Football Football is the most popular sport in almost all countries of
Europe. European national teams have won 12 of 22 editions of the
FIFA World Cup.
Italy and
Germany have won four titles each, followed by
France with two titles and
England and
Spain, which each won the World Cup once.
UEFA, the governing body for European football, has hosted the
UEFA European Championship since 1960, and the
UEFA Women's Championship since 1984. The most popular and successful football leagues are the
Big Five: the English
Premier League; the Spanish
La Liga; the German
Bundesliga; the Italian
Serie A; and the French
Ligue 1. Other main football leagues on the continent include the Portuguese
Primeira Liga, the Dutch
Eredivisie, the
Russian Premier League and the Turkish
Süper Lig. The top clubs in each league play the
UEFA Champions League, while lower-ranked clubs compete in
UEFA Europa League and the
UEFA Conference League.
Followers As of 2024, the top 10 most popular sports clubs on social media are all football clubs from Europe:
Attendances The UEFA clubs with an average home league attendance of at least 20,000 in the 2024-25 and 2025 seasons: Source:
Basketball Basketball originated in America. It was invented in 1891 by Canadian
James Naismith in
Massachusetts. In Europe, basketball is the second most popular team sport in many countries, including
Greece,
Serbia,
Turkey and
Spain. In
Lithuania, it is the national sport. It is also very popular in
Italy,
France,
Germany,
Belgium and all the
ex-Yugoslavia countries. The
EuroBasket is the main European basketball competition for men's national teams, first held in 1935. The
Soviet Union and Yugoslavia have won the most titles, with Spain claiming three championships since the late 2000s. The
EuroLeague is the most prestigious club basketball competition in Europe. It was founded as the
FIBA European Champions Cup in 1958, but is organised by the
Euroleague Basketball association since 2000. It is the second most popular basketball club competition in the world after the
NBA.
Attendances In the 2024–25 European basketball season, the following clubs recorded an average home league attendance of at least 15,000: Source:
Cricket is known as the "Home of Cricket".
Cricket is a popular summer sport in the United Kingdom and has been exported to other parts of the former
British Empire. Cricket has its origins in south east Britain. It is popular throughout England and Wales, and parts of the Netherlands, Scotland and Ireland. Cricket is also popular in other areas and also played in
Northwest Europe. The
England cricket team and
Ireland cricket team are the only European teams with Test status. England's main rival is Australia, and they play each other in
The Ashes series. England won the
Cricket World Cup in 2019 and the
ICC World Twenty20 in 2010 and 2022. Ireland has recently received Test status in 2017. Ireland traditionally rivalled Scotland, and thereafter the Netherlands before Ireland gained full test status, while more latterly have added ongoing rivalries with Afghanistan who rose to test status with them, Zimbabwe, Pakistan (who they first hosted for test cricket) and the West Indies.
Field hockey Field hockey is from England and is one of the most popular sports in Western Europe, The Netherlands and Germany have been champions in both world cups, Belgium has also been champion in the men's tournament, Germany is the most recent champion in
Men's Hockey World Cup and The Netherlands is the most recent champion in
Women's Hockey World Cup. In the
Olympics, Great Britain, The Netherlands and Germany have been champions in both tournaments, Spain has been the winner in the 1992 Women's tournament, Belgium is the most recent winner in the Men's tournament and The Netherlands is the most recent winner in the Women's tournament.
Handball in
Mannheim,
Germany Handball is played professionally in many European countries. The
European Handball Federation organizes continental competitions for men's and women's. European teams have dominated the
IHF World Men's Handball Championship and have won all medals except one silver medal, and have also won most editions of the
IHF World Women's Handball Championship. The top men's teams include
France,
Sweden,
Denmark,
Spain,
Croatia and
Germany. The top women's teams include
Norway,
Denmark and
France. The
EHF Champions League and the
EHF Women's Champions League is the most important handball club competitions for men's and women's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. In the 21/22 season, the men's competition experienced a record viewership of 1.1 billion people across all streaming platforms around the world. While the 2024 European Championship saw more than 1 million people buying tickets to the competition.
Ice hockey Ice hockey is the most popular or one of the most popular sports in many European nations, including
Czechia,
Switzerland,
Russia,
Sweden,
Finland,
Slovakia,
Latvia,
Belarus, and northern and central Europe, where it rivals
association football in popularity. It is also popular at a professional level in
Germany,
Norway,
Austria, most of
Western Europe and isolated parts of the former
Soviet Union and
Yugoslavia. The
Kontinental Hockey League originated from Russia but currently features teams from eight other countries. The
Austrian Hockey League,
Czech Extraliga,
Deutsche Eishockey Liga,
SM-Liiga,
National League A and
Swedish Hockey League are other professional leagues, whose top teams meet at the
Champions Hockey League. The
Ice Hockey European Championships for national teams was played from 1910 to 1932. National teams currently play the
Ice Hockey World Championships, where Russia / Soviet Union have claimed a combined 27 titles, the Czech Republic / Czechoslovakia 12 and Sweden 11.
Attendances In the 2024–25 European ice hockey season, the following clubs recorded an average home league attendance of at least 15,000: Source:
Rugby union Rugby union is popular in
France (especially the south),
England,
Wales,
Scotland,
Ireland,
Italy and
Georgia. The game is also relatively popular in
Portugal,
Spain,
Netherlands,
Belgium,
Germany,
Switzerland,
Czech Republic,
Russia,
Poland,
Moldova,
Andorra and
Romania, as it is at a professional level in these countries. Rugby is regarded as the national sport of Wales and Georgia, and is the strongest professional team sport in Ireland. Europe's main competition for national teams is the
Six Nations Championship, first held in 1883 as the Home Nations Championship. The other European national teams play at the
Rugby Europe International Championships. The England national team is the only European team to have won the
Rugby World Cup, whereas France was runner-up three times and Wales and Scotland reached the semifinals once. The three main domestic rugby union competitions are the fully professional
Premiership (England),
Top 14 (France) and
United Rugby Championship (URC)(Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and South Africa). The
European Rugby Champions Cup is the premier continental championship, with clubs qualifying from the three professional competitions. South African teams fully compete 'domestically' in Europe since 2022 when their teams, already part of the cross border URC, were given access to European competition, but compete in Southern Hemisphere competition
the Rugby Championship at international level.
Attendances In the 2024–25 European rugby union season, the following clubs recorded an average home league attendance of at least 20,000: Sources:
Rugby league Rugby league is popular in northern
England, where the sport formed in 1895. The
Great Britain national team first played in 1908, and entered the World Cup until 1992 and the Tri-Nations until 2006. Great Britain has won the World Cup three times, whereas
France has been runner-up twice. Clubs from England compete in the only fully professional league, the
Super League, as well as the
Challenge Cup competition.
Attendances In the 2025 European rugby league season, the following clubs recorded an average home league attendance of at least 10,000: Source:
Volleyball European teams have won most editions of the
FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, led by Italy with three wins. In the
FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, the Soviet Union has won five editions, Russia two, and Italy and Serbia one each. The Soviet Union has won three men's gold medals and four women's gold medals at the
Olympics. The
European Volleyball Confederation was founded in 1963, but the
Men's European Volleyball Championship was first held in 1948 and the
Women's European Volleyball Championship was first held in 1949, with the Soviet Union and Russia leading both in titles. The
CEV Champions League is held annually since the 1959-60 edition. Russian clubs
VC CSKA Moscow and
VC Zenit-Kazan won 13 and six editions respectively, while Italian clubs
Modena Volley and
Volley Treviso won four each. The
CEV Women's Champions League is held since 1960–61.
WVC Dynamo Moscow won 11 editions,
Uralochka Ekaterinburg won eight, and
Volley Bergamo won seven.
Water polo Water polo is played professionally in several European countries. LEN organises continental competitions for men's and women's. European teams have dominated the World Aquatics Championships and have also won several editions of the Women's Championship. The
LEN Champions League is the most important water polo club competition for teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations.
Other sports Other team sports like
futsal,
beach Soccer,
roller hockey, and
American football are also popular in some European countries. Some sport competitions features a
European team gathering athletes from different European countries. These teams uses the European flag as an emblem. The most famous of these competitions are the
Ryder Cup for men, and
Solheim Cup for women, in golf, in both of which Europe challenge the United States. Other examples are the
Laver Cup in tennis, where Europe face a World team, the
Mosconi Cup in pool, the
Weber Cup in bowling, the
IAAF Continental Cup in athletics, and the
Continental Cup of Curling.
American football In the 2025 American football season of Europe, the following clubs recorded an average home league attendance of at least 5,000: Source:
Baseball final
Baseball is also gaining popularity in some countries, like in the United Kingdom, where the sport is
reputed to have started in the 1800s before exploding in the United States. In Spain, due to Latin American immigrants bringing the sport, particularly from countries like Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Venezuela. In countries like Italy, Ireland, and Germany, growth in the sport is partly due to influence from Italian Americans, Irish Americans, and German Americans. Other countries include France, Netherlands, and Greece, among others.
Reigning European champions National teams Clubs == European eSports ==