Cricket leads Pakistan, ahead of Field hockey and Squash. Ranking of 15 sports.
This page ranks the sports of Pakistan by the evidence behind each one, because no single membership, license, or participation survey covering all sports in Pakistan could be retrieved in this run, so the ranking below rests on federation existence, competitive record, and documented historical success rather than a comparable headcount.
Cricket is on top, followed by Field hockey and Squash. 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 Pakistan
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 | Cricket | The Pakistan Cricket Board is the recognized national governing body for cricket and administers the men’s and women’s national teams plus the domestic first class and Pakistan Sup |
| 2 | Field hockey | Pakistan’s men’s team won the field hockey World Cup four times and the Olympic gold medal three times between the 1960s and 1994, a record that keeps the sport tied to national id |
| 3 | Squash | Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan together dominated the World Open and British Open squash titles from the early 1980s into the late 1990s, a period widely referred to in the sport a |
| 4 | Kabaddi | Kabaddi is organized nationally under a standard federation structure and is regularly played as both a rural village sport and in the international raid based format contested at |
| 5 | Soccer | The federation states it was created on 5 December 1947 after independence, became affiliated with FIFA in 1948, and is a founding member of the Asian Football Confederation establ |
| 6 | Wrestling | Traditional kushti wrestling has a long standing following in Punjab and Sindh, and the modern federation sends competitors to Commonwealth Games and South Asian Games freestyle wr |
| 7 | Boxing | Pakistan Boxing Federation organizes national amateur championships and sends boxers to regional and Commonwealth events, and Muhammad Waseem became the first Pakistani to fight fo |
| 8 | Volleyball | Volleyball is played competitively across provincial leagues and the men’s national team has taken part in South Asian and Asian regional championships organized under the national |
| 9 | Athletics | Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem won Pakistan’s first individual Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games, competing under the Athletics Federation of Pakistan. |
| 10 | Weightlifting | Nooh Dastgir Butt won a gold medal in weightlifting for Pakistan at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, one of the country’s rare international medals in an individual strength sport. |
| 11 | Snooker | Muhammad Asif won the IBSF World Amateur Snooker Championship and reached the final of the World Snooker Championship qualifying rounds, making cue sports one of the country’s more |
| 12 | Badminton | Badminton is organized through the national federation with an annual domestic ranking circuit and representation at South Asian regional championships, though Pakistan has not pro |
| 13 | Basketball | Basketball has a growing urban following, with the national federation running domestic club competitions and men’s and women’s national teams that compete in South Asian regional |
| 14 | Table tennis | Table tennis runs a national ranking circuit through its federation and fields teams at South Asian regional and Commonwealth level competition. |
| 15 | Cycling | Competitive road cycling is organized through the national federation’s provincial tours and stage races, distinct from everyday cycling as transport, which is excluded from this r |
Is There a National Sport of Pakistan?
Pakistan has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. No search of Pakistani law or a current government notification in this run turned up a statute that legally designates a national sport, so this line is left as none rather than asserting one by law.
- Field hockey. Field hockey is widely referred to as Pakistan’s national sport in practice, a status resting on the men’s team’s World Cup and Olympic titles rather than on legislation.
#1 Cricket
- Governing body: Pakistan Cricket Board
- Top national league: Pakistan Super League
- Best known athlete: Babar Azam. Former captain of the Pakistan men’s national team across all three formats and repeatedly ranked world number one ODI batter by the ICC during the early 2020s
Cricket is administered nationally by the Pakistan Cricket Board, which runs the men’s and women’s teams and the domestic first class competitions that feed them.
The sport is followed across cities and rural areas alike, and the national team’s matches against regional rivals draw the largest television and stadium audiences of any sport played in the country.
#2 Field hockey
- Governing body: Pakistan Hockey Federation
- Best known athlete: Sohail Abbas. Retired defender who finished his international career as the leading goal scorer in men’s field hockey history, most of them from penalty corners
Field hockey carries deep historical weight in Pakistan because of the men’s national team’s run of World Cup and Olympic titles from the 1960s through the mid 1990s.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation continues to run domestic and junior competitions, and the sport is widely treated as the country’s traditional national game even without that status being fixed in law.
Latest Posts about Field Hockey
#3 Squash
- Governing body: Pakistan Squash Federation
- Best known athlete: Jahangir Khan. Won the World Open six times and the British Open ten times, and went unbeaten in competitive squash for more than five consecutive years during the 1980s
Squash is the sport in which Pakistan produced its most sustained run of world champions, led by Jahangir Khan and later Jansher Khan across the 1980s and 1990s.
That competitive record still shapes how the sport is coached and followed domestically, even though Pakistan’s presence at the very top of the current world rankings has narrowed since that era.
Latest Posts about Squash
#4 Kabaddi
- Governing body: Pakistan Kabaddi Federation
Kabaddi is one of the most widely played traditional sports in Pakistan, particularly in Punjab, and features prominently at rural fairs and festivals alongside its organized competitive form.
The national federation fields teams in international raid style kabaddi tournaments, which has helped the sport keep a regular competitive calendar alongside its informal village version.
#5 Soccer
- Governing body: Pakistan Football Federation
- Top national league: Pakistan Premier League
- Best known athlete: Kaleemullah Khan. Forward capped for the men’s national team and among the more recognized Pakistani players to appear in AFC regional competitions during the 2010s
Soccer in Pakistan is run by the Pakistan Football Federation, one of the country’s oldest sports bodies, tracing its founding to the same year as independence.
The men’s national team competes in AFC and SAFF regional tournaments, and the domestic Pakistan Premier League provides the main club competition, though the sport’s following remains smaller than cricket’s.
Latest Posts about Soccer
#6 Wrestling
- Governing body: Pakistan Wrestling Federation
- Best known athlete: Muhammad Inam. Freestyle wrestler who won a gold medal for Pakistan at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
Wrestling in Pakistan spans two forms: the traditional kushti style practiced at rural akharas, and the Olympic style freestyle competition organized by the national federation.
International results such as Commonwealth Games medals have kept the sport visible nationally even though its everyday following is concentrated in specific regions rather than nationwide.
Latest Posts about Wrestling
#7 Boxing
- Governing body: Pakistan Boxing Federation
- Best known athlete: Muhammad Waseem. First Pakistani professional boxer to challenge for a world title, competing in the flyweight division internationally through the 2010s and 2020s
Boxing has a small but organized competitive base in Pakistan, run through the national federation’s amateur championships and its selection of fighters for regional tournaments.
Professional boxer Muhammad Waseem’s world title challenge brought the sport unusual international attention, though its domestic participation base remains far smaller than cricket or field hockey.
Latest Posts about Boxing
#8 Volleyball
- Governing body: Pakistan Volleyball Federation
Volleyball has an active domestic competition structure through provincial and departmental leagues feeding the national federation’s championships.
The men’s national team appears regularly at South Asian regional tournaments, and the sport is especially popular in parts of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Latest Posts about Volleyball
#9 Athletics
- Governing body: Athletics Federation of Pakistan
- Best known athlete: Arshad Nadeem. Won the men’s javelin throw gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the first individual Olympic gold medal in Pakistan’s history
Track and field is organized nationally by the Athletics Federation of Pakistan, which runs domestic championships and selects athletes for regional and Olympic competition.
The sport’s national profile rose sharply after Arshad Nadeem’s javelin gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which brought new attention and funding discussion to athletics programs across the country.
Latest Posts about Athletics
#10 Weightlifting
- Governing body: Pakistan Weightlifting Federation
- Best known athlete: Nooh Dastgir Butt. Won gold in the men’s over 109kg weightlifting category at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham
Weightlifting has a concentrated but competitive base in Pakistan, organized through provincial clubs feeding national championships under the national federation.
Nooh Dastgir Butt’s Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2022 is the sport’s most prominent recent international result and drew renewed domestic interest in strength sports.
Latest Posts about Weightlifting
#11 Snooker
- Governing body: Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association
- Best known athlete: Muhammad Asif. Won the IBSF World Amateur Snooker Championship and was runner up at the 2012 World Snooker Championship, the best result by a Pakistani player in the professional event
Snooker and billiards are organized nationally through the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association, which runs the domestic ranking circuit and selects players for world amateur events.
Muhammad Asif’s run to the final of snooker’s professional world championship qualifying stage remains the sport’s benchmark result and keeps cue sports clubs active in major cities.
#12 Badminton
- Governing body: Pakistan Badminton Federation
Badminton is played competitively in schools, clubs, and a national ranking circuit run by the Pakistan Badminton Federation.
The sport’s national and women’s teams appear at South Asian regional championships, though funding and coaching resources remain limited compared to the country’s leading sports.
Latest Posts about Badminton
#13 Basketball
- Governing body: Pakistan Basketball Federation
Basketball has grown mainly in urban centers, where school and college leagues feed the national federation’s domestic club competitions.
The men’s and women’s national teams compete at South Asian regional level, and the sport has expanded its following in recent years through university tournaments.
Latest Posts about Basketball
#14 Table tennis
- Governing body: Pakistan Table Tennis Federation
Table tennis is organized through a national federation that runs an annual domestic ranking circuit across the provinces.
The national team takes part in South Asian and Commonwealth level competitions, and the sport is commonly played in schools and community clubs.
Latest Posts about Table Tennis
#15 Cycling
- Governing body: Pakistan Cycling Federation
Competitive cycling in Pakistan is organized around provincial and national stage races run through the Pakistan Cycling Federation, separate from cycling used simply as everyday transport.
The Tour de Pakistan style provincial races have historically been the sport’s main competitive showcase, drawing regional teams and army sports club riders.
Latest Posts about Cycling
Sources
- Pakistan Cricket Board, official site
- Pakistan Football Federation, official site
- Pakistan Cricket Board, official site
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 national sport of Pakistan?
Pakistan has no sport fixed as national by law. Field hockey is widely called the national sport in practice because of the men’s team’s Olympic and World Cup titles, and cricket is by far the most followed sport today.
What is Pakistan’s national sport?
There is no legally designated national sport in Pakistan. Field hockey holds that status by tradition rather than statute, based on the national team’s historical World Cup and Olympic championships.
What are the most popular sports in Pakistan?
Cricket draws by far the largest following, run by the Pakistan Cricket Board through the national team and the Pakistan Super League. Field hockey, squash, kabaddi, and soccer follow behind it in organized competitive structure and historical results.
What are the top 10 sports in Pakistan?
In order of organized competitive prominence they are cricket, field hockey, squash, kabaddi, soccer, wrestling, boxing, volleyball, athletics, and weightlifting, based on federation structure and international results rather than a single participation count.
What is Pakistan’s favourite game?
Cricket is Pakistan’s favorite game by a wide margin, administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board and followed nationwide through the men’s and women’s national teams and the Pakistan Super League.
