Sport in Spain
Spain is quite well known when it comes to sports. And when it comes to sports, football is king in Spain. There have been a lot of variations in the kind of football that has been played in Spain but recently, the most dominant is the English style of soccer or associated football. As a matter of fact, of the most dominant football clubs in the whole world, two came from Spain, the FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF.
Spanish bull fightingThe national football team is also the first-ever to win a three-peat in international tournaments. They are also the 1964, 2008 and 2012 UEFA European Champions and the 2010 FIFA World Cup winners. Spain is considered as one of the world’s powerhouse, not just in football but in most major sports events.
Other sports that have enjoyed considerable success in Spain include basketball, cycling, futsal, handball, tennis, motorcycling and even Formula One. This is mainly due to the fact that they have garnered championships in all of these sports. They have also hosted various international events most notably the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona. Some of the brightest Spanish stars in sports includes tennis player Rafael Nadal who has won many Grand Slam titles and Alberto Contador who has taken home many Grand Tour titles that includes many Tour de France titles.
Major events that have been hosted in Spain include the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Other highlights of sport in Spain is the football team bringing home the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 trophies and Óscar Pereiro, Alberto Contador and Carlos Sastre's 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 triumphs in the Tour de France.
Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Spain.
Popular sports of Spain
- Football (Soccer), Basketball, Tennis, Cycling, Golf, Handball, Motorsports, Skiing, Futsal, Skiing.
Spanish Sports: Traditional and Regional Sports of Spain
- Basque Pelota— a variety of court sports which involves hitting a ball against a wall using the hand, a racket, a wooden bat or a basket.
- Valencian Pilota — a traditional handball sport played in the Valencian Community of Spain. The ball is usually struck with a bare hand in a game involving two teams, who are placed face to face separated either by a line on the ground or a net.
- Valencian Frontó — modified Valencian Pilota version of the original Basque Pelota game. The players don't stand face-to-face as in the more popular Valencian Pilota but share a common playing area.
- Bull Fighting — involves one or more bulls which are being fought in a bullring
- Calva — a traditional Spanish sport in which you throw a piece of metal to knock down a bull's horn shaped piece of wood.
- Castell Tower Building — a human tower traditionally built during Catalan festivals, where participants form tiers by standing on each other's shoulders.
Spain's Sporting Success
- Tennis Davis Cup winners: 2000, 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2011
- Tennis Fed Cup winners: 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998
- UEFA Euro Cup in 1964, 2008 & 2012
- 2004 Hockey Champions Trophy winners.
- 2006 World Basketball Championship
- 2009 Basketball Eurocup
- 2010 FIFA World Cup Winners
Great athletes from Spain
- Miguel Indurain (cycling)
- Carlos Sastre (cycling)
- Rafael Nadal (tennis) - Wimbledon champion in 2008 and 2010
- Seve Ballesteros (golf)
- Fernando Alonso (motorsports) - 2005 and 2006 F1 championships
Spain Sports trivia
- Spain first competed at the Olympic Games in 1900
Spain at major events
- Spain at the Summer Olympics
- Spain at the Winter Olympics
- Spain at the FIFA World Cup
- Spain at the Rugby World Cup
- Spain women's football team at the FIFA Women's World Cup
- Spain at the UEFA Euros
Past sporting events events hosted in Spain
- 1964 UEFA European (Euro) Football Championship
- 1982 FIFA World Cup Spain
- 1986 World Swimming Championships Madrid
- 1992 Olympic Games summer Barcelona
- 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona
- 2003 World Swimming Championships Barcelona
- 2013 World Swimming Championships in Barcelona
- 2019 UEFA Champions League Final, Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid
- 2021 Davis Cup Finals in Madrid
- 2022 Hockey Women's World Cup in Terrassa, Spain (co-hosted with Amstelveen, Netherlands)
Upcoming sporting events in Spain
- 2024 America's Cup Sailing in Barcelona
- 2026 Gay Games, Valencia
- 2030 FIFA World Cup — co-hosted with Morocco and Portugal
Annual sporting events held in Spain
- The Vuelta a España (Spanish for "Tour of Spain")
- La Liga soccer league — the top level football league in Spain
- Open de Espana Golf tournament
- Spanish MotoGP, also Valencian MotoGP, Aragon MotoGP and Catalan MotoGP
- Madrid Open. Major tennis tournament in Madrid, part of the ATP Masters Series.
- Spanish F1 Grand Prix
- Rally Catalunya Also called the Rally de España. A part of the World Rally Championship.
Sporting Facilities in Spain
- Nou Camp stadium (Barcelona)
- Estadio Santiago Bernabeu (Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid)
- Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid
- Elite Sporting Centres in Spain
Other
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