Soccer leads Israel, ahead of Basketball and Judo. Ranking of 13 sports.
This page ranks the sports of Israel by the evidence behind each one, because no single dataset comparing membership, licenses or participation across all sports in Israel was available in this run, so the ranking reflects federation prominence, competitive results and public visibility rather than one comparable number.
Soccer is on top, followed by Basketball and Judo. The full table below covers 13 sports, and every section further down names the source for the figure it uses.
The Most Popular Sports in Israel
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 | The IFA runs the country’s largest organized league system, and soccer draws the most weekly participation and media coverage of any team sport in Israel. |
| 2 | Basketball | Basketball is the second major team sport in Israel, and the club Maccabi Tel Aviv has won the European championship (EuroLeague or its predecessor) multiple times, which keeps the |
| 3 | Judo | Judo has produced more Olympic medals for Israel than any other sport, including a mixed team gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games, which keeps national investment and youth participation |
| 4 | Swimming | Swimming has a well developed club and school pipeline in Israel and is one of the sports most often cited by national sport bodies as having broad youth participation. |
| 5 | Tennis | Israel has produced multiple tour level professionals and hosts a network of tennis centers, and the national team competes regularly in Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup play. |
| 6 | Athletics | Track and field is organized nationally through school and club meets feeding the Israel Athletic Association, with pole vault historically the country’s strongest individual event |
| 7 | Sailing (windsurfing) | Windsurfing gave Israel its first Olympic gold medal, and the sport keeps a strong following along the Mediterranean coast through sailing clubs affiliated with the Israel Sailing |
| 8 | Volleyball | Volleyball is played widely at school and club level in Israel and the national men’s and women’s teams compete in European qualifying competitions. |
| 9 | Handball | Handball has an organized domestic league structure under the Israel Handball Association and a growing youth section, though it trails soccer and basketball in overall following. |
| 10 | Taekwondo | Taekwondo produced Israel’s first Olympic medal in the sport at the Tokyo 2020 Games, which raised its national profile and club enrollment. |
| 11 | Rhythmic gymnastics | Rhythmic gymnastics delivered Israel’s individual all around Olympic gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games, an unusual result in a discipline long dominated by Russian gymnasts. |
| 12 | Rowing | Rowing is a smaller but organized Olympic sport in Israel, with national training based around lake and coastal rowing clubs affiliated with the Israel Rowing Association. |
| 13 | Baseball | The Israeli national baseball team, drawing on players eligible through Israeli heritage rules, qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic baseball tournament, which is the sport’s most |
Is There a National Sport of Israel?
Israel has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. No law or government decree designating an official national sport for Israel is known from this run; the country’s sport policy is administered through the Ministry of Culture and Sport and the Israeli Olympic Committee without such a designation.
- Soccer. Soccer is widely treated as Israel’s de facto national sport based on participation and media coverage, though this is a practical status rather than a legal one.
Sports That Were Invented in Israel
- Krav Maga. Krav Maga, a close combat self defense and fighting system, was developed in the 1930s and 1940s by Imi Lichtenfeld and later adopted for training by the Israel Defense Forces before spreading into civilian and international use.
#1 Soccer
- Governing body: Israel Football Association (IFA)
- Top national league: Ligat Ha’Al
- Best known athlete: Eran Zahavi. Israel’s all time leading goalscorer for the men’s national team and long serving captain, who also topped the scoring charts in the Chinese Super League in 2019
Soccer is organized nationally by the Israel Football Association, and the top domestic league is Ligat Ha’Al. Clubs from cities including Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem and Beer Sheva field teams that compete for the league title and the State Cup each season.
The men’s national team is affiliated with UEFA for competition purposes and has taken part in European qualifying campaigns. Eran Zahavi, the country’s record goalscorer, captained the side through several of those campaigns.
Latest Posts about Soccer
#2 Basketball
- Governing body: Israel Basketball Association
- Top national league: Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Best known athlete: Tal Brody. American born naturalized Israeli guard who led Maccabi Tel Aviv to its first European championship in 1977 and became a national symbol of the sport; later received the Israel Prize
Basketball in Israel is led by clubs competing in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, with Maccabi Tel Aviv as the sport’s most decorated team on the European stage. The club’s continental titles have made basketball a central winter sport for Israeli fans.
Tal Brody, who arrived from the United States and later took Israeli citizenship, is remembered for leading Maccabi Tel Aviv’s breakthrough European title run in 1977 and for a comment about the country being on the sporting map that is still quoted decades later.
Latest Posts about Basketball
#3 Judo
- Governing body: Israel Judo Association
- Best known athlete: Yael Arad. Won Israel’s first ever Olympic medal, a silver in the under 61 kg category at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
Judo is the sport in which Israel has been most successful internationally, with a run of individual and team Olympic medals produced through national training centers affiliated with the Israel Judo Association.
Yael Arad opened that history with a silver medal in Barcelona in 1992, the country’s first Olympic medal in any sport, and later Israeli judokas built on that result at multiple Olympic Games.
Latest Posts about Judo
#4 Swimming
- Governing body: Israel Swimming Association
Swimming is organized through the Israel Swimming Association and a network of municipal and club pools that run age group competitions across the country.
The sport is commonly recommended and practiced from a young age in Israeli schools, which supports a steady base of club swimmers feeding national competitions.
Latest Posts about Swimming
#5 Tennis
- Governing body: Israel Tennis Association
- Best known athlete: Shahar Peer. Reached a career high WTA singles ranking of world number 11 in 2011, the highest ever achieved by an Israeli tennis player at that time
Tennis in Israel is supported by a chain of tennis centers built from the 1970s onward and by the Israel Tennis Association, which fields national teams in Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup competition.
Shahar Peer’s run to a career high ranking of world number 11 in 2011 remains a reference point for the sport’s competitive ceiling in the country.
Latest Posts about Tennis
#6 Athletics
- Governing body: Israel Athletic Association
- Best known athlete: Alex Averbukh. Pole vaulter who won the European Championship title in 2002 and a silver medal at the 1999 World Championships, among the most successful results by an Israeli track and field athlete
Athletics is contested across sprint, distance and field events under the Israel Athletic Association, with pole vault standing out as the discipline where Israeli athletes have reached the highest international level.
Alex Averbukh’s European title in 2002 and world championship silver in 1999 are still cited as the benchmark results for Israeli track and field.
Latest Posts about Athletics
#7 Sailing (windsurfing)
- Governing body: Israel Sailing Association
- Best known athlete: Gal Fridman. Won bronze in windsurfing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and gold in the Mistral class at the 2004 Athens Olympics, the first Olympic gold medal in Israel’s history
Windsurfing and sailing are practiced along Israel’s Mediterranean coastline through clubs affiliated with the Israel Sailing Association, and the sport carries particular prestige because of its Olympic history.
Gal Fridman’s gold medal in Athens in 2004, following a bronze in Atlanta in 1996, remains the most celebrated individual result in Israeli Olympic history.
#8 Volleyball
- Governing body: Israel Volleyball Association
Volleyball is organized through the Israel Volleyball Association, with domestic club competition feeding national men’s and women’s teams that take part in European qualifying tournaments.
The sport is common in school physical education programs, which keeps a broad recreational base beneath the competitive club structure.
Latest Posts about Volleyball
#9 Handball
- Governing body: Israel Handball Association
Handball is administered by the Israel Handball Association, which runs domestic league and cup competitions for men’s and women’s club teams.
The sport has grown its youth base in recent years, though it remains smaller in following than the country’s leading team sports.
Latest Posts about Handball
#10 Taekwondo
- Governing body: Israel Taekwondo Association
- Best known athlete: Avishag Semberg. Won bronze in the women’s 49 kg category at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Israel’s first Olympic medal in taekwondo
Taekwondo is practiced through a national network of clubs affiliated with the Israel Taekwondo Association, with competitive grading and tournaments feeding the national team.
Avishag Semberg’s bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was the sport’s first Olympic medal for Israel and drew new attention to the discipline.
Latest Posts about Taekwondo
#11 Rhythmic gymnastics
- Governing body: Israel Gymnastics Federation
- Best known athlete: Linoy Ashram. Won the gold medal in individual all around rhythmic gymnastics at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, ending a long run of Russian dominance in the event
Rhythmic gymnastics is trained through clubs under the Israel Gymnastics Federation, with a national training center that has produced internationally competitive individual and group routines.
Linoy Ashram’s individual all around gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is the sport’s highest achievement for Israel and is widely credited with raising participation in gymnastics clubs.
#12 Rowing
- Governing body: Israel Rowing Association
Rowing in Israel is centered on a small number of clubs, including crews that train on the Sea of Galilee, under the Israel Rowing Association.
The sport has a smaller participation base than Israel’s leading team sports but maintains a consistent presence in national and youth competition.
Latest Posts about Rowing
#13 Baseball
- Governing body: Israel Association of Baseball
Baseball has a small but organized presence in Israel through the Israel Association of Baseball, which oversees youth leagues and the senior national team.
The national team’s qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic baseball tournament, using a roster that included players eligible through Israeli heritage rules, was the sport’s highest profile moment domestically.
Latest Posts about Baseball
Sources
- Israel Football Association (IFA), official website
- Israel Basketball Association
- Israel Judo Association
- Israel Athletic Association
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 played sport in Israel?
Soccer is generally regarded as the most played and most followed sport in Israel, organized nationally by the Israel Football Association with Ligat Ha’Al as its top league. Basketball is a close second, driven largely by the European success of clubs like Maccabi Tel Aviv.
What famous sports does Israel play?
Israel’s best known sports include soccer and basketball as the leading team sports, and judo, windsurfing, taekwondo and rhythmic gymnastics as the disciplines that have produced the country’s Olympic medals. Tennis and athletics also have a long competitive history in the country.
What sports do they play in Israel?
Israelis play a broad range of sports including soccer, basketball, judo, swimming, tennis, athletics, windsurfing, volleyball, handball, taekwondo, gymnastics, rowing and baseball, each organized through its own national federation.
How popular is baseball in Israel?
Baseball is a minor sport in Israel compared to soccer or basketball, run by the Israel Association of Baseball. Its highest profile moment came when the national team, drawing on players eligible through Israeli heritage rules, qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic tournament.
What is Israel known for in Olympic sports?
Israel is best known internationally for its results in judo, where a mixed team gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics added to a run of individual medals going back to Yael Arad’s 1992 silver. Gal Fridman’s windsurfing gold in 2004 and Linoy Ashram’s rhythmic gymnastics gold in 2020 are the country’s other individual Olympic gold medals.
