011	Hockey Vlaanderen
17	Sailing	27,483	Vlaamse Yachting Federatie
18	Judo	18,895	Judo Vlaanderen
19	Climbing	18,018	Klim- en Bergsportfederatie
20	Table tennis	13,293	Vlaamse Tafeltennisliga
21	Bowling	12,412	Bowling Vlaanderen
22	Karate	12,111	Vlaamse Karate Federatie

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
Soccer (Jupiler Pro League)	10,236	The Jupiler Pro League averaged 10,236 spectators per match in the 2024/25 season.

Is There a National Sport of Belgium?

Belgium has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. No Belgian federal law or royal decree designates an official national sport; sport policy in Belgium is split between the Flemish (Sport Vlaanderen) and French Community (ADEPS) authorities, neither of which lists a legislated national sport.

• Soccer. Soccer is widely treated as Belgium’s de facto national sport because its federation, Voetbal Vlaanderen, is by far the largest sports federation in Flanders by club membership.

Sports That Were Invented in Belgium

• Pigeon racing. Pigeon racing began in Belgium, where the first long-distance race of more than 100 miles was held in 1818, and the sport’s stronghold remained in Belgium through the nineteenth century.
• Balle pelote. Balle pelote is a traditional handball-style game whose origins lie in rural communities in Wallonia, Belgium, and which was formalized into an organized sport by the 19th century.

#1 Soccer

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 331,183 (Voetbal Vlaanderen (Flemish Football Federation), 2024)
• Top national league: Jupiler Pro League
• Best known athlete: Kevin De Bruyne. Belgium international midfielder who, according to ESPN, lifted 16 trophies at Manchester City including six Premier League titles and a Champions League, and finished third in the 2022 Ballon d’Or vote

Soccer is the sport with the most registered club members in Flanders. Voetbal Vlaanderen, the Flemish football federation, counted 331,183 sporting members in 2024, the highest figure of any sport tracked by Sport Vlaanderen that year.

The top domestic competition is the Jupiler Pro League. Belgian international Kevin De Bruyne is among the country’s best known players, having won six Premier League titles and a Champions League with Manchester City and finished third in the 2022 Ballon d’Or vote, according to ESPN.

#2 Cycling

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 191,407 (Cycling Vlaanderen, 2024)
• Best known athlete: Remco Evenepoel. According to ESPN, he became the first rider to sweep the road race and time trial gold medals at the same Olympic Games, at Paris 2024

Cycling is organized in Flanders through Cycling Vlaanderen, which counted 191,407 sporting members in 2024, making it the second largest sport by registered club membership behind soccer.

Remco Evenepoel is one of the sport’s best known current Belgian riders. According to ESPN, he became the first cyclist to sweep the road race and time trial gold medals at the same Olympic Games, doing so at Paris 2024.

#3 Tennis

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 151,227 (Tennis en Padel Vlaanderen, 2024)
• Best known athlete: Kim Clijsters. Won four Grand Slam singles titles and reached the world No. 1 ranking on August 11, 2003, according to the WTA’s own player profile

Tennis club membership in Flanders is organized through Tennis en Padel Vlaanderen, which reported 151,227 sporting members for tennis in 2024, the third largest sport by club membership in the region.

Kim Clijsters remains the sport’s best known Belgian player. The WTA’s own profile credits her with four Grand Slam singles titles and the world No. 1 ranking, which she first reached on August 11, 2003.

#4 Gymnastics

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 145,342 (Gymfed (Flemish Gymnastics Federation), 2024)
• Best known athlete: Nina Derwael. Won the Olympic gold medal in uneven bars at the Tokyo Games, according to ESPN, becoming the first Belgian woman to win Olympic gold in the sport

Gymnastics is the most popular sport among girls and women in Flanders and the fourth most practiced sport overall, with 145,342 sporting members reported by Sport Vlaanderen for 2024.

Nina Derwael is the sport’s most decorated Belgian competitor. ESPN reported that she won Olympic gold in the uneven bars at the Tokyo Games, the first Olympic gold of any color for a Belgian woman in gymnastics.

#5 Dance sport

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 91,927 (Danssport Vlaanderen, 2024)

Dance sport is organized in Flanders through Danssport Vlaanderen, which reported 91,927 sporting members in 2024.

The federation groups a range of competitive dance disciplines under one membership structure rather than a single discipline, which sets it apart from single-sport federations elsewhere in this list.

#6 Padel

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 91,576 (Tennis en Padel Vlaanderen, 2024)

Padel is administered by the same federation as tennis, Tennis en Padel Vlaanderen, and had grown to 91,576 sporting members by 2024.

Sport Vlaanderen identified padel as one of the strongest-growing sports of the past decade in Flanders, alongside cycling and dance.

#7 Swimming

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 78,167 (Vlaamse Zwemfederatie (Zwemfed), 2024)

Swimming club membership in Flanders is organized through the Vlaamse Zwemfederatie, which also covers water polo, artistic swimming, diving and open water swimming. It reported 78,167 sporting members in 2024.

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#8 Volleyball

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 54,083 (Volley Vlaanderen, 2024)

Volleyball is organized in Flanders through Volley Vlaanderen, which reported 54,083 sporting members in 2024, making it the tenth most practiced club sport in the region that year.

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#9 Golf

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 49,907 (Golf Vlaanderen, 2024)

Golf Vlaanderen reported 49,907 sporting members in 2024.

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#10 Athletics

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 49,415 (Vlaamse Atletiekliga, 2024)
• Best known athlete: Nafissatou Thiam. According to World Athletics, she successfully defended her heptathlon title at Paris 2024, becoming the first combined-events athlete in history to win three Olympic gold medals

Athletics club membership in Flanders, organized through the Vlaamse Atletiekliga, stood at 49,415 sporting members in 2024.

Nafissatou Thiam is the sport’s most decorated Belgian athlete. World Athletics reported that she defended her Olympic heptathlon title at Paris 2024, becoming the first combined-events athlete ever to win three Olympic gold medals.

#11 Equestrian sport

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 46,228 (Paardensport Vlaanderen, 2024)

Equestrian sport is organized in Flanders through Paardensport Vlaanderen, the Flemish division of the Royal Belgian Equestrian Sports Federation. It reported 46,228 sporting members in 2024.

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#12 Basketball

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 45,936 (Basketbal Vlaanderen, 2024)
• Top national league: BNXT League

Basketball is organized in Flanders through Basketbal Vlaanderen, which reported 45,936 sporting members in 2024..

The top domestic competition is the BNXT League, a joint Belgian-Dutch professional league.

#13 Petanque

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 37,357 (Petanque Federatie Vlaanderen, 2024)

Petanque is organized in Flanders through the Petanque Federatie Vlaanderen, which reported 37,357 sporting members in 2024.

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#14 Badminton

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 33,182 (Badminton Vlaanderen, 2024)

Badminton Vlaanderen reported 33,182 sporting members in 2024.

Sport Vlaanderen listed badminton among the sports with declining club membership in 2024, though it remains one of the twenty most practiced club sports in the region.

#15 Sport shooting

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 30,575 (Sportschutters Vlaanderen, 2024)

#16 Field hockey

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 30,011 (Hockey Vlaanderen, 2024)

Field hockey club membership in Flanders reached 30,011 in 2024, one of the more consistent growth trends among the sports in this ranking.

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#17 Sailing

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 27,483 (Vlaamse Yachting Federatie, 2024)

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#18 Judo

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 18,895 (Judo Vlaanderen, 2024)

Sport Vlaanderen’s report also named Judo Vlaanderen among the federations with the most consistent multi-year membership growth in the years leading up to 2024.

#19 Climbing

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 18,018 (Klim- en Bergsportfederatie, 2024)

The sport has posted uninterrupted year-on-year growth throughout the period covered by the Sport Vlaanderen federation data series.

#20 Table tennis

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 13,293 (Vlaamse Tafeltennisliga, 2024)

Table tennis club membership in Flanders fell to 13,293 sporting members in 2024, according to the Vlaamse Tafeltennisliga’s own federation data.

The sport remains considerably smaller by club membership than most others in this ranking, though it is still tracked among the region’s larger recognized sports federations.

#21 Bowling

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 12,412 (Bowling Vlaanderen, 2024)

Sport Vlaanderen noted that most of this rise came from two multi-sport federations offering bowling rather than from Bowling Vlaanderen itself, which added only seven members over the same period.

The sport remains a smaller part of the organized club landscape in Flanders compared with the larger sports higher in this ranking.

#22 Karate

• Registered sport club members (Flanders): 12,111 (Vlaamse Karate Federatie, 2024)

Karate club membership in Flanders stood at 12,111 sporting members in 2024, according to Sport Vlaanderen’s federation data series.

The sport is one of several martial arts tracked separately in the region’s club membership statistics, alongside judo, taekwondo and kickboxing.

Sources

• Sport Vlaanderen, Kennisplatform Sport Vlaanderen: Sportende leden, trainers en sportclubs in Vlaanderen – Cijfers 2024
• Transfermarkt
• Sport Vlaanderen, Erkenning van sportfederaties (federation recognition policy page)
• Encyclopaedia Britannica
• International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG)
• Sport Vlaanderen, Kennisplatform: Sportende leden, trainers en sportclubs in Vlaanderen – Cijfers 2024, Bijlage C
• Sport Vlaanderen, Kennisplatform: Sportende leden, trainers en sportclubs in Vlaanderen – Cijfers 2024, Bijlage C
• Sport Vlaanderen, Kennisplatform: Sportende leden, trainers en sportclubs in Vlaanderen – Cijfers 2024, Bijlage C
• Sport Vlaanderen, Kennisplatform: Sportende leden, trainers en sportclubs in Vlaanderen – Cijfers 2024, Bijlage C
• Sport Vlaanderen, Kennisplatform: Sportende leden, trainers en sportclubs in Vlaanderen – Cijfers 2024, Bijlage C

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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