The Most Popular Sports in Tunisia (Top 15 Ranked)

Soccer leads Tunisia, ahead of Handball and Volleyball. Ranking of 15 sports.

This page ranks the sports of Tunisia by the evidence behind each one, because no single register of members, licenses, or a national participation survey for Tunisia could be retrieved in this run, so the ranking below rests on organizational and competitive evidence per sport rather than one comparable count.

Soccer is on top, followed by Handball and Volleyball. 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 Tunisia

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 2025.

#	Sport	Basis for the placing
1	Soccer	Tunisia fields a professional top division, Ligue Professionnelle 1, and its men’s national team is a regular participant at both the FIFA World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations,
2	Handball	Tunisia’s men’s national handball team has won the African Men’s Handball Championship on multiple occasions and regularly qualifies for the IHF World Championship, marking handbal
3	Volleyball	Tunisia’s men’s volleyball team has won the African Volleyball Championship several times and its clubs regularly compete in African club competitions, indicating a well establishe
4	Basketball	Tunisia’s men’s national basketball team has won the AfroBasket continental championship on more than one occasion, and Tunisian clubs compete in African club competitions.
5	Athletics	Tunisia has produced multiple Olympic medalists in distance running since the 1960s, and the national federation sends athletes to World Athletics Championships and the Olympic Gam
6	Swimming	Tunisia’s Oussama Mellouli won Olympic gold medals in both pool and open water swimming, and the national federation maintains competitive squads across pool and open water discipl
7	Taekwondo	Tunisia has won an Olympic taekwondo medal and the national federation regularly sends competitors to African and World Taekwondo championships.
8	Boxing	Tunisian boxers compete regularly at the African Boxing Championships and the sport has an established amateur club structure under the national federation.
9	Judo	Tunisian judokas have won medals at the African Judo Championships and the national federation maintains organized club competition feeding the national team.
10	Tennis	Ons Jabeur reached a career high world number 2 ranking and three Grand Slam finals, which drove a sharp rise in public interest in tennis in Tunisia over the 2020s.
11	Karate	Tunisian karatekas compete at the African Karate Championships under an organized national federation with an established club network.
12	Table tennis	Tunisia fields national teams at the African Table Tennis Championships and the sport has an organized club league under the national federation.
13	Rugby union	Tunisia’s national rugby union team competes in the Rugby Africa Cup structure, and the sport has grown its club base since the national federation’s founding.
14	Cycling	Tunisia hosts an annual multi stage road race, the Tour de Tunisie, and the national federation organizes a domestic racing calendar and national championships.
15	Rowing	Tunisia sends rowers to African championships and occasionally to the Olympic Games under the national rowing federation, with training centered on the country’s lakes and coastal

Is There a National Sport of Tunisia?

Tunisia has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. No law or government decree establishing an official national sport for Tunisia could be identified within this research; Tunisia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Olympic Committee of Tunisia govern sport nationally without designating a single sport by statute.

• Soccer. Soccer functions as Tunisia’s de facto national sport, based on its professional league structure, dominant club and national team following, and consistent qualification for global and continental tournaments.

#1 Soccer

• Governing body: Tunisian Football Federation
• Top national league: Ligue Professionnelle 1
• Best known athlete: Tarak Dhiab. A leading Tunisian midfielder of the 1970s and 1980s, part of the Tunisia squad that became the first African team to win a match at a FIFA World Cup, at the 1978 tournament in Argentina

Soccer is organized under the Tunisian Football Federation and runs through a professional top division, Ligue Professionnelle 1, along with lower divisions and a national cup. Clubs from Tunis, Sfax, and Sousse have long histories of continental competition in African club tournaments.

The men’s national team has reached the FIFA World Cup on multiple occasions and competes regularly at the Africa Cup of Nations. That sustained presence at both continental and global tournaments places soccer well ahead of any other sport in organized reach within the country.

#2 Handball

• Governing body: Tunisian Handball Federation
• Top national league: Championnat de Tunisie de Handball

Handball is run by the Tunisian Handball Federation and includes a national league along with age group competitions. The national team has repeatedly won the African championship, which keeps club and youth participation active across the country.

Continental success has translated into steady qualification for the IHF World Championship, giving handball a level of international visibility in Tunisia that few other team sports match.

#3 Volleyball

• Governing body: Tunisian Volleyball Federation
• Top national league: Championnat de Tunisie de Volleyball

Volleyball is organized by the Tunisian Volleyball Federation through a national league for men and women plus youth categories. Club sides from Tunis and other cities have a long record in African club competitions.

Repeated continental titles for the national team have kept volleyball among the more prominent organized team sports in the country, with steady club participation feeding the national program.

#4 Basketball

• Governing body: Tunisian Basketball Federation
• Top national league: Championnat de Tunisie de Basketball

Basketball in Tunisia is organized under the Tunisian Basketball Federation, which runs a national club league for men and women. The sport has a long competitive history in the country dating back several decades.

The national team has won the AfroBasket title more than once, and Tunisian clubs remain regular entrants in continental club competitions, keeping the sport organized at both club and national level.

#5 Athletics

• Governing body: Tunisian Athletics Federation
• Best known athlete: Mohamed Gammoudi. Won Olympic gold in the 5000 metres at the 1968 Mexico City Games plus a silver and two further medals across the 1964, 1968, and 1972 Olympics, making him one of Tunisia’s most decorated athletes in any sport

Athletics is organized by the Tunisian Athletics Federation, with distance running as its strongest discipline historically. Tunisian runners have competed at Olympic and World Championship level since the 1960s.

That tradition began with Mohamed Gammoudi, whose Olympic medals in the 1960s and 1970s established distance running as a sport with sustained national investment and international results.

#6 Swimming

• Governing body: Tunisian Swimming Federation
• Best known athlete: Oussama Mellouli. Won Olympic gold in the 1500 metre freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Games and gold in the 10 kilometre open water marathon at the 2012 London Games, becoming the first swimmer to win medals in both pool and open water events at the same Olympics

Swimming is organized through the Tunisian Swimming Federation, which runs national championships in both pool and open water disciplines. The sport gained significant national attention following Olympic success in the 2000s.

Oussama Mellouli’s gold medals in Beijing and London remain the country’s benchmark result in swimming and continue to drive participation in national training programs.

#7 Taekwondo

• Governing body: Tunisian Taekwondo Federation
• Best known athlete: Oussama Oueslati. Won the Olympic bronze medal in the men’s under 58 kilogram taekwondo division at the 2012 London Games, one of Tunisia’s rare individual combat sport Olympic medals

Taekwondo is run by the Tunisian Taekwondo Federation and has grown as a combat sport with organized clubs in several cities. National competitors regularly take part in African and World Taekwondo championships.

Oussama Oueslati’s Olympic bronze medal in 2012 remains a reference result for the sport in Tunisia and has supported continued interest in club level taekwondo since.

#8 Boxing

• Governing body: Tunisian Boxing Federation

Boxing in Tunisia is organized by the Tunisian Boxing Federation through an amateur club system found in Tunis and several other cities. The sport has a long standing presence in Tunisian sporting culture.

National boxers take part in African championships on a regular basis, which keeps the amateur structure active even without the level of media attention given to team sports.

#9 Judo

• Governing body: Tunisian Judo Federation

Judo is organized under the Tunisian Judo Federation with clubs training athletes from youth through senior level. The sport has a consistent, if modest, competitive presence in the country.

Continental medals at the African Judo Championships have kept the national program active, with club competition serving as the main path into the national team.

#10 Tennis

• Governing body: Tunisian Tennis Federation
• Best known athlete: Ons Jabeur. Reached a career high WTA ranking of world number 2 in 2022 and became the first African or Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final, doing so at Wimbledon in 2022 and 2023 and the US Open in 2022

Tennis is organized by the Tunisian Tennis Federation, which runs national club competitions and development programs for juniors. Facilities remain concentrated in the larger coastal cities.

Ons Jabeur’s run to a world number 2 ranking and three Grand Slam finals in the early 2020s brought a level of attention to Tunisian tennis that the sport had not previously had, and participation interest has grown since.

#11 Karate

• Governing body: Tunisian Karate Federation

Karate is organized by the Tunisian Karate Federation, with clubs training competitors across kata and kumite disciplines. The sport has a stable amateur following in several cities.

National competitors take part in African championships, and the federation runs age group competitions that keep the club structure active from youth level upward.

#12 Table tennis

• Governing body: Tunisian Table Tennis Federation

Table tennis is run by the Tunisian Table Tennis Federation through a national club league. The sport is played widely at the recreational level in schools and community clubs.

Competitive teams represent Tunisia at African championships, giving the sport a consistent, though lower profile, place in the country’s organized sporting structure.

#13 Rugby union

• Governing body: Tunisian Rugby Federation

Rugby union in Tunisia is organized by the Tunisian Rugby Federation and remains a smaller sport compared with soccer or handball, with clubs concentrated in a handful of cities.

The national team competes within the Rugby Africa competition structure, and the sport has been gradually expanding its club base over the past two decades.

#14 Cycling

• Governing body: Tunisian Cycling Federation

Competitive cycling is organized by the Tunisian Cycling Federation, which runs national road and track championships. The Tour de Tunisie is the country’s best known annual stage race.

Club level racing remains modest in scale compared with team sports, but the federation maintains a regular domestic calendar that keeps competitive cycling active.

#15 Rowing

• Governing body: Tunisian Rowing Federation

Rowing is organized by the Tunisian Rowing Federation, with training based at inland lakes and coastal facilities. Participation is smaller in scale than the country’s leading team sports.

National rowers compete at African championships and have occasionally qualified for the Olympic Games, keeping the sport present at the international level despite its modest domestic base.

Sources

• Tunisian Football Federation
• Tunisian Basketball Federation
• Tunisian Athletics Federation
• Tunisian Judo Federation

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.

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