The Most Popular Sports in the Philippines (Top 13 Ranked)

Basketball leads the Philippines in 2024, ahead of Boxing and Volleyball. Ranking of 13 sports.

This page ranks the sports of the Philippines by the evidence behind each one, because no membership count, license total, or national participation survey is published on a comparable basis for every sport in the Philippines, so each entry is ranked instead by the strongest documented evidence of national prominence for that sport: international titles, league scale, or a direct statement from a government sports official.

Basketball is on top, followed by Boxing and Volleyball. 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 the Philippines

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. The reference year is 2026.

#	Sport	Basis for the placing
1	Basketball	“Basketball still is, our favorite sport, but the funding from basketball is not really coming from government, these are all from private corporations,” said PSC chairman Richard
2	Boxing	Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao proved a box office smash, obliterating the pay per view record with 4.4 million buys for their welterweight title fight, generating more th
3	Volleyball	The Philippines claimed a silver medal at the inaugural AVC Women’s Nations Cup, marking a historic result for the national team; De Guzman, who was named Best Setter of the tourna
4	Billiards	Perhaps the most notable of his countless victories came 24 years ago on July 26, 1999 when Reyes captured the World 9-Ball Championships in Cardiff, Wales.
5	Bowling	the most number of championships won by a bowler, now updated to 132 after coming out of retirement last December.
6	Weightlifting	The 30-year-old weightlifter finished in first place in the women’s 55 kilogram category to win the first ever Olympic gold medal for her country. She lifted a combined weight of 2
7	Athletics	The Filipino pole vault celebrity duplicated his own Asian record of six meters, but couldn’t clear 6.05m on a succeeding attempt, eventually rewarding Sweden’s Armand Duplantis a
8	Soccer	With the pulsating triumph, the Philippines won Group F with 12 points and met its destiny as one of the 24 teams vying for the Asian Cup honors next year in the United Arab Emirat
9	Arnis	Section 3 of Republic Act No. 9850: Arnis is hereby declared as the Philippine National Martial Art and Sport.
10	Sepak Takraw	Metodio Suico Jr. and Jason Huerte made it a golden double when they ruled the hoop event for men; the women’s team subdued Indonesia, 670-660, historically the country’s first gol
11	Taekwondo	The two-time Asian Games bronze medalist dropped her opening bout against Iran’s Anahita Tavakoli, 0-2, in the women’s +67kg round of 16 on Thursday at the Lin’an Sports and Cultur
12	Karate	The Philippines won its first gold medal in the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, USA early after Junna Tsukii delivered a masterful performance in the Women’s Kumite -50kg event on
13	Badminton	The Philippine women’s national badminton team secured at least a bronze at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games on Monday at Morodok Techo Badminton Hall.

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
Basketball	1.8 million	The PBA’s 2026 Commissioner’s Cup averaged 1.8 million television viewers, up from 1.0 million during the preceding All-Filipino Cup.
Volleyball	24,459	The December 2023 Premier Volleyball League finals game between Creamline and Choco Mucho at Smart Araneta Coliseum drew 24,459 fans, a league attendance record.
Boxing	4.4 million buys	The 2015 Mayweather versus Pacquiao fight drew a record 4.4 million pay-per-view buys in the United States, generating more than 400 million dollars in television revenue.

Is There a National Sport of the Philippines?

Arnis. Arnis is the Philippines’ national sport by law, declared so under Republic Act No. 9850, signed in 2009.
Basketball. No law names a de facto national sport, but the head of the Philippine Sports Commission called basketball the country’s favorite sport in 2024.

Sports That Were Invented in the Philippines

Arnis. Arnis, the Philippines’ national martial art and sport, is defined by national law as an indigenous Filipino martial art built on native stick fighting techniques.
Sipa. Sipa, a traditional foot-kicking game considered a forerunner of sepak takraw, is documented by the National Museum of the Philippines as one of the country’s most popular traditional games.

#1 Basketball

Governing body: Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, Inc.
Top national league: Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)
Best known athlete: June Mar Fajardo. Fajardo won a record extending ninth PBA Most Valuable Player award in 2025, more than any other player in the league’s fifty year history

The head of the Philippine Sports Commission named basketball the country’s favorite sport in 2024, even while arguing that other national athletes deserve more government funding. The sport is organized under Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, and its domestic professional league, the PBA, is the oldest continuously operating professional basketball league in Asia.

The PBA’s dominant player of the last decade is June Mar Fajardo, who won a record extending ninth Most Valuable Player award, more than any other player in the league’s fifty year history. His run of trophies, interrupted only by a career threatening shin injury, has made him the sport’s most recognized figure nationally.

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#2 Boxing

Governing body: Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP)
Best known athlete: Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao is boxing’s only eight division world champion, having won his first title at 108 pounds and a further title at 154 pounds

Boxing in the Philippines is built almost entirely around the career of Manny Pacquiao, the only fighter in the sport’s history to win world titles in eight different weight divisions, from 108 pounds up to 154 pounds. His fights turned into national events broadcast to a country that largely paused to watch them.

His 2015 bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr. set the pay per view record of the era, drawing 4.4 million buys in the United States and generating more than 400 million dollars in television revenue alone, figures no other Philippine sporting event has approached.

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#3 Volleyball

Governing body: Philippine National Volleyball Federation
Top national league: Premier Volleyball League (PVL)
Best known athlete: Jia de Guzman. De Guzman captained the national women’s team to a silver medal at the AVC Women’s Nations Cup and was named the tournament’s Best Setter

Volleyball has grown into one of the country’s most attended domestic sports through the Premier Volleyball League, whose finals games between rival clubs Creamline and Choco Mucho at the Smart Araneta Coliseum have repeatedly set the league’s own attendance records.

On the international stage, team captain Jia de Guzman led the women’s national team to a silver medal at the AVC Women’s Nations Cup, a historic result for the program, and was named the tournament’s Best Setter.

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#4 Billiards

Governing body: National League for Billiards Sports of the Philippines
Best known athlete: Efren “Bata” Reyes. Reyes won the World 9-Ball Championship in 1999 and is a four time World Eight-ball champion, making him the first player to win world titles in two different pool disciplines

Billiards owes its national standing almost entirely to Efren “Bata” Reyes, who won the World 9-Ball Championship in Cardiff, Wales, in 1999 and is also a four time World Eight-ball champion, the first player to hold world titles in two different disciplines of the sport.

The Philippines’ governing body for the sport was later reorganized as the National League for Billiards Sports of the Philippines after its predecessor was suspended by the Asian Confederation of Billiard Sport, but the country’s international reputation in the sport still rests on Reyes’ record.

Latest Posts about Billiards

#5 Bowling

Governing body: Philippine Bowling Federation
Best known athlete: Paeng Nepomuceno. Nepomuceno is a six time World Cup bowling champion and, as of the ESPN report, held 132 career championship titles, the most of any bowler

Bowling’s standing in the Philippines rests on the career of Paeng Nepomuceno, a six time World Cup champion who was the first male bowler inducted into the World Bowling Hall of Fame.

By the time ESPN profiled his career, his total championship count had reached 132, described as the most titles ever won by a bowler, after he came out of retirement to keep competing.

Latest Posts about Bowling

#6 Weightlifting

Governing body: Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas
Best known athlete: Hidilyn Diaz. Diaz won the Philippines’ first ever Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games in the women’s 55 kilogram weightlifting category, lifting a combined 224 kilograms

Weightlifting produced the single biggest moment in Philippine Olympic history when Hidilyn Diaz won the women’s 55 kilogram category at the Tokyo 2020 Games, lifting a combined 224 kilograms to secure the country’s first ever Olympic gold medal.

Diaz had already won an earlier Olympic silver medal, making her the first Filipina athlete to win two Olympic medals before her 2021 gold made her the country’s first Olympic champion in any sport.

Latest Posts about Weightlifting

#7 Athletics

Governing body: Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA)
Best known athlete: EJ Obiena. Obiena won pole vault silver at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest by clearing his own Asian record of 6.00 meters

Athletics gained its highest international profile through pole vaulter EJ Obiena, who won silver at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest by clearing 6.00 meters, matching his own Asian record and finishing behind only world record holder Armand Duplantis.

The silver followed an earlier bronze medal Obiena had already won at the World Championships in Eugene, the country’s first ever medal at that event, building a run of world level results in a sport that had not previously produced a Philippine medalist on that stage.

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#8 Soccer

Governing body: Philippine Football Federation, Inc.
Top national league: Philippines Football League
Best known athlete: Phil Younghusband. Younghusband made 108 appearances and scored 52 goals for the national team, both all time Philippine records, and scored the winning penalty that clinched the Asian Cup qualification

The Philippine men’s national team, known as the Azkals, qualified for the AFC Asian Cup by beating Tajikistan, the country’s first ever qualification for the tournament in its history and a result that drew national attention to a sport long overshadowed by basketball.

The team’s longtime captain, Phil Younghusband, scored the winning penalty in that qualifier and retired as the national team’s all time leader with 108 appearances and 52 goals, records that still stand for the Philippine Football Federation.

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#9 Arnis

Governing body: Philippine Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (PEKAF)

Arnis holds a place in this ranking that no other sport can claim: Republic Act No. 9850, signed in 2009, declares it by law the Philippine National Martial Art and Sport, making it the only sport in the country with that legal status.

The law defines arnis as an indigenous Filipino martial art and sport built around swinging and twirling stick movements combined with striking, thrusting, and parrying techniques, and tasks the Philippine Sports Commission with promoting it nationwide.

#10 Sepak Takraw

Governing body: Pilipinas Sepak Takraw Association

Sepak takraw earned its place in this ranking through the national team’s performance at the SEA Games, where both the men’s and women’s squads won gold medals in the hoop event, the women’s team’s first ever gold in that event after defeating Indonesia in a close final.

The sport has stayed competitive since then, with the national team continuing to add medals at later SEA Games, giving it a sustained regional record that older, informal versions of the game such as sipa never had through organized competition.

#11 Taekwondo

Governing body: Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA)
Best known athlete: Kirstie Alora. Alora is a two-time Asian Games bronze medalist in taekwondo and a four-time Southeast Asian Games champion

Taekwondo has built its national profile around Kirstie Alora, a two-time Asian Games bronze medalist and four-time Southeast Asian Games champion who competed in the women’s +67kg division at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Alora’s run through two Asian Games medal finishes and repeated regional titles has made her the sport’s most recognized Philippine competitor on the continental stage.

Latest Posts about Taekwondo

#12 Karate

Governing body: Pambansang Samahan sa Karate-Do ng Pilipinas (PSKDP) / Philippine Karatedo Federation
Best known athlete: Junna Tsukii. Tsukii won the Philippines’ first ever gold medal at the World Games, taking the women’s Kumite -50kg karate title in Birmingham in 2022

Karate delivered a landmark result in 2022 when Junna Tsukii won the women’s Kumite -50kg title at the World Games in Birmingham, the Philippines’ first ever gold medal at that event.

Tsukii’s win under the Pambansang Samahan sa Karate-Do ng Pilipinas established karate as a source of the country’s rare world level combat sport medals outside boxing.

Latest Posts about Karate

#13 Badminton

Governing body: Philippine Badminton Association (PBAD)

Badminton produced a national team result in 2023 when the Philippine women’s team secured bronze at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, ending a long wait for a badminton medal at the Games.

The result, confirmed by the Philippine Badminton Association, marked a return to the regional podium for a sport that had gone without a Southeast Asian Games medal for several editions in a row.

Latest Posts about Badminton

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 are the most popular sports in the Philippines?

Basketball is widely regarded as the country’s favorite sport, according to the head of the Philippine Sports Commission, supported by a professional league, the PBA, that is the oldest continuously operating in Asia. Boxing, driven by the career of Manny Pacquiao, and volleyball, with its fast-growing Premier Volleyball League, follow closely behind in national attention.

What is the national sport of the Philippines?

Arnis, the traditional Filipino stick-fighting martial art, is the Philippines’ legally declared national sport, set by Republic Act No. 9850 in 2009. No other sport carries that legal designation.

Are there multiple national sports of the Philippines?

By law, only Arnis holds that status, declared the National Martial Art and Sport in 2009. Basketball is often described as a de facto national sport because of its popularity, including a 2024 statement from the Philippine Sports Commission chairman calling it the country’s favorite sport, but it carries no legal designation.

What is the most popular sport in the Philippines?

Basketball holds that position in practice, with the Philippine Sports Commission chairman calling it the country’s favorite sport in 2024 and its domestic league, the PBA, drawing an average of 1.8 million television viewers per game during its 2026 Commissioner’s Cup.

What sports originated in the Philippines?

Arnis, the national martial art and sport, is defined by Philippine law as an indigenous martial art built on native stick-fighting techniques. Sipa, a traditional kicking game documented by the National Museum of the Philippines, is considered a forerunner of the modern sport sepak takraw.