Sport in Cape Verde
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Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
has risen to prominence in a number of sporting areas in recent decades.


History

The first sport began in the island of São Vicente in the start of the 20th century, one of the first sports brought to the island was tennis and golf brought by the British and passengers visiting through Cape Verde. Later it spread to Santiago where the colonial capital was located and Sal. Kite surfing, windsurfing has recently increased in use and popularity in Cape Verde today.


Football

Football is the most popular sport in Cape Verde and has been for many years. Today it is one of the few countries that does not use the common division system (e.g. the Gambia, another small country uses the national division system and has the Premier and Second Divisions), another small country smaller in size is
São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...
who uses the same system as Cape Verde, but the system which Cape Verde used up to the 1990s having only a national championship match, the winner of each island competes in the national championships, sometimes when an island winner also won the championship as they won a national title in the previous season, a second place club competes, the national winner competes in the following season. The first edition was held in 1953 and was the Colonial Championships held up to 1974 as Cape Verde was under Portuguese rule. After Cape Verde became independent in 1975, it held its first edition in 1976, three championship competitions were cancelled, the first was difficulty of finding a winner from Sotavento, that year, other islands competed in the national championships. Mindelense also has the most national titles numbering 12. The first regional championship was São Vicente, its first edition was held in 1938. Mindelense won the most titles numbering 48, the highest of any of the regional championships in the world. The
Santiago Island League The Santiago Island League was a regional championship played in all of Santiago Island until 2002 when it was broken up into two present divisions, the North and the South zones, Cape Verde. It formed a part of the Santiago Regional Football As ...
is the second oldest and since 2001 and formally since 2003, broken up into two zones. There are 11 championships in 9 islands, two are in the North and South Zones. Cape Verde has over 100 football clubs. Youth championships are held in most islands. The nation also has the cup, the super cup and the opening tournament in each region, the Santiago North Zone does not have these competitions. The
Cape Verdean Cup A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. The ...
held its first edition in 2007, it was held four times up to 2012, afterwards it was cancelled. The winner of the cup from each island competed. Maio competed twice and Brava competed once. Santiago North never competed. There are 11 cup competitions, Santiago North does not have any, Santo Antão has both the North and South Zones and since 2016, the regional level. The Cape Verdean Super Cup took place in 2013 with its first edition, the champion featured a cup winner, Sporting Praia win their only title, a year later the champion faced a super cup winner from the previous year, Mindelense won their only title in the recent edition in 2014. The first club to compete at the African level was Sporting Praia in 1993, years after Cape Verde became a CAF member. A total of five clubs participated including Sporting Praia, Mindelense,
FC Derby Futebol Clube Derby (short form: FC Derby, second name: Derby São Vicente) is a football club that had played in the Premier division and the São Vicente Island League in Cape Verde and is Cape Verde's only affiliate of FC Porto and the oldest ...
, Boavista Praia and Travadores, only one club
SC Atlético Sport Club Atlético (first part, Portuguese meaning: "athletics", Capeverdean Crioulo, ALUPEC or ALUPEK: ''SK Atlétiku'') is a football (soccer) club based in Ribeira Brava and plays in São Nicolau Island League and had played in the Premier ...
was disqualified in 1992 due to that the football federation did not name the entrant on time. Mindelense is the oldest football club in Cape Verde. It also has the westernmost club in the whole of Africa named
Tarrafal de Monte Trigo Tarrafal de Monte Trigo is a settlement in the southwestern part of the island of Santo Antão, Cape Verde. In 2010 its population was 841. It is situated on the coast, 27 km west of the island capital Porto Novo. The settlement was mentione ...
, a lesser club and a newly established one who participated in the Santo Antão South Zone in the 2013-14 season. The Opening Tournaments (Association Cup in some islands) has one part with a club meeting once, some has three or four rounds than a final match. There are several venues for football,
Estádio da Várzea Estádio da Várzea is a multi-purpose stadium in Praia, Cape Verde just west of the city center's plateau in the subdivision of Várzea and on Avenida Cidade de Lisboa on its east side. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stad ...
in Praia, the capital is the most used, second is Mindelo's
Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena is a multi-use stadium in Mindelo, Cape Verde. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of FC Derby as well as CS Mindelense, Académica, GD Amarantes and Batuque FC and the lesse ...
is the second most used. Santiago has the most football venues. Boa Vista, Maio and Brava have only a venue each.


Basketball

Basketball is the country's second most popular sport, popularity continues to grow today. Today it is one of the few countries that does not use the common division system, another small country smaller in size is
São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...
who uses the same system as Cape Verde, but the system which Cape Verde used up to the 1990s having only a national championship match, the winner of each island competes in the national championships, sometimes when an island winner also won the championship as they won a national title in the previous season, a second place club competes, the national winner competes in the following season. The championship was first held after independence. ADESBA is the only champion to compete at the continental level in 2015.


Kite and wind surfing

Surfing is not done in Cape Verde. Other related sports such as kite and wind surfing are common in Cape Verde. It was introduced at the time of independence and was mainly dominant in the island of São Vicente. After the end of the 20th century, this type of sports was gaining in other islands notably Sal and Boa Vista which has a lot of sands and dunes with its desert-type landscape. Much of them were tourists. Its popularity was gaining in recent years in the two eastern islands mostly by tourists. It made Sal and Boa Vista the commonplace of kite and wind surfing in the country and does into the present day.


Futsal

Futsal, a sport originated in Brazil has increasing in popularity in Cape Verde.


Golf

A small golf course is located about 3 km south of
Mindelo Mindelo is a port cityCabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook ...
in the island of São Vicente and was the first of its kind in Cape Verde. More golf courses are planned especially in the Island of Sal and probably near
Salamansa Salamansa is a village in the northeastern part of the island of Sao Vicente, Cape Verde. It is situated on the north coast, approximately 5 km northeast of the city centre of Mindelo. In 2010 its population was 1,179. Salamansa is a fishin ...
.


Volleyball

Volleyball is another sport in Cape Verde. Cape Verde featured a women'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 CAVB Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.


Other sports

Other sports used in the country are tennis and cricket. Tennis is gaining in popularity and players in recent years. The most notable complex in the country are in Praia's Várzea in the west and another in Mindelo. Badminton in Cape Verde is not common. Cricket is another sport, one of the first sports brought to Cape Verde in the island of São Vicente. At the time, its popularity was mostly done by British visitors in the late 19th century and the 1900s at the height of ship service and refueling at
Porto Grande Bay Porto Grande Bay ( pt, Baía do Porto Grande), also Mindelo Bay, is a bay on the north coast of the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde. The main city of São Vicente, Mindelo, is situated at the bay. The Porto Grande Bay is a natural harbour. It ...
. Cricket remains popular today but not as much as that time, much of its dominance is in the island of São Vicente, a cricket club in existence today is GS Castilho.


See also

;Sports by island *
Sports in Sal, Cape Verde The island of Sal in Cape Verde in the east of the Barlavento Islands is home to several teams and clubs. The major professional club may now be Académico do Aeroporto do Sal, the remaining clubs are amateur or beginners. In 1976, Sal would hav ...
*
Sports in Santiago, Cape Verde The island of Santiago in Cape Verde in the middle of the Sotavento Islands is home to several teams and clubs. The major professional clubs are Sporting Praia, Boavista Praia and CD Travadores, semi-pro teams includes Académica da Praia and D ...
*
Sports in Santo Antão, Cape Verde The island of Santo Antão in Cape Verde in the west of the Barlavento Islands is home to several teams and clubs. The major amateur clubs are Sporting Clube do Porto Novo, Académica Porto Novo and Paulense. Its first football championship was ...
*
Sports in São Vicente, Cape Verde The São Vicente, Cape Verde, island of São Vicente in Cape Verde in the westcentral portion of the Barlavento Islands is home to several teams and clubs. The major professional clubs are CS Mindelense, FC Derby, Académica do Mindelo, Batuque FC ...


References

{{Africa topic, Sport in Sport in Africa