The Most Popular Sports in Qatar (Top 15 Ranked)

Soccer leads Qatar, ahead of Athletics and Handball. Ranking of 15 sports.

This page ranks the sports of Qatar by the evidence behind each one, because no single membership, license, or nationwide participation survey covers all sports listed below on a comparable basis, so rank is based on documented facts such as hosted top level events, domestic league structure, and international results rather than a shared count.

Soccer is on top, followed by Athletics and Handball. 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 Qatar

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	Soccer	Qatar built and operated the eight stadiums used for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and its men’s national team won the AFC Asian Cup in both 2019 and 2023.
2	Athletics	Doha hosted the 2019 World Athletics Championships at Khalifa International Stadium, and Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim has held the world number one ranking in his event fo
3	Handball	Qatar’s men’s national team reached the final of the 2015 IHF World Championship, which it hosted, losing to France, and domestic clubs such as Al Sadd and Al Duhail compete in a s
4	Motorsport	The Losail International Circuit has hosted a MotoGP round every season since 2004 and added the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix to the calendar from 2021, giving the country a fixed an
5	Cricket	The Qatar Cricket Association has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1999, and cricket is widely played across the country’s large South Asian expa
6	Equestrian sports	The Qatar Equestrian Federation runs organized show jumping and endurance competitions, including an annual leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour held in Doha.
7	Camel racing	Camel racing is regulated by a dedicated federation and run at a purpose built track at Al Shahaniya, with races using remote controlled robot jockeys since the practice replaced c
8	Squash	The Khalifa International Squash and Racquetball Complex in Doha has repeatedly hosted PSA World Championship events, and Qatari player Abdulla Al-Tamimi has reached the world tour
9	Tennis	Doha has hosted an annual ATP tour stop, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, and a WTA tour stop, the Qatar Open, for an extended run of consecutive years.
10	Basketball	The Qatari Basketball League runs as an organized domestic competition, and the national team competes in FIBA Asia qualifying events.
11	Volleyball	Volleyball is organized through a domestic league and a national federation that enters teams in Asian championship competitions.
12	Falconry	Falconry is practiced as an organized traditional sport in Qatar, with a dedicated falcon market at Souq Waqif and regular competitions tied to national heritage events.
13	Padel	Padel has expanded rapidly in Qatar since around 2020, with new dedicated courts and clubs opening across Doha alongside similar growth in the wider Gulf region.
14	Swimming	Swimming is organized through a national federation and through the Aspire Academy’s youth sport programs, which include competitive swimming pathways.
15	Sailing	Traditional dhow racing is organized around Qatar National Day and cultural events at venues such as Katara, alongside modern sailing competitions.

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
Soccer	about 3,400,000	The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar drew a large cumulative stadium attendance across its match schedule.

Is There a National Sport of Qatar?

Qatar has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. No Qatari law or government decree naming an official national sport could be confirmed from available knowledge in this run.

Falconry. Falconry is commonly treated as one of Qatar’s defining traditional sports in heritage and tourism contexts, alongside camel racing.
Camel racing. Camel racing is commonly treated as Qatar’s other defining traditional sport, with a dedicated federation and racetrack.

#1 Soccer

Governing body: Qatar Football Association
Top national league: Qatar Stars League
Best known athlete: Almoez Ali. Ali finished as the top scorer of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup with nine goals, a tournament record, while helping Qatar win its first continental title

Soccer is the sport most closely tied to Qatar on the world stage. The country hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup, building or renovating eight stadiums for the tournament and running the Qatar Stars League as its top domestic competition.

The national team’s run of Asian Cup titles in 2019 and 2023 cemented soccer as the sport with the deepest organized base in the country, from youth academies through the professional league.

Latest Posts about Soccer

#2 Athletics

Governing body: Qatar Athletics Federation
Best known athlete: Mutaz Essa Barshim. Barshim won Olympic gold in the high jump at the Tokyo 2020 Games and has taken world championship titles in the event, making him Qatar’s most decorated individual athlete

Athletics has a strong organized presence in Qatar, anchored by the Qatar Athletics Federation and the Aspire Academy talent program. Doha’s hosting of the 2019 World Athletics Championships put the sport’s domestic infrastructure on international display.

Mutaz Essa Barshim’s sustained success in the high jump, including an Olympic gold medal, has made athletics one of the sports most associated with individual Qatari achievement.

Latest Posts about Athletics

#3 Handball

Governing body: Qatar Handball Association
Top national league: Qatar Handball League

Handball has an organized domestic structure in Qatar, with clubs including Al Sadd and Al Duhail competing in a national league under the Qatar Handball Association.

The men’s national team reaching the 2015 World Championship final on home soil remains the sport’s highest profile result and helped raise its domestic following.

Latest Posts about Handball

#4 Motorsport

Governing body: Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation
Best known athlete: Nasser Al-Attiyah. Al-Attiyah has won the Dakar Rally five times and also competed for Qatar in Olympic skeet shooting, making him the country’s best known motorsport competitor

Motorsport has a fixed place in Qatar’s sporting calendar through the Losail International Circuit, which has hosted MotoGP since 2004 and added Formula 1 in 2021.

Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah’s repeated Dakar Rally wins have given the sport a homegrown competitor alongside the international events staged in the country.

#5 Cricket

Governing body: Qatar Cricket Association

Cricket draws a large participant base in Qatar through its South Asian expatriate community, with grounds and clubs organized under the Qatar Cricket Association.

The association’s associate membership in the International Cricket Council since 1999 reflects an organized, longstanding domestic structure rather than a recent addition to the sporting calendar.

#6 Equestrian sports

Governing body: Qatar Equestrian Federation

Equestrian sport in Qatar carries strong state and royal patronage, expressed through the Qatar Equestrian Federation and dedicated venues for show jumping and endurance riding.

Doha’s annual leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour places the sport among the internationally hosted events that keep it organized and visible year to year.

#7 Camel racing

Governing body: Qatar Camel Racing Federation

Camel racing remains one of Qatar’s most institutionalized traditional sports, run under a dedicated federation with a purpose built track at Al Shahaniya.

Since the switch to remote controlled robot jockeys in the mid 2000s, race meetings have continued on a regular seasonal schedule rather than fading as a purely historical practice.

#8 Squash

Governing body: Qatar Squash Federation
Best known athlete: Abdulla Al-Tamimi. Al-Tamimi is the highest ranked Qatari player on the PSA World Tour and has represented the country at multiple World Championship events held in Doha

Squash has an organized competitive base in Qatar centered on the Khalifa International Squash and Racquetball Complex, which has repeatedly hosted PSA World Championship events.

Abdulla Al-Tamimi’s presence among the sport’s top world ranked players gives Qatar a domestic competitor at the elite level, alongside the events the country stages.

Latest Posts about Squash

#9 Tennis

Governing body: Qatar Tennis Federation

Tennis in Qatar is organized around Doha’s long running men’s and women’s professional tour stops, which bring top ranked international players to the country every year.

The domestic federation supports club level play and junior programs, though the sport’s public profile in Qatar rests mainly on the annual professional tournaments rather than a large playing population.

Latest Posts about Tennis

#10 Basketball

Governing body: Qatar Basketball Federation
Top national league: Qatari Basketball League

Basketball is played through an organized domestic league structure under the Qatar Basketball Federation, with clubs competing in regular seasonal competition.

The national team’s participation in FIBA Asia qualifying events keeps the sport connected to regional competition, even though it has a smaller public following than soccer or athletics.

Latest Posts about Basketball

#11 Volleyball

Governing body: Qatar Volleyball Association

Volleyball has a structured domestic competition in Qatar, organized under the Qatar Volleyball Association with clubs competing through a regular season.

The national team’s entries in Asian championship qualifying give the sport an international outlet, though it remains behind soccer, athletics, and handball in public visibility.

Latest Posts about Volleyball

#12 Falconry

Falconry occupies a place in Qatar between heritage practice and organized sport, with a dedicated falcon souq in Doha and competitions held around national heritage events.

Its following runs deep among families with a Bedouin heritage connection, even though it does not have the mass domestic league structure of team sports like soccer or handball.

#13 Padel

Padel is the fastest growing sport on this list, with new dedicated courts and clubs opening across Doha since around 2020 as part of a wider Gulf region trend.

It has not yet built the decades long organized base of soccer or cricket in Qatar, but its rapid facility growth places it ahead of several longer established sports in current momentum.

#14 Swimming

Governing body: Qatar Swimming Federation

Swimming in Qatar is organized through a national federation and supported by the Aspire Academy’s youth development programs, which run competitive pathways for young athletes.

It functions mainly as a participation and development sport rather than one built around a major domestic spectator event.

Latest Posts about Swimming

#15 Sailing

Sailing in Qatar spans both a modern competitive scene and traditional dhow racing, which is organized around National Day celebrations and cultural events at venues such as Katara.

The traditional races connect the sport to Qatar’s pearl diving and maritime trading history, giving it a cultural weight beyond its current competitive scale.

Latest Posts about Sailing

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 important sports are there in Qatar?

Soccer is the most prominent, backed by the Qatar Stars League and the country’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup. Athletics, handball, and motorsport also have organized domestic structures and international hosting history, while camel racing and falconry remain the country’s leading traditional sports.

What are Qatar’s most popular sports?

Soccer leads by a wide margin, followed by athletics and handball, both of which have hosted major world championships in Doha. Motorsport, cricket, and equestrian sports also have organized federations and regular competition.

What is Qatar’s national sport?

No law or decree naming an official national sport could be confirmed. In practice, falconry and camel racing are the two sports most commonly treated as Qatar’s defining traditional sports, each with its own federation and dedicated venues.

What sports are played in Qatar?

Alongside soccer, athletics, and handball, Qatar has organized domestic competition in motorsport, cricket, equestrian sports, camel racing, squash, tennis, basketball, volleyball, falconry, padel, swimming, and sailing, each under its own federation or association.

What is Qatar’s connection with sports?

Qatar has built its international sporting profile through hosting, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 2019 World Athletics Championships, the 2015 IHF Handball World Championship, and annual MotoGP and Formula 1 rounds at the Losail International Circuit, alongside long running domestic leagues and traditional sports such as camel racing and falconry.