What are the most popular sports in Australia?

Australia has a rich sporting culture, with more than 13 million Australian adults playing a sport recreationally. The land down under enjoys great beaches and majority of the country basks in more than 3,000 hours of sunshine per year, making it the ideal place to be outdoors and enjoy a wide variety of sports.

Here is a list of the 11 most popular sports in Australia:

1. Australian Rules Football (AFL)

Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules or more simply football or footy, is a uniquely Australian sport and is the most popular football code in the country. It is a contact sort that is played on a large oval field, most commonly a modified cricket ground with 18 players on each team. AFL teams score by kicking the oval ball between two central goal posts or by kicking the ball between the central or outer post.

2. Cricket

Cricket is one of the most popular sports in Australia, so much so that it is considered the national sport in the summer season. The Australian Men’s Cricket Team is one of the most successful teams in the world, having won the Cricket World Cup five times. They are also the oldest joint cricket team in test cricket history, with their first ever test match dating back to 1877.

3. Rugby League

Rugby League is one of the most popular sports in Australia since the first game being played in 1908. The sport is popular in New South Wales and Queensland, with the National Rugby League (NRL) being the premier competition in the country. Rugby League is the dominant winter football code. In 2022, Rugby League became the most watch sport on Australian TV with more than 137 million viewers.

4. Rugby Union

Rugby Union is also a popular sport in Australia, with the Wallabies representing the country on an international level. There are different formats of rugby, including non-contact 7s to fifteen-a-side. The sports origins dates back to 1864.

5. Soccer (Football)

Football, commonly called soccer in Australia has become quite popular considering how new it is to the league system in the country, with the first Australian soccer league system introduced in 1977. It is now the sport with the most participation in the country.

6. Netball

Netball is a popular sport among women in Australia with an estimated one million players nationally.  Netball was initially called Women’s Basketball but in the 70s the term netball was coined.

7. Basketball

Basketball is growing significantly in Australia, with the National Basketball League (NBL) being the top professional league in the country. At this time, there are more than 300 000 kids playing basketball and there are currently 3 Aussies NBA draft picks in 2021/22, and two in the top 10. Seven Aussie men played in the NBA in 2021/22, and nine women in the WNBA.

8. Tennis

According to the Australian governments Human Rights’s Commission tennis is the fifth most popular sport for recreation and exercise in the largest Oceanic country with 689,000 men and 643,000 women playing. The Australian Open is also one of the four Grand Slam tournaments that takes place annually.

9. Swimming

AusPlay found that 3.23 million Australians over the age of 15 participate in swimming. Swimming is the most popular sport for kids. Swimming is responsible for 71 of Australia’s 167 gold medals in the Olympics. Australia has also produced some of the best swimmers in history like Australia’s most decorated Olympian, Ian Thorpe.

10. Golf

According to AusPlay, golf has been increasing in popularity with a 21% increase in round players participation, totaling 210,000. More than 24,000 new players joined golf clubs from the year 2020 to 2021, that’s a 6.4% increase making it the biggest increase since the collection of sports data which began in 1970.

11. Surfing

Surfing is almost synomous with Australia and that’s for good reason, considering that the country is surrounded by the oceans and seas and they are known for having first class waves. It has become part of the Australian identity and it is pretty common for Australians to know how to surf, with between 2.5 and 3.5 million active surfers.

More popular sports in Australia include:

• Athletics – that includes running and jogging
• Cycling
• Volleyball
• Mountain biking
• Bowling