Sport in France

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The French "national" sport is football (soccer). The most-watched sports in France are football (soccer), basketball, rugby union, cycling, sailing and tennis.

Sport is encouraged in school, and local sports clubs receive financial support from the local governments.

The national stadium is the Stade de France.

Contents 1 Football 2 Basketball 3 Rugby union 4 Rugby league 5 Tennis 6 Cycling 7 Sailing 8 Pétanque 9 Table football 9.1 External links

[edit] Football

See also Football in France

Football in France is governed by the national body French Football Federation (FFF). The FFF organises both the men's and women's national teams.

It is the most popular sport in France with 2,146,752 licensed players (2005 statistics). The Ligue 1, the top national club competition is the biggest sport league in the country with an average attendance of 21,576 spectators per game for 380 games in the 2005/2006 season. France hosted the 1998 FIFA World Cup, which the national football team won.

[edit] Basketball

Basketball is the second most popular team sport in France after football with 447,942 licensed players (2005 statistics)

[edit] Rugby union

See also Rugby union in France

Rugby union was first introduced in the early 1870s by British residents. While football is definitely the most popular sport, rugby union is especially popular around Toulouse, the French Basque country, and Languedoc. It is the fourth french team sport with 235,675 licensed players (2005).

Elite French clubs participate in the domestic club competition - the Top 14. Clubs also compete in the European knock-out competition, the Heineken Cup.

The national side competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and are the current champions. France has been to every Rugby World Cup since its inception in 1987, and has been a runner-up on two occasions. France will be hosting the next World Cup, the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

[edit] Rugby league

See also Rugby league in France

Rugby league (rugby á 13 or jeu á 13) has been played in France since the 1930s. As with rugby union, the heartland of the game is the south of the country.

[edit] Tennis

Tennis is the second french sport for the number of licensed players with 1,054,513 licensed tennis players in France (2005). France holds the tennis Grand Slam tournament Roland Garros.

[edit] Cycling

France holds the annual cycling race Tour de France.

[edit] Sailing

Professional sailing in France is centred on singlehanded/shorthanded ocean racing with the pinnacle of this branch of the sport being the Vendee Globe singlehanded around the world race which starts every 4 years from the French Atlantic coast. Other significant events include the Solitaire du Figaro, Mini Transat 6.50, Tour de France a Voile and Route de Rhum transatlantic race. France has been a regular competitor in the Americas Cup since the 1970s.

[edit] Pétanque

The most played sport in France is Pétanque^{[citation needed]}. The social form of the sport of Pétanque is played by about 17 million people in France^{[citation needed]}. The category Sport Competition of Pétanque is played by about 480,000 persons licenced with the Federation Française de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal (FFPJP). The FFPJP is the 4th largest sports féderation in France. Professional players play the very competitive form of Pétanque which is called Pétanque Sport, under precise rules. It has to be noted that Pétanque is mostly played in the southern part of the country, while almost unknown in the northern part. Pétanque is not considered as a sport by many northern Frenchmen.

[edit] Table football

Table football (babyfoot) is a very popular pastime in bars and in homes in France, and the French are the predominant winners of worldwide table football competitions.

[edit] External links

• fifteen most popular sports in France (In French)