Sport in Uruguay has been an important part of

Uruguayan culture The culture of Uruguay is diverse in its nature since the nation's population is one of multicultural origins. Uruguay has a legacy of artistic and literary traditions, especially for its small size. The culture of Uruguay is known to be heavily ...

, since the early start of the nation. Winners of such important awards such as the FIFA World Cup, the

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

, and Olympic medals, Uruguay has been a constantly successful sports nation in continental and world aspects.

Football

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

( Spanish: ''fútbol'') is the most popular sport in Uruguay. Uruguay has won an Olympic gold medal in 1924, and another one in 1928, which were considered the most important tournaments in football, before the FIFA World Cup began in 1930, hence the four stars on the Uruguayan jersey. The first World Cup, which Uruguay won, was held in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

. The Estadio Centenario was built for the World Cup, and serves to this day as the country's main football stadium. Uruguay also won the World Cup in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

, beating Brazil in Rio de Janeiro at the Estádio do Maracanã. The event has had astounding impacts on the history of the sport, due to Brazil being a heavily favoured team at that time, and is also known as the '' Maracanazo''. Uruguay produces well known football players such as Luis Suárez ( Atletico Madrid) and

Diego Godin Diego is a Spanish language, Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese language, Portuguese equivalent is Diogo (name), Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two majo ...

. Another Uruguayan player, Sebastian "El Loco" Abreu, became an iconic figure in Uruguay, after chipping a goal during the penalty shootout, against Ghana during the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

quarter-finals.

Basketball

Basketball has risen as a competitive alternative to football and rugby, and the

Uruguayan Basketball Federation The Uruguayan Basketball Federation ( es, Federación Uruguaya de Basketball, FUBB) is the governing body of basketball in Uruguay. It was founded in 1915, and is in charge of the senior Uruguayan national basketball team and the Liga Uruguaya de ...

boasts a proud early history. The Uruguay national basketball team was placed 6th in the first Olympic Games (Berlin in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

), 5th in London in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, 3rd in Helsinki in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

, 3rd in Melbourne in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

, 8th in Rome in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

, and 8th in Tokyo in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

. After this successful run, the team did not qualify as finalists in any Olympic tournament, until the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

in Los Angeles, in which they earned 6th place. Uruguay has also won 12 South American championships, and participated in many Pan-American and World Championships. Uruguay was the host for the

1967 FIBA World Championship The 1967 FIBA World Championship was the 5th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. It was hosted by Montevideo, Uruguay from 27 May to 11 June 1967. Venues Competing nations Competition form ...

. And took part in a co-bid for the

2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament will be the second to feature 32 teams. For the first time in its history, the World Cup will be ...

with Argentina but lost out to Philippines,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and Indonesia. The ''Liga Uruguaya'' (Uruguay's top league) attracts many players from Argentina and Brazil. Esteban Batista is the only Uruguayan to have played in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

. He played seventy games over two seasons for the Atlanta Hawks.

Rugby union

With a history dating back to the 1940s, rugby union is a popular recreational sport in Uruguay. The tragic crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, and the resulting books and films, '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'' and '' Alive'', brought Uruguayan rugby into the global limelight. Rugby union is considered the third most popular sport in Uruguay after Football and Basketball. The popularity of rugby increased significantly, after the national side qualified for the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professi ...

, and the subsequent

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

, this saw a renewed interest in the sport and broad media coverage of the game. Uruguay secured a historic victory over a much more fancied Fiji at the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

, winning 30-27. This was followed by a string of strong performances against more favoured opposition. The Uruguay national rugby union team, more commonly known as the ''Los Teros'' ( southern lapwing), represent Uruguay at the international level. The team is governed by the Unión de Rugby del Uruguay, and are the second highest ranked team in South America, after Argentina, at 17th in the world. Uruguayan rugby players such as Pablo Lemoine and Rodrigo Capó Ortega have enjoyed success in the professional European leagues.

Motorsport

Four Uruguayan drivers competed in Formula Two:

Eitel Cantoni Eitel Danilo Cantoni (listed in some sources as Heitel Cantoni, born in Montevideo, 4 October 1906 – died in Montevideo, 6 June 1997) was a racing driver from Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, Repúbli ...

Asdrúbal Fontes Bayardo Asdrúbal Esteban Fontes Bayardo, sometimes known as "Pocho" (26 December 1922, in Pan de Azúcar – 9 July 2006, in Montevideo) was a racing driver from Uruguay. During the mid to late 1950s, Fontes Bayardo participated in the fiercely competi ...

, Óscar González, and

Alberto Uria Alberto Uría (11 July 1924 – 4 December 1988), was a racing driver from Uruguay. He participated in two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 16 January 1955. He entered two Argentine Grand Prix races as a privateer runn ...

. The latter two shared a ride at the

1956 Argentine Grand Prix The 1956 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 22 January 1956 at Buenos Aires. It was race 1 of 8 in the 1956 World Championship of Drivers. With the withdrawal of Mercedes from Formula One, Fangio and Moss would begin the ...

and finished 6th. Gonzalo Rodríguez won the International Formula 3000 races at

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has he ...

, and Monaco, and finished 3rd in the 1998 and 1999 seasons. He got a ride in the

CART World Series ''CART World Series'' is a racing video game for the PlayStation console, developed by Sony Interactive Studios America and published by Sony Computer Entertainment and released in October 1997. ''CART World Series'' is based on the Championship ...

for Penske Racing, where he finished 12th in his debut, but was killed in a crash during practice for his second race. Uruguay has been a major force in South American rally. The most notable driver is

Gustavo Trelles Gustavo Trelles (born 15 November 1955 in Minas) is a Uruguayan former rally driver. He competed actively in the World Rally Championship from 1988 to 1993, mainly with a Lancia Delta Integrale, and from 1996 to 2002, mainly with a Mitsubishi L ...

, who won the FIA Group N World Cup four times straight from 1996 to 1999, finished runner-up in 1990, 2000, and 2001, and ranked 9th in the

1993 World Rally Championship season The 1993 World Rally Championship was the 21st season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 13 rallies. Juha Kankkunen won his fourth drivers' world championship in a Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD, ahead of François Delecour ...

, with a best result of fourth in the Rally Argentina. The ''Rally del Atlántico'', held in the Maldonado department, is regularly included in the South American Rally Championship. The two major purpose-built circuits are El Pinar and Mercedes, whereas several cities have hosted street races, including

, Punta del Este, and

Piriápolis Piriápolis is a city in the Maldonado Department of Uruguay. It is an important summer resort in the country, predating the larger and better known resort town of Punta del Este. Because it is mainly used as a resort, it has a relatively small per ...

. Major Argentine and South American road course championship series have raced at those places, most notably the Turismo Carretera,

TC 2000 The TC2000 (''Turismo Competición 2000'', formerly ''Súper TC2000'') is a touring car racing series held in Argentina since 1979. Rules Prior to 2012, engines of up to were allowed, with only limited modifications from standard engines. ...

Top Race Top Race V6 is a touring car race series held in Argentina. It was founded in 1997. The cars The Top Race V6 category sees the vehicles presented in silhouette form, with identical, strictly controlled mechanical specifications. Body styles cur ...

, and Formula Three Sudamericana, and also international karting and

motorcycling Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation, and small-displacement motorcycles are the most common motor vehicle in the most populous co ...

events. Conversely, Uruguayan drivers have raced in Argentina, most recently Juan Cáceres and José Pedro Passadore. Currently, Uruguay has national championships for road course racing (both automobiles and motorcycles),

rallying Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

, motocross, and

karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...

. NASCAR has offered a check to Uruguay so they can race the US in the Indy 500

Beach volleyball

Uruguay featured a men's national team in

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...

that competed at the

2018–2020 CSV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup The 2018–2020 CSV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup were a beach volleyball double-gender event. Teams from South American countries were split into groups of four, where an elimination bracket determined the 2 teams to advance to the next stage ...

Tennis

Tennis is a mildly popular sport in Uruguay, although Uruguayan players have not been as successful as the Argentinian and Brazilian ones.

Marcelo Filippini Marcelo Filippini (born 4 August 1967) is a former professional tennis player from Uruguay. In 1996, Filippini played what was longest known game in ATP Tour history at Casablanca, going to deuce 20 times with Alberto Berasategui in one game o ...

is Uruguay's most successful player, winning five singles titles, reaching the quarterfinals at the

1999 French Open The 1999 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament was held from 24 May until 6 June. It was the 103rd staging of the French Open, and the second Gran ...

, and achieving a rank of No. 30 in 1990. The

Uruguay Davis Cup team The Uruguay national tennis team represents Uruguay in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Asociación Uruguaya de Tenis. Uruguay had been playing in Group II since being relegated in 1996. In 2007, they won the Americas Zo ...

currently competes in Group I of the Americas regional Zone, and the

Uruguay Fed Cup team The Uruguay Billie Jean King Cup team represents Uruguay in the Billie Jean King Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Asociación Uruguaya de Tenis. They currently compete in the Americas Zone Group II. History Uruguay competed in its ...

competes in Group I as well. Pablo Cuevas is currently the second highest-ranked Uruguayan male player.ATPtennis.com - AThi Rankings
/ref>

References

{{Americas topic, Sport in