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Sport in Italy
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Sport in Italy has a long tradition. In several sports, both individual and team, Italy has good representation and many successes. The most popular sport in Italy is football.[1][2] Italy's national football team is one of the world's most successful teams with four FIFA World Cup victories (1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006) and two UEFA Euro victories (1968 and 2021).[3] Italian clubs have won 48 major European trophies, making Italy the second most successful country in European football. Italy's top-flight club football league is named Serie A and is followed by millions of fans around the world.[4]
Other popular team sports in Italy include basketball, volleyball, waterpolo and rugby.[5] Italy's male and female national volleyball teams are often featured among the world's best. The Italian national basketball team's best results were gold at Eurobasket 1983 and EuroBasket 1999, as well as silver at the Olympics in 1980 and 2004. Lega Basket Serie A is widely considered one of the most competitive in Europe.[6] Italy's rugby national team competes in the Six Nations Championship, and is a regular at the Rugby World Cup. The men's volleyball team won three consecutive World Championships (in 1990, 1994, and 1998) and earned the Olympic silver medal in 1996, 2004, and 2016.
Italy has a long and successful tradition in individual sports as well. Bicycle racing is a familiar sport in the country[7] along with fencing, shooting and boxing. Alpine skiing is also a widespread sport in Italy, and the country is a popular international skiing destination, known for its ski resorts.[8] Italian skiers achieved good results in Winter Olympic Games, Alpine Ski World Cup, and tennis has a significant following in Italy, ranking as the fourth most practised sport in the country.[9] Motorsports are also extremely popular in Italy.[5] Italy has won, by far, the most MotoGP World Championships. Italian Scuderia Ferrari is the oldest surviving team in Grand Prix racing,[10] having competed since 1948, and statistically the most successful Formula One team in history.
Historically, Italy has been successful in the Olympic Games, taking part from the first Olympiad and in 47 Games out of 48, not having officially participated in the 1904 Summer Olympics.[11] Italian sportsmen have won 618 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, and another 141 at the Winter Olympic Games, for a combined total of 759 medals with 259 golds, which makes them the sixth most successful nation in Olympic history for total medals. The country hosted two Winter Olympics and will host a third (in 1956, 2006, and 2026), and one Summer games (in 1960).
- ^ Wilson, Bill (10 March 2014). "BBC News – Italian football counts cost of stagnation". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ^ Hamil, Sean; Chadwick, Simon (2010). Managing football: an international perspective (1st ed., dodr. ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 285. ISBN 978-1-85617-544-9.
- ^ "Previous FIFA World Cups". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
- ^ "Le squadre più tifate al mondo: classifica e numero di fan" (in Italian). Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Sport più seguiti: la (forse) sorprendente classifica mondiale" (in Italian). 15 March 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ "Basket Eurolega, l'albo d'oro delle squadre più forti e titolate d'Europa" (in Italian). July 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ Foot, John (2012). Pedalare! Pedalare!: a history of Italian cycling. London: Bloomsbury. p. 312. ISBN 978-1-4088-2219-7.
- ^ Hall, James (23 November 2012). "Italy is best value skiing country, report finds". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
- ^ "Il tennis è il quarto sport in Italia per numero di praticanti". Federazione Italiana Tennis. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
- ^ "Enzo Ferrari" (in Italian). Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ Elio Trifari. "Che sorpresa: Italia presente a tutti i Giochi" (in Italian). Retrieved 4 January 2022.
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