Soccer leads Ivory Coast, ahead of Basketball and Athletics. Ranking of 12 sports.
This page ranks the sports of Ivory Coast by the evidence behind each one, because no single comparable participation, membership, or license survey for Ivory Coast could be confirmed in this fast run, so ranking is based on documented federation activity, international results, and media presence instead of one shared numeric base.
Soccer is on top, followed by Basketball and Athletics. The full table below covers 12 sports, and every section further down names the source for the figure it uses.
The Most Popular Sports in Ivory Coast
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 | TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Cote d’Ivoire 2023 |
| 2 | Basketball | Ivory Coast fields men’s and women’s national teams that regularly enter continental qualifying competitions organized by the African basketball governing body. |
| 3 | Athletics | Ivory Coast has produced internationally competitive sprinters who have reached finals and podiums at World Athletics Championships, evidence of an active national training and fed |
| 4 | Taekwondo | An Ivorian taekwondo athlete won the men’s -80kg Olympic title at the 2016 Rio Games, the country’s first Olympic gold medal. |
| 5 | Rugby union | Ivory Coast’s rugby federation is an active member of Rugby Africa and has fielded a national team in continental qualifying competitions since the 1980s. |
| 6 | Handball | Ivory Coast’s women’s national handball team has entered African Championship competitions organized by the continental handball confederation. |
| 7 | Wrestling | Ivory Coast maintains a national wrestling federation that sends competitors to African championship events in Olympic style freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling. |
| 8 | Boxing | Ivory Coast has an active national boxing federation that organizes domestic bouts and sends boxers to African championship events. |
| 9 | Judo | Ivory Coast fields judoka at African championship events under a national federation recognized by the International Judo Federation. |
| 10 | Cycling | Ivory Coast holds a national road cycling federation that organizes domestic races and enters riders in African continental cycling events. |
| 11 | Volleyball | Ivory Coast’s national volleyball federation enters men’s and women’s teams in African qualifying competitions. |
| 12 | Table tennis | Ivory Coast maintains a national table tennis federation that enters players in African championship competitions. |
Is There a National Sport of Ivory Coast?
Ivory Coast has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. No law or government decree formally designating a national sport for Ivory Coast could be confirmed in this fast, search limited run.
- Soccer. Soccer functions as the de facto national sport based on its federation size, media coverage, and the national team’s hosting and winning of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
#1 Soccer
- Governing body: Ivorian Football Federation
- Top national league: Ligue 1 (Cote d’Ivoire)
- Best known athlete: Didier Drogba. Long time captain of the national team and a former Chelsea forward whose career raised the international profile of Ivorian soccer
Soccer is the sport with the widest organized base in Ivory Coast, built on a national league, youth academies, and a federation that runs teams at every age group. The national team, known as the Elephants, hosted and won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2023, a tournament confirmed on the confederation’s own tournament page.
Local clubs across Abidjan and other cities feed players into the national system, and the sport draws the largest crowds and the most media coverage of any discipline in the country. Didier Drogba remains the most recognized figure associated with the national program.
Latest Posts about Soccer
#2 Basketball
- Governing body: Ivorian Basketball Federation
Basketball has an active organized structure in Ivory Coast, with a national federation that fields both men’s and women’s senior teams in African qualifying competitions. Club basketball is concentrated in Abidjan, where the sport has a long standing following.
The sport ranks behind soccer in overall reach but ahead of most other disciplines in terms of organized competition and media attention within the country.
Latest Posts about Basketball
#3 Athletics
- Governing body: Ivorian Athletics Federation
- Best known athlete: Marie-Josee Ta Lou. A sprinter who has reached multiple World Championship finals and medaled in the 100 and 200 meters, making her the country’s most internationally decorated track athlete
Athletics is one of the sports where Ivory Coast has the clearest international results, driven mainly by sprint events. The national federation sends athletes to World Athletics Championships and Olympic Games on a regular basis.
Marie-Josee Ta Lou is the sport’s best known representative, having reached finals and the podium in the 100 and 200 meters at global championships, which keeps the discipline visible in national sports coverage.
Latest Posts about Athletics
#4 Taekwondo
- Governing body: Ivorian Taekwondo Federation
- Best known athlete: Cheick Sallah Cisse. Won Ivory Coast’s first Olympic gold medal in the men’s -80kg taekwondo event at the 2016 Rio Olympics
Taekwondo gained a large boost in national attention after Cheick Sallah Cisse won the men’s -80kg Olympic title at the Rio Games in 2016, the country’s first Olympic gold medal in any sport.
That result strengthened federation support and participation in the years since, and taekwondo is now one of the combat sports with the most consistent international representation for Ivory Coast.
Latest Posts about Taekwondo
#5 Rugby union
- Governing body: Ivorian Rugby Federation
- Best known athlete: Max Brito. A former national team wing whose paralyzing injury during a 1995 Rugby World Cup qualifying match made Ivorian rugby internationally known and is still cited in the sport’s history in the country
Rugby union has a smaller but long standing organized presence in Ivory Coast, with a national federation affiliated to the continental governing body and a men’s national team that has entered African qualifying tournaments since the 1980s.
The sport’s international visibility is tied in part to Max Brito, a former national team player whose career ending injury at a 1995 World Cup qualifier remains a reference point in the country’s rugby history.
Latest Posts about Rugby
#6 Handball
- Governing body: Ivorian Handball Federation
Handball is organized nationally through a federation that fields teams in continental competition, with the women’s national team being the more internationally active side in recent years.
Club handball is played mainly in Abidjan, and the sport has a smaller following than soccer or basketball but a stable competitive structure.
Latest Posts about Handball
#7 Wrestling
- Governing body: Ivorian Wrestling Federation
Olympic style wrestling is practiced in Ivory Coast through a national federation that competes in African championship events, separate from informal traditional wrestling practiced in some regions.
The sport has a modest but consistent organized base compared with the country’s larger team sports.
Latest Posts about Wrestling
#8 Boxing
- Governing body: Ivorian Boxing Federation
Boxing is organized nationally through a federation that runs domestic competitions and sends fighters to continental championships, giving the sport a steady if modest following.
It draws less media attention than soccer or basketball but retains a dedicated base of clubs, mainly around Abidjan.
Latest Posts about Boxing
#9 Judo
- Governing body: Ivorian Judo Federation
Judo has an organized national federation in Ivory Coast that trains and enters competitors in African championship competitions.
The sport is smaller in scale than the country’s team sports but maintains a recognized competitive pathway.
Latest Posts about Judo
#10 Cycling
- Governing body: Ivorian Cycling Federation
Competitive road cycling in Ivory Coast is organized through a national federation that runs domestic races and enters riders in continental events, distinct from everyday cycling for transport.
The sport remains a minority discipline compared with soccer and basketball but has a recognized competitive circuit.
Latest Posts about Cycling
#11 Volleyball
- Governing body: Ivorian Volleyball Federation
Volleyball is played competitively in Ivory Coast under a national federation that fields both men’s and women’s teams in African qualifying tournaments.
The sport has a smaller but organized club base concentrated in the country’s larger cities.
Latest Posts about Volleyball
#12 Table tennis
- Governing body: Ivorian Table Tennis Federation
Table tennis in Ivory Coast is organized through a national federation that competes in African championships, with a smaller domestic club scene than the country’s major sports.
It remains a minority sport nationally but has a stable, recognized competitive structure.
Latest Posts about Table Tennis
Sources
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 Ivory Coast?
Soccer is the most popular sport in Ivory Coast, supported by the largest federation, the most media coverage, and the national team’s hosting and winning of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. It functions as the country’s de facto national sport even though no law formally designates one.
Has Ivory Coast ever won an Olympic gold medal?
Yes, Cheick Sallah Cisse won Ivory Coast’s first Olympic gold medal in the men’s -80kg taekwondo event at the 2016 Rio Games. The result significantly raised the profile of taekwondo within the country.
Is there an official national sport of Ivory Coast?
No official law or government decree naming a national sport for Ivory Coast could be confirmed. Soccer is widely treated as the de facto national sport because of its federation size and the national team’s success, most notably winning the Africa Cup of Nations it hosted in 2023.
