The Most Popular Sports in Greece (Top 20 Ranked)

Soccer leads Greece with 131,989 registered athletes (national federation membership) in 2023, ahead of Basketball and Swimming. Ranking of 20 sports.

This page ranks the sports of Greece by one number that is collected the same way for all of them: The number of athletes holding an official athlete card at a nationally recognized sports federation in Greece, as counted by the Ministry of Sports’ e-Kouros digital registry; the figure is comparable across sports because every federation registers athletes through the same certification process. The figures come from Greek Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports – e-Kouros, 1st Report (published 21/3/2024).

Soccer is on top, followed by Basketball and Swimming. The full table below covers 20 sports, and every section further down names the source for the figure it uses.

The Most Popular Sports in Greece

The table counts registered athletes (national federation membership), 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 412,329 in total. The reference year is 2023.

#	Sport	Registered athletes (national federation membership)	Governing body
1	Soccer	131,989	Hellenic Football Federation (EPO)
2	Basketball	74,643	Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK)
3	Swimming	29,461	Hellenic Swimming Federation (KOE)
4	Volleyball	24,321	Hellenic Volleyball Federation (EOPE)
5	Shooting sport	20,044	Hellenic Shooting Federation (SKOE)
6	Athletics (track and field)	18,183	SEGAS (Hellenic Amateur Athletic Association)
7	Gymnastics	11,714	Hellenic Gymnastics Federation (EGO)
8	Sailing	8,974	Hellenic Sailing Federation (EIO)
9	Taekwondo	6,389	Hellenic Taekwondo Federation (ELOT)
10	Chess	6,380	Hellenic Chess Federation (ESO)
11	Karate	5,510	Hellenic Karate Federation (EOK)
12	Handball	5,387	Handball Federation of Greece (OXE)
13	Jiu-Jitsu	4,928	Hellenic Amateur Jiu-Jitsu Federation (EFEOZZ)
14	Judo	4,715	Hellenic Judo Federation (EOT)
15	Tennis	4,388	Hellenic Tennis Federation (EFOA)
16	Kickboxing	4,357	Pan-Hellenic Kickboxing Federation (POK)
17	Bridge	4,189	Hellenic Bridge Federation (EOM)
18	Fencing	3,498	Hellenic Fencing Federation (EOX)
19	Wrestling	3,314	Hellenic Wrestling Federation (EOP)
20	Muay Thai	3,016	Pan-Hellenic Muay Thai Federation (POM)

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	56,087	The record single-match crowd of the 2024-25 Super League Greece season attended the Panathinaikos versus Olympiacos derby.
Soccer	1,182,480	Total paid attendance across the 2024-25 Super League Greece regular season reached just over 1.18 million spectators.

Is There a National Sport of Greece?

Greece has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. Greece has no sport designated as the national sport by law or government decree.

• Soccer. Soccer functions as Greece’s de facto national sport, holding the largest registered federation membership of any sport in the country.

Sports That Were Invented in Greece

• Marathon running. The marathon race was created for the 1896 Athens Olympics as a tribute to the ancient Greek legend of the messenger Pheidippides.
• Pankration. Pankration is a combat sport that originated in ancient Greece and was part of the ancient Olympic Games.

#1 Soccer

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 131,989 (Hellenic Football Federation (EPO), 2023)
• Top national league: Super League Greece
• Best known athlete: Giorgos Karagounis. Karagounis was Greece’s national team captain and retired from international football in 2014 after 139 caps over a 15-year career

Soccer is the largest organized sport in Greece by registered membership. The Hellenic Football Federation counted 131,989 registered athletes in the 2023 season, a 32 percent share of the country’s total registered sporting population.

Giorgos Karagounis, the former national team captain, closed his international career in 2014 after 139 caps over 15 years. The domestic top division is the Super League Greece.

#2 Basketball

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 74,643 (Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK), 2023)
• Top national league: Greek Basket League (Stoiximan GBL)
• Best known athlete: Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo won back to back NBA Most Valuable Player awards in 2019 and 2020 and led the Milwaukee Bucks to the 2021 NBA championship, being named Finals MVP after scoring 50 points in Game 6

Basketball is the second largest sport in Greece by registered membership. The Hellenic Basketball Federation reported 74,643 registered athletes for the 2023 season, well behind soccer but ahead of every other sport in the country.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks, won consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player awards in 2019 and 2020 and was named Finals MVP after scoring 50 points in Game 6 of the 2021 NBA championship series. The domestic top division is the Greek Basket League.

#3 Swimming

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 29,461 (Hellenic Swimming Federation (KOE), 2023)

Swimming ranks third among Greek sports by registered membership. The Hellenic Swimming Federation counted 29,461 registered athletes for the 2023 season, with a more even split between men and women than most other federations in the ranking.

The federation oversees competitive pool swimming as well as open water and artistic disciplines through its regional clubs across the country.

#4 Volleyball

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 24,321 (Hellenic Volleyball Federation (EOPE), 2023)

Volleyball is the fourth largest sport in Greece by registered membership, with 24,321 registered athletes in the 2023 season according to the Hellenic Volleyball Federation.

The sport shows the widest gender gap of any major Greek federation in the ranking, with 20,822 of its registered athletes being women against 3,499 men.

#5 Shooting sport

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 20,044 (Hellenic Shooting Federation (SKOE), 2023)
• Best known athlete: Anna Korakaki. Korakaki won Olympic gold in the 25m pistol event and bronze in the 10m air pistol event at the Rio 2016 Olympics

Shooting sport ranks fifth in Greece by registered membership, with 20,044 registered athletes counted by the Hellenic Shooting Federation for the 2023 season.

Anna Korakaki won Olympic gold in the 25m pistol event and bronze in the 10m air pistol event at the Rio 2016 Olympics, becoming the first Greek shooter to win gold in more than a century.

#6 Athletics (track and field)

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 18,183 (SEGAS (Hellenic Amateur Athletic Association), 2023)
• Best known athlete: Miltiadis Tentoglou. Tentoglou won Olympic gold in the long jump at Tokyo 2020 with a jump of 8.41m, the first Greek Olympic medal in the event, then won the 2023 world title in Budapest and a second consecutive Olympic gold at Paris 2024

Athletics ranks sixth in Greece by registered membership, with 18,183 registered athletes counted by SEGAS, the national athletics association, for the 2023 season.

Miltiadis Tentoglou won Olympic gold in the long jump at Tokyo 2020, the first Greek Olympic medal in that event, then added the 2023 world title in Budapest and a second consecutive Olympic gold at Paris 2024.

#7 Gymnastics

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 11,714 (Hellenic Gymnastics Federation (EGO), 2023)
• Best known athlete: Eleftherios (Lefteris) Petrounias. Petrounias won Olympic gold on the rings at Rio 2016 with a score of 16.000 and added bronze medals on the same apparatus at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, an Olympic record for the event

Gymnastics ranks seventh in Greece by registered membership, with 11,714 registered athletes counted by the Hellenic Gymnastics Federation for the 2023 season, and the sport is dominated by women, who make up 10,705 of that total.

Eleftherios Petrounias won Olympic gold on the rings at Rio 2016 with a score of 16,000 and added bronze medals on the same apparatus at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, an Olympic record for the event.

#8 Sailing

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 8,974 (Hellenic Sailing Federation (EIO), 2023)

Sailing ranks eighth in Greece by registered membership, with 8,974 registered athletes counted by the Hellenic Sailing Federation for the 2023 season.

The sport benefits from the country’s extensive coastline and island geography, which supports a large number of coastal sailing clubs.

#9 Taekwondo

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 6,389 (Hellenic Taekwondo Federation (ELOT), 2023)

Taekwondo ranks ninth in Greece by registered membership, with 6,389 registered athletes counted by the Hellenic Taekwondo Federation for the 2023 season.

Registration in the sport is close to evenly split between men and women, with 3,468 men and 2,921 women holding an athlete card.

#10 Chess

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 6,380 (Hellenic Chess Federation (ESO), 2023)

Chess ranks tenth in Greece by registered membership, with 6,380 registered players counted by the Hellenic Chess Federation for the 2023 season, close behind taekwondo.

Chess is recognized as a competitive sport by the Greek sports administration on the same registration basis as the physical disciplines in this ranking.

#11 Karate

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 5,510 (Hellenic Karate Federation (EOK), 2023)

Karate ranks eleventh in Greece by registered membership, with 5,510 registered athletes counted by the Hellenic Karate Federation for the 2023 season.

The federation is one of several combat sport bodies in the top twenty, alongside taekwondo, judo, jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, wrestling and Muay Thai.

#12 Handball

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 5,387 (Handball Federation of Greece (OXE), 2023)

Handball ranks twelfth in Greece by registered membership, with 5,387 registered athletes counted by the Handball Federation of Greece for the 2023 season.

Men make up the larger share of registered players, at 3,550 against 1,837 women.

#13 Jiu-Jitsu

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 4,928 (Hellenic Amateur Jiu-Jitsu Federation (EFEOZZ), 2023)

Jiu-Jitsu ranks thirteenth in Greece by registered membership, with 4,928 registered athletes counted by the Hellenic Amateur Jiu-Jitsu Federation for the 2023 season.

The sport sits among a cluster of combat disciplines in the ranking with membership between roughly 3,000 and 5,500 registered athletes.

#14 Judo

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 4,715 (Hellenic Judo Federation (EOT), 2023)

Judo ranks fourteenth in Greece by registered membership, with 4,715 registered athletes counted by the Hellenic Judo Federation for the 2023 season.

Registered men outnumber registered women by more than two to one in the sport, at 3,395 against 1,320.

#15 Tennis

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 4,388 (Hellenic Tennis Federation (EFOA), 2023)

Tennis ranks fifteenth in Greece by registered membership, with 4,388 registered athletes counted by the Hellenic Tennis Federation for the 2023 season.

The federation’s count places tennis behind team and combat sports with a longer club tradition in the national registration system.

#16 Kickboxing

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 4,357 (Pan-Hellenic Kickboxing Federation (POK), 2023)

Kickboxing ranks sixteenth in Greece by registered membership, with 4,357 registered athletes counted by the Pan-Hellenic Kickboxing Federation for the 2023 season.

The sport is one of five combat disciplines with more than 3,000 registered athletes in this ranking.

#17 Bridge

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 4,189 (Hellenic Bridge Federation (EOM), 2023)

Bridge ranks seventeenth in Greece by registered membership, with 4,189 registered players counted by the Hellenic Bridge Federation for the 2023 season.

Registration is almost exactly split between men and women, at 2,099 and 2,090 respectively, the most even split of any federation in this ranking.

#18 Fencing

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 3,498 (Hellenic Fencing Federation (EOX), 2023)

Fencing ranks eighteenth in Greece by registered membership, with 3,498 registered athletes counted by the Hellenic Fencing Federation for the 2023 season.

The sport’s registered population is smaller than most ball and combat sports in this ranking but larger than wrestling and Muay Thai.

#19 Wrestling

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 3,314 (Hellenic Wrestling Federation (EOP), 2023)

Wrestling ranks nineteenth in Greece by registered membership, with 3,314 registered athletes counted by the Hellenic Wrestling Federation for the 2023 season.

The sport is heavily male dominated in its registration figures, with 2,895 men against 419 women holding an athlete card.

#20 Muay Thai

• Registered athletes (national federation membership): 3,016 (Pan-Hellenic Muay Thai Federation (POM), 2023)

Muay Thai closes out the top twenty in Greece by registered membership, with 3,016 registered athletes counted by the Pan-Hellenic Muay Thai Federation for the 2023 season.

It is the smallest federation in this ranking by total registered athletes.

Sources

• Greek Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports – e-Kouros, 1st Report (published 21/3/2024)
• Novasports.gr
• Codified Greek Sports Law 2725/1999, e-nomothesia.gr
• World Athletics Heritage
• World History Encyclopedia
• Greek Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports – e-Kouros, 1st Report (published 21/3/2024)
• Greek Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports – e-Kouros, 1st Report (published 21/3/2024)
• Greek Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports – e-Kouros, 1st Report (published 21/3/2024)
• Greek Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports – e-Kouros, 1st Report (published 21/3/2024)
• Greek Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports – e-Kouros, 1st Report (published 21/3/2024)

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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