Football (Soccer) leads Poland with 443,525 persons practicing sports in club sections. Ranking of 25 sports, with sources.
This page ranks the sports of Poland by one number that is collected the same way for all of them: Statistics Poland’s biennial club survey counts everyone registered as practicing in a reported sports club section by discipline; a person active in several disciplines is counted once per discipline, which keeps the ranking comparable across sports but means the totals cannot be added into one unique headcount. The figures come from GUS (Statistics Poland), Kultura fizyczna w latach 2021 i 2022, Tabl. 9: Sekcje sportowe i cwiczacy w sekcjach wedlug rodzajow sportow w 2022 r.
Football (Soccer) is on top, followed by Sport shooting and Volleyball. The full table below covers 25 sports, and every section further down names the source for the figure it uses.
The Most Popular Sports in Poland
The table counts persons practicing sports in club sections, 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 1,213,509 in total. The reference year is 2022.
| # | Sport | Persons practicing sports in club sections | Governing body |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Football (Soccer) | 443,525 | Polish Football Association (PZPN) |
| 2 | Sport shooting | 87,637 | Polish Shooting Association (PZSS) |
| 3 | Volleyball | 74,133 | Polish Volleyball Federation (PZPS) |
| 4 | Swimming (Aquatics) | 58,258 | Polish Swimming Federation (PZP) |
| 5 | Karate | 57,619 | Polish Karate Federation (PZK) |
| 6 | Basketball | 44,649 | Polish Basketball Federation (PZKosz) |
| 7 | Athletics | 44,127 | Polish Athletics Federation (PZLA) |
| 8 | Judo | 34,789 | Polish Judo Federation (PZJudo) |
| 9 | Handball | 32,031 | Polish Handball Federation (ZPRP) |
| 10 | Table tennis | 23,804 | Polish Table Tennis Federation (PZTS) |
| 11 | Tennis | 20,309 | Polish Tennis Federation (PZT) |
| 12 | Chess | 19,683 | Polish Chess Federation (PZSzach) |
| 13 | Dancesport | 17,185 | Polish Dancesport Federation (PTT) |
| 14 | Hockey (ice, field and floorball combined) | 14,576 | Polish Ice Hockey Federation (PZHL) and related hockey federations |
| 15 | Gymnastics | 13,151 | Polish Gymnastics Federation (PZG) |
| 16 | Taekwondo ITF | 12,768 | Polish ITF Taekwondo Union |
| 17 | Acrobatics | 12,758 | Polish Gymnastics Federation (PZG, sports acrobatics section) |
| 18 | Kickboxing | 11,064 | Polish Kickboxing Federation |
| 19 | Boxing | 11,047 | Polish Boxing Association (PZB) |
| 20 | Cycling (as a sport) | 10,399 | Polish Cycling Federation (PZKol) |
| 21 | Skiing | 10,119 | Polish Ski Association (PZN) |
| 22 | Badminton | 9381 | Polish Badminton Federation (PZBad) |
| 23 | Sailing | 9313 | Polish Yachting Association (PZZ) |
| 24 | Wrestling | 8161 | Polish Wrestling Federation (PZZapas) |
| 25 | Ju-jitsu | 7866 | Polish Ju-Jitsu Federation |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Football (Soccer) | 3,764,622 | The Ekstraklasa, Poland’s top football league, recorded its highest attendance in history in the 2023/24 season. |
| Volleyball | 2007 | PlusLiga, the top Polish men’s volleyball league, averaged just over two thousand spectators per match in the 2023/24 season. |
Is There a National Sport of Poland?
Poland has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. No sport could be confirmed as legally designated Poland’s national sport by an accessible primary source.
- Football (Soccer). Football is treated as Poland’s de facto national sport based on its participation numbers.
- Volleyball. Volleyball is also widely regarded as a de facto national sport after the men’s national team’s international success.
Sports That Were Invented in Poland
- Ringnetball (Pierscieniowka). Ringnetball was invented in Poland in the 1930s by physical education teacher Wlodzimierz Robakowski.
- Ringo. Ringo originated in Poland in the 1950s and was presented internationally as Polish Ringo at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
#1 Football (Soccer)
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 443,525 (Polish Football Association (PZPN), 2022)
- Top national league: Ekstraklasa
- Best known athlete: Robert Lewandowski. Robert Lewandowski, captain of the national team, scored his 41st and 42nd international goals for Poland in a match against Romania in November 2016, according to the Polish Football Association
Football is the most widely practiced sport in Poland by a wide margin. According to Statistics Poland, 443,525 people trained in one of the country’s 6,689 football club sections in 2022, several times the number recorded for any other sport in the same survey.
The Ekstraklasa is the top professional football league in Poland. Robert Lewandowski, the national team’s captain, scored his 41st and 42nd international goals for Poland in November 2016, according to the Polish Football Association.
#2 Sport shooting
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 87,637 (Polish Shooting Association (PZSS), 2022)
Sport shooting is the second largest organized sport in Poland by participation. Statistics Poland recorded 87,637 people practicing in 465 shooting club sections in 2022, ahead of every team sport except football.
The category covers several shooting disciplines reported together under a single national heading. No individually sourced Polish athlete record could be confirmed for this entry within the required source tiers, so the athlete field is left empty.
#3 Volleyball
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 74,133 (Polish Volleyball Federation (PZPS), 2022)
- Top national league: PlusLiga
- Best known athlete: Bartosz Kurek. Bartosz Kurek captained Poland to the 2018 World Championship title, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer with 171 points and being named Most Valuable Player in Turin, according to the FIVB
Volleyball ranks third in Poland by participation, with 74,133 people practicing in 1,963 club sections in 2022 according to Statistics Poland, and it is one of the country’s most watched team sports.
The top domestic league, known as PlusLiga, is the country’s leading men’s volleyball competition. Bartosz Kurek captained Poland to the 2018 World Championship title, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer with 171 points and being named Most Valuable Player, according to the FIVB.
Latest Posts about Volleyball
#4 Swimming (Aquatics)
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 58,258 (Polish Swimming Federation (PZP), 2022)
Swimming and related aquatic disciplines had 58,258 people training in 724 club sections in 2022, according to Statistics Poland, making it the fourth largest organized sport in the country.
The category groups swimming together with smaller disciplines such as water polo, diving and artistic swimming under one national reporting heading. No individually verified athlete record was confirmed for this entry within the required source tiers.
#5 Karate
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 57,619 (Polish Karate Federation (PZK), 2022)
Karate is practiced by 57,619 people in 740 club sections, the fifth highest total among all disciplines counted by Statistics Poland in 2022.
The Polish federation’s reporting groups several karate styles under one heading in the national statistics. No individually sourced Polish athlete record was confirmed for this entry within the required source tiers.
Latest Posts about Karate
#6 Basketball
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 44,649 (Polish Basketball Federation (PZKosz), 2022)
- Best known athlete: Marcin Gortat. Marcin Gortat played 806 regular season NBA games over a twelve season career with four different clubs, averaging 9.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, according to ESPN’s career statistics record
Basketball had 44,649 people practicing in 935 club sections in Poland in 2022, according to Statistics Poland, ranking it sixth among all sports in the survey.
Marcin Gortat played 806 regular season NBA games over a twelve season career with four different clubs, averaging 9.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, according to ESPN’s career statistics record.
Latest Posts about Basketball
#7 Athletics
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 44,127 (Polish Athletics Federation (PZLA), 2022)
- Best known athlete: Anita Wlodarczyk. Anita Wlodarczyk won three Olympic gold medals and four World Championship titles in the hammer throw and still holds the world record of 82.98 meters, set in Poznan on 28 August 2016, according to World Athletics
Athletics counted 44,127 people practicing across 1,066 club sections in 2022, according to Statistics Poland, placing it seventh in the national ranking of organized sports.
Anita Wlodarczyk won three Olympic gold medals and four World Championship titles in the hammer throw, and she still holds the world record of 82.98 meters, set in Poznan on 28 August 2016, according to World Athletics.
Latest Posts about Athletics
#8 Judo
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 34,789 (Polish Judo Federation (PZJudo), 2022)
Judo is practiced by 34,789 people in 357 club sections, according to Statistics Poland’s 2022 count, the eighth highest figure among all sports covered.
No individually sourced Polish judo athlete record could be confirmed within the required source tiers for this entry, so the athlete field is left empty.
Latest Posts about Judo
#9 Handball
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 32,031 (Polish Handball Federation (ZPRP), 2022)
Handball had 32,031 people training in 734 club sections in 2022, according to Statistics Poland, making it the ninth largest organized sport in the country.
A verifiable national team career record for a Polish handball player was found only in sources below the required source tier, so no athlete is listed for this entry.
Latest Posts about Handball
#10 Table tennis
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 23,804 (Polish Table Tennis Federation (PZTS), 2022)
Table tennis is organized in 958 club sections with 23,804 people practicing, according to the 2022 Statistics Poland count, ranking it tenth nationally.
No individually verified Polish table tennis athlete record was confirmed within the required source tiers for this entry.
Latest Posts about Table Tennis
#11 Tennis
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 20,309 (Polish Tennis Federation (PZT), 2022)
- Best known athlete: Iga Swiatek. Iga Swiatek became the youngest player in the Open era to win four Roland Garros women’s singles titles when she claimed her fourth trophy there, according to the tournament’s official website
Tennis counted 20,309 people practicing in 364 club sections in 2022, according to Statistics Poland, ranking eleventh among all disciplines in the survey.
Iga Swiatek became the youngest player in the Open era to win four Roland Garros women’s singles titles when she claimed her fourth trophy there, according to the tournament’s official website.
Latest Posts about Tennis
#12 Chess
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 19,683 (Polish Chess Federation (PZSzach), 2022)
- Best known athlete: Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Jan-Krzysztof Duda defeated then reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the semifinal of the 2021 FIDE World Cup and went on to beat Sergey Karjakin in the final to win the title, according to FIDE
Chess is organized in 444 club sections with 19,683 people practicing, according to Statistics Poland’s 2022 figures, ranking twelfth nationally.
Jan-Krzysztof Duda defeated then reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the semifinal of the 2021 FIDE World Cup and went on to beat Sergey Karjakin in the final to win the title, according to FIDE.
#13 Dancesport
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 17,185 (Polish Dancesport Federation (PTT), 2022)
Dancesport had 17,185 people practicing in 230 club sections in 2022, according to Statistics Poland, ranking thirteenth among all sports counted.
The category combines competitive sport dancing with ballroom dancing under a single national reporting heading. No individually sourced athlete record was confirmed for this entry.
#14 Hockey (ice, field and floorball combined)
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 14,576 (Polish Ice Hockey Federation (PZHL) and related hockey federations, 2022)
The hockey category, which combines ice hockey, field hockey and floorball under one Statistics Poland heading, counted 14,576 people practicing in 380 club sections in 2022.
Because the figure spans three distinct disciplines with separate federations, no single athlete or league is listed for this combined entry.
#15 Gymnastics
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 13,151 (Polish Gymnastics Federation (PZG), 2022)
Gymnastics, combining artistic and rhythmic disciplines, had 13,151 people practicing in 167 club sections in 2022, according to Statistics Poland.
No individually sourced Polish gymnastics athlete record was confirmed within the required source tiers for this entry.
Latest Posts about Gymnastics
#16 Taekwondo ITF
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 12,768 (Polish ITF Taekwondo Union, 2022)
Taekwondo ITF counted 12,768 people practicing in 126 club sections in 2022, according to Statistics Poland, making it the sixteenth largest organized sport measured this way.
The ITF style is reported separately from Olympic taekwondo in the national statistics. No individually sourced athlete record was confirmed for this entry.
#17 Acrobatics
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 12,758 (Polish Gymnastics Federation (PZG, sports acrobatics section), 2022)
Sports acrobatics had 12,758 people practicing in 158 club sections in 2022, according to Statistics Poland.
No individually sourced Polish athlete record was confirmed for this entry within the required source tiers.
#18 Kickboxing
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 11,064 (Polish Kickboxing Federation, 2022)
Kickboxing counted 11,064 people practicing in 250 club sections in 2022, according to Statistics Poland.
No individually sourced Polish kickboxing athlete record was confirmed for this entry within the required source tiers.
#19 Boxing
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 11,047 (Polish Boxing Association (PZB), 2022)
Boxing had 11,047 people practicing in 270 club sections in 2022, according to Statistics Poland, placing it just behind kickboxing in the national count.
No individually sourced Polish boxing athlete record was confirmed within the required source tiers for this entry.
Latest Posts about Boxing
#20 Cycling (as a sport)
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 10,399 (Polish Cycling Federation (PZKol), 2022)
- Best known athlete: Michal Kwiatkowski. Michal Kwiatkowski won the men’s road race at the 2014 UCI Road World Championships in Ponferrada, Spain, becoming Poland’s first world road race champion, according to the UCI
Cycling as an organized sport had 10,399 people practicing in 455 club sections in 2022, according to Statistics Poland, a figure that covers competitive cycling and excludes everyday commuting or recreational riding.
Michal Kwiatkowski won the men’s road race at the 2014 UCI Road World Championships in Ponferrada, Spain, becoming Poland’s first world road race champion, according to the UCI.
#21 Skiing
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 10,119 (Polish Ski Association (PZN), 2022)
- Best known athlete: Kamil Stoch. Kamil Stoch won Olympic gold in both the normal hill and large hill ski jumping events in 2014, then repeated as large hill champion in 2018, according to NBC Sports
Skiing, covering alpine, nordic and freestyle disciplines, had 10,119 people practicing in 240 club sections in 2022, according to Statistics Poland.
Kamil Stoch won Olympic gold in both the normal hill and large hill ski jumping events in 2014, then repeated as large hill champion in 2018, according to NBC Sports.
Latest Posts about Skiing
#22 Badminton
- Persons practicing sports in club sections: 9381 (Polish Badminton Federation (PZBad), 2022)
Badminton counted 9,381 people practicing in 289 club sections in 2022, according to Statistics Poland.
No individually sourced Polish badminton athlete record was confirmed for this entry within the required source tiers.
Latest Posts about Badminton
Sources
- GUS (Statistics Poland), Kultura fizyczna w latach 2021 i 2022, Tabl. 9: Sekcje sportowe i cwiczacy w sekcjach wedlug rodzajow sportow w 2022 r.
- Ekstraklasa S.A., official league news article on 2023/24 season attendance
- Polska Liga Siatkowki (PlusLiga / TAURON Liga), official league news article
- Ustawa z dnia 25 czerwca 2010 r. o sporcie (Dz.U. 2010 Nr 127 poz. 857) was checked via isap.sejm.gov.pl, eli.gov.pl and other Polish legal portals
- FIVB, article on Bartosz Kurek and Poland’s 2018 World Championship title
- Traditional sports and games portal inspirowanysportem.pl (Polish Ministry of Sport funded heritage project), article on Ringnetball
- Traditional sports and games portal inspirowanysportem.pl, article on Polish Ringo
- GUS (Statistics Poland), Kultura fizyczna w latach 2021 i 2022, Tabl. 9: Sekcje sportowe i cwiczacy w sekcjach wedlug rodzajow sportow w 2022 r.
- GUS (Statistics Poland), Kultura fizyczna w latach 2021 i 2022, Tabl. 9: Sekcje sportowe i cwiczacy w sekcjach wedlug rodzajow sportow w 2022 r.
- GUS (Statistics Poland), Kultura fizyczna w latach 2021 i 2022, Tabl. 9: Sekcje sportowe i cwiczacy w sekcjach wedlug rodzajow sportow w 2022 r.
- GUS (Statistics Poland), Kultura fizyczna w latach 2021 i 2022, Tabl. 9: Sekcje sportowe i cwiczacy w sekcjach wedlug rodzajow sportow w 2022 r.
- GUS (Statistics Poland), Kultura fizyczna w latach 2021 i 2022, Tabl. 9: Sekcje sportowe i cwiczacy w sekcjach wedlug rodzajow sportow w 2022 r.
- GUS (Statistics Poland), Kultura fizyczna w latach 2021 i 2022, Tabl. 9: Sekcje sportowe i cwiczacy w sekcjach wedlug rodzajow sportow w 2022 r.
- GUS (Statistics Poland), Kultura fizyczna w latach 2021 i 2022, Tabl. 9: Sekcje sportowe i cwiczacy w sekcjach wedlug rodzajow sportow w 2022 r.
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 Poland?
Football is the most widely practiced sport in Poland. In 2022, Statistics Poland recorded 443,525 people training in organized football club sections, several times the total for the next largest sport in the same survey. The top league, the Ekstraklasa, also draws large crowds, with a record 3,764,622 spectators across the 2023/24 season.
What is the national sport of Poland?
Poland has no sport designated as the national sport by law or government decree, based on the primary legal sources that could be checked. Football is widely treated as the de facto national sport given its participation numbers, and volleyball is also considered a leading de facto candidate after the men’s national team won the 2018 World Championship.
What are the most popular sports in Poland?
Football leads Polish participation statistics with 443,525 people training in club sections in 2022. Sport shooting follows with 87,637 practitioners, and volleyball ranks third with 74,133, according to Statistics Poland’s national club section survey.
What is an unusual sport in Poland?
Poland is the birthplace of two lesser known sports. Ringnetball, known in Polish as pierscieniowka, was invented in the 1930s by physical education teacher Wlodzimierz Robakowski. Ringo originated in Poland in the 1950s and was presented internationally as Polish Ringo at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
What are famous sports in Poland?
Football is Poland’s most followed sport, with 443,525 people training in club sections in 2022 and record Ekstraklasa attendance of 3,764,622 spectators in the 2023/24 season. Volleyball is also famous internationally after Bartosz Kurek led the national team to the 2018 World Championship title, finishing as top scorer with 171 points and winning the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.
