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Sports inBrazil are those that are widely practiced and popular in the country, as well as others which originated there or have some cultural significance.Brazilians are heavily involved in sports.Football is the most popular sport in Brazil. Other than football, sports likevolleyball,basketball,Brazilian jiu-jitsu,mixed martial arts,tennis, andmotor sports, especiallyFormula One, enjoy high levels of popularity.
Football is the most popular sport in Brazil. TheBrazil national football team, governed by theConfederação Brasileira de Futebol, has won theFIFA World Cup a record 5 times, in1958,1962,1970,1994, and2002,[1] and is the only team to succeed in qualifying for every FIFA World Cup competition ever held. Brazil also hosted the1950 and2014 World Cups, becoming the only country in South America to have hosted two World Cups (Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile being the other former hosts). It is among the favorites to win the trophy every time the competition is scheduled. After Brazil won its thirdWorld Cup in 1970, they were awarded theJules Rimet Trophy, whenPelé, one of the most recognized football players in history and all-time top scorer in the sport, led Brazil to three of those championships. The national football team has also won theCopa América 9 times, theOlympic football tournament twice and is the most successful team in theFIFA Confederations Cup, with 4 titles. All of the leading players in the national teams are prominent in the football world, includingPelé,Zico,Garrincha,Ronaldo,Roberto Carlos,Romário,Ronaldinho,Taffarel,Falcão,Rivaldo andNeymar in the men's game, andMarta in the women's game. Some of these players can be considered super-stars, achieving celebrity status internationally and signing multi-million club contracts, as well as advertisement and endorsement deals..
Brazil invented some variations of football, such asbeach soccer andfootvolley.Futsal, having been invented inUruguay, neighboring Brazil, is also widely practiced in the country, mainly in the state ofRio Grande do Sul, neighboring Uruguay.[2]
Infutsal, Brazil is one of the greatest world powers. Before the Fifa Era, there were three World Cups, organized by the former International Federation of Indoor Soccer (Fifusa), where Brazil was world champion twice. Brazil is the biggest champion of theFIFA Futsal World Cup, with 6 titles.Falcão is the most renowned male Brazilian player.[3]
Inbeach soccer, Brazil is among the world's greatest powers, being the biggest champion of theFIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, with 6 titles. In addition, it has nine world titles from the former competition organized by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW), theBeach Soccer World Championships.[4]
Footvolley is a recreational sport widely practiced on Brazilian beaches, mainly inRio de Janeiro, where it was invented. It was created by Octavio de Moraes in the 1970s. It is a mix offootball andvolleyball, where the players must use their feet and head to get the ball over the net and into the opponent's side, and is played on the beaches. It is one of the most popular beach sports in Brazil. Footvolley started out with 5 players on each team but later got cut to 2 players on each team and is still so to this day.[5]
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilianmartial art that combines elements ofdance andmusic, and is marked by deft, tricky movements that are often played on the ground or completelyinverted. It also has a strong acrobatic component in some versions and is always played with music. It is a culturally significant sport, developed in colonial times by slaves. Nowadays, capoeira is practiced internationally and found its way into popular culture, through manycomputer games and movies.
Mixed martial arts is one of the most popular sports in Brazil. It is considered to be only behindfootball in terms of national popularity.[6]
Brazilian jiu-jitsu originated in Brazil in the 1910s, and emphasizes ground fighting techniques and submission holds involving joint-locks and chokeholds.Hélio Gracie had a rather small build and changed jiu-jitsu (originating fromJapan) to be used by anyone in a real fight situation. The belt progression system goes in the following order: White, Blue, Purple, Brown, Black, Red-black, and Red.Gracie Jiu Jitsu became known internationally in the 1990s, due to the very skilled fighters in the Gracie family, namely Hélio Gracie,Royce Gracie, andRickson Gracie, which are also responsible for spreading the practice ofvale tudo, meaning "anything goes", which evolved into mixed martial arts tournaments such asPRIDE,DREAM, and theUltimate Fighting Championship. Many Brazilian fighters have become significant figures in various mixed martial art tournaments abroad, some notable Brazilian fighters in these tournaments includeAnderson Silva,Wanderlei Silva,Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira,Vitor Belfort,Mauricio Rua,José Aldo,Charles Oliveira,Murilo Bustamante,Junior dos Santos,Rafael dos Anjos,Fabricio Werdum,Lyoto Machida,Alex Pereira andAmanda Nunes.[7][8][9][10]
Brazil is themost successful country involleyball and it is Brazil's second most popular sport.[11][12][13]
TheBrazil men's national volleyball team is currently the champion in 3 competitions, theVolleyball World Cup, theVolleyball World Championship and theOlympic Volleyball Tournament, and is ranked number 1 in theFIVB World Rankings
TheBrazil women's national volleyball team is ranked number 4 in theFIVB World Rankings.
Brazil has professional volleyball team competitions: theSuperliga Masculina de Vôlei and its female counterpart,Superliga Feminina de Vôlei. Among the most successful teams areMinas, Banespa, and Santo André for the male league, and Rexona,Osasco, andFlamengo for the female league.
Brazilian younger teams maintain the same success rate as the senior squads. As of March 25, 2007, in theFIVB men ranking for junior and youth, Brazil is placed first for women, while the men are placed second.
Gold (1992, 2004, 2016)
Silver (1984, 2008, 2012) Gold (2002, 2006, 2010) Silver (1982, 2014, 2018)
Bronze (2022) Gold (2003, 2007, 2019) Gold (1993, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010) Gold (2021) Gold (1997, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017)
Gold (2008, 2012) Silver (2020) Bronze (1996, 2000, 2024) Silver (1994, 2006, 2010, 2022) Bronze (2014) Gold (1994, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2017) Silver (2019, 2021, 2022) Gold (2005, 2013)Brazil is one of the strongest countries in the world inbeach volleyball, a sport widely practiced in the country due to its long coastline, mainly in Rio de Janeiro, on the coast of Santa Catarina, and in the Northeast Region of the country. Until the 2024 Olympic Games, the country had2 golds, 3 silvers and 1 bronze in the men's modality, and 2 golds, 4 silvers and 2 bronzes in the women's modality. In world championships, Brazil has already won numerous titles.[14]
Basketball is the third most popular sport in Brazil. TheBrazil men's national basketball team won three Olympic bronze medals, in1948,1960 and1964, and has won theBasketball World Championship twice, in1959 and1963. They have also been runners-up on two occasions in 1954 and 1970, as well as coming third on two occasions in 1967 and 1978, meaning that the Brazilian national basketball team has won in total six medals at theBasketball World Championship. The Brazilian national basketball team has also won a total of nine medals at theFIBA Americas Championship, three gold (1984, 2005, 2009) two silver (1988, 2001), and four bronze (1989, 1992, 1995, 1997). TheBrazil women's national basketball team was Olympic runner-up in1996 and bronze medalist in2000, in addition to being world champion in1994 and bronze in1971.Oscar Schmidt is the most renowned male Brazilian player, andHortência Marcari the most renowned female. Both were inducted to theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and theFIBA Hall of Fame.[15][16]
The major basketball leagues are calledNovo Basquete Brasil – the men's tournament – and Liga de Basquete Feminino – the female tournament. Various famous Brazilian players play in those leagues. In addition, on the men's side, various players are competing in theNational Basketball Association and European leagues. A record nine Brazilians were on NBA rosters at the start of the2015–16 season—Leandro Barbosa,Bruno Caboclo,Cristiano Felício,Marcelo Huertas,Nenê,Raul Neto,Lucas Nogueira,Tiago Splitter, andAnderson Varejão.[17]
Brazil has produced threeFormula One world champions:Emerson Fittipaldi (1972 and1974),Nelson Piquet (1981,1983 and1987), andAyrton Senna (1988,1990 and1991). In total, Brazilian drivers have won 101 Formula One races (as of the2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix), distributed between Senna (41), Piquet (23), Fittipaldi (14),Felipe Massa (11),Rubens Barrichello (11), andJosé Carlos Pace (1).
In1994, Brazil declared three days of national mourning after Senna'sdeath during the1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
From Emerson Fittipaldi's debut in1970 to Felipe Massa's retirement in2017, there were 48 consecutive Formula One seasons with at least one Brazilian driver. As of the2024 season, Massa is the last Brazilian driver to have competed full-time in Formula One. However,Gabriel Bortoleto is set to join the grid in the2025 season.[18]
TheBrazilian Grand Prix has been on the Formula One calendar since1972, currently held in October or November. Two circuits have been host to the race:Jacarepagua andInterlagos. The Jacarepagua circuit, located inRio de Janeiro, hosted the1978 race, and then between1981 and1989. From1972 to1977, in1979 and1980, and from1990 to the present, the Grand Prix has been held at the Interlagos circuit inSão Paulo.
One Formula One team has been based in Brazil:Fittipaldi Automotive, owned by Emerson Fittipaldi and his brotherWilson. The team competed from 1974 to 1982.
Brazil has produced several notable drivers inAmerican open-wheel car racing, some of whom also competed in Formula One.Emerson Fittipaldi was the1989 CART champion,Gil de Ferran was the2000 CART and2001 CART champion,Cristiano da Matta was the2002 CART champion and theTony Kanaan was2004 IndyCar Series champion. Brazilian drivers have won theIndianapolis 500, the most prestigious race in American open-wheel racing, eight times: Emerson Fittipaldi in1989 and1993;Hélio Castroneves in2001,2002,2009 and2021;Gil de Ferran in2003; and Tony Kanaan in2013. Castroneves is one of only four drivers that have won the Indianapolis 500 four times, and the only one from a country other than the United States. Two American open-wheel races have been held in Brazil:CART hosted theRio 400 (later the Rio 200) at Jacarepagua from 1996 to 2000, and theIndyCar Series hosted theSão Paulo Indy 300 from 2010 to 2013.
In the sports car racing scene,Raul Boesel won the1987World Sportscar Championship and got close to winning the1991Le Mans 24 Hours, when he was second, andRicardo Zonta won the1998 FIA GT Championship. Boesel was part of the winning team at the 1988Daytona 24 Hours, a race which was also won by fellow BraziliansChristian Fittipaldi (twice, in 2004 and2014),Oswaldo Negri (2012), Kanaan (2015) andPipo Derani (2016). Fittipaldi also won theUnited SportsCar Championship in2014 and2015, alongside Portuguese team-mateJoão Barbosa. Also theMil Milhas Brasil, an endurance race, has the longest history in the Brazilian racing events.
Nelson Piquet Jr. was the inauguralFormula E champion in2014-15 andLucas Di Grassi won2016-17 with AudiAbt Sportsline .
The popularity ofauto racing is rising, with theStock Car Pro Series andFórmula Truck being broadcast nationally. TheSouth American Formula Three series was mostly held in Brazil until 2013, and developed several South American circuit drivers. In 2014 it was succeeded by a revivedBrazilian Formula Three Championship.
In motorcycle racing, the most prominent Brazilian racer inMotoGP as of now isAlex Barros, who is the most experienced racer of all time in the category, with 276 race starts and seven wins. TheBrazilian motorcycle Grand Prix was held four times between 1987 and 1992, followed by theRio de Janeiro motorcycle Grand Prix which was held nine times between 1995 and 2004.
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Maria Esther Bueno is the most successful Brazilian tennis player at theGrand Slam tournaments. She won seven single titles (four wins at theUS Open and three atWimbledon) and twelve doubles titles (five at Wimbledon, four at theUS Open, two in theRoland Garros, including a mixed doubles title). In the men's game,Gustavo Kuerten is the most successful Brazilian player, with three wins at Roland Garros (1997, 2000, 2001) as well as being ranked number one in the world for almost a full year. However, bad administration and lack of serious support resulted in poor results in the present years and scarcity of national-level competitiveness.Beatriz Haddad Maia is the first Brazilian woman to enter the world's top 20 in the Open Era.[19]
Brazil has also had other historically important players, such asLuiz Mattar,Fernando Meligeni andThomaz Bellucci, who were already top 30 in theATP rankings.[20]
In the country, Doubles has been stronger, especially withMarcelo Melo,Bruno Soares andLuisa Stefani. Melo has been ranked No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings and Soares has achieved a peak ranking of No. 2. Stefani was the first Brazilian woman to reach the world's top 10 in the Open Era. Melo won his first Grand Slam title inRoland Garros and his second inWimbledon. He has also reached at least the semifinals of all four Grand Slams, has won 9 Masters 1000 titles and reached the doubles final on the ATP World Tour Finals. In 2009, he reached the mixed doubles final at theFrench Open with AmericanVania King, becoming the seventh Brazilian to reach the final of a Grand Slam and the first sinceGustavo Kuerten. Soares won the2016 Australian Open andUS Open Men's Doubles withJamie Murray,2020 US Open Men's Doubles withMate Pavić, the US Open Mixed Doubles title in2012 (withEkaterina Makarova) and2014 (withSania Mirza), and the2016 Australian Open Mixed Doubles withElena Vesnina. He also has 4 Masters 1000 titles (a double championship at Canada's Masters 1000 in 2013 and 2014, the Cincinnati Masters 1000 in 2018 and the Shanghai Masters 1000 in 2019).[21][22]
Swimming is very popular in Brazil. Being a sport usually recommended for children, and suitable for a country with a tropical climate like Brazil, swimming has grown and started to produce important sporting icons. Although the country had some success with swimmers likePiedade Coutinho,Tetsuo Okamoto,Manuel dos Santos andJosé Fiolo, the sport started to become more popular withDjan Madruga,Rômulo Arantes andRicardo Prado in 1970s and 1980s; going throughGustavo Borges andFernando Scherer in the 1990s, Brazilian swimming today manufactures great talents in succession.[23][24]
Today Brazil has one of the best swimmers in the world,César Cielo, who is an Olympic champion, world champion and world record holder; olympic medalists likeThiago Pereira,Bruno Fratus andFernando Scheffer; swimmers likeFelipe França andKaio de Almeida who managed to beat world records in their events, as well as medalists in World Championships, such asNicholas Santos,João Gomes Júnior,Felipe Lima andGuilherme Costa. Even female swimming has been developing and creating athletes likeEtiene Medeiros,Ana Marcela Cunha andPoliana Okimoto. With the multiplication of the emergence of talents, swimming has been standing out and conquering its space. Brazil hosted the1995 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) and won the2014 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m).[25][26]
Athletics is a traditional sport in Brazil, winning Olympic medals for the country. In athletics, the best known athletes areAdhemar Ferreira da Silva,João Carlos de Oliveira,Joaquim Cruz,Robson Caetano,Maurren Maggi andFabiana Murer. Other important athletes in the history of Brazil are:Thiago Braz,Alison dos Santos,Nélson Prudêncio,Jadel Gregório,Zequinha Barbosa,Sanderlei Parrela,Claudinei Quirino,Vicente de Lima,André Domingos,Édson Ribeiro,Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima,Caio Bonfim,Rosângela Santos,Letícia Oro Melo,Mauro Vinícius da Silva andDarlan Romani.[27][28][29]
In Brazil, athletics tends to lose many practitioners tofootball, who grant better salaries to athletes. It's one of the reasons why the country has less global prominence in events such as the100 metres. The sport is usually concentrated in some clubs specializing in athletics, and also receives attention and support from the country's Armed Forces. Brazil has a tradition in events such astriple jump and hosts important long-distance running events, such asSaint Silvester Road Race.
Judo is another sport usually recommended for children in Brazil, and therefore it is widely practiced. The country has a growing international tradition in the sport, constantly winning medals and titles. The sport was brought and developed by its largeJapanese community. The greatest exponents of the sport until today wereAurélio Miguel,Sarah Menezes andRogério Sampaio, Olympic champions. Brazil also had several other important judo athletes, such as the Olympic runners-upDouglas Vieira,Tiago Camilo,Carlos Honorato,Willian Lima, and the Olympic bronze medalistsChiaki Ishii,Luiz Onmura,Walter Carmona,Henrique Guimarães,Leandro Guilheiro,Flávio Canto,Ketleyn Quadros,Felipe Kitadai,Mayra Aguiar,Daniel Cargnin,Rafael Silva andLarissa Pimenta.[30][31][32] Brazil also had world champion judokas, such asJoão Derly, who forced changes to the rules of world judo due to their dominance.[33]
Handball is a sport that came withGerman immigrants, which is very popular in schools around the world. It's the second most practiced sport in schools in Brazil, second only to football / futsal. TheBrazil women's national handball team is, in terms of results, the best handball team in the Americas. At the2013 World Women's Handball Championship, they were crowned champions, defeating the host team 22-20. They alsofinished fifth at the 2016 Olympics.[34][35] TheBrazil men's national handball team has as its great feat having finished in 7th place in the2025 World Men's Handball Championship, defeating European powerhouses of the sport and being eliminated only by the eventual champion of the tournament,[36] in addition to also having finished in 7th place in the2016 Summer Olympics.[37]
At theBeach Handball World Championships Brazil has more titles for both genders than any country.[38]
Boxing is another popular sport, especially inNortheast Brazil; it's considered a sport of the working class.Eder Jofre,Acelino Freitas,Maguila,Miguel de Oliveira,Valdemir Pereira,Rose Volante andPatrick Teixeira are former world champions. In the Olympics, Brazil won the gold medal in the category of up to 60 kg with the fighterRobson Conceição, being the first Olympic gold in Brazilian boxing.Hebert Conceição was also an Olympic champion. Other Olympic medalists in Brazil wereServílio de Oliveira,Yamaguchi Falcão,Esquiva Falcão,Abner Teixeira,Adriana Araújo andBeatriz Ferreira. Another famous boxer in Brazil wasMaguila, a heavyweight who came to faceEvander Holyfield andGeorge Foreman.[39][40]
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Skateboarding is a popular sport in Brazil. According to a study of 2019, the estimated number of skateboarders in Brazil was close to 8.5 million (the majority in the state ofSão Paulo).[41] Many of the world's top skateboarders are Brazilian, includingBob Burnquist,Sandro Dias, Lincoln Ueda, Rodrigo Menezes, Luan de Oliveira, Felipe Gustavo, Rodil Ferrugem, Nilton Neves, Fabrizio Santos, Alex Carolino, Christiano Mateus, Karen Jones, Ricardo Porva, Daniel Vieira, and Og de Souza.Fabiola da Silva is well known foraggressive inline skating.[42]
With the rise of skateboarding to the category of Olympic sport in 2020,Rayssa Leal became famous for her silver medal obtained at the age of 13.Pedro Barros,Kelvin Hoefler andAugusto Akio also won Olympic medals. Other famous skaters likePâmela Rosa andLetícia Bufoni also stand out.[43]
Surfing is one of the most popular aquatic sports in Brazil, with several professional Brazilian surfers competing in the men's and women'sASP World Tour, including former world championsGabriel Medina andAdriano de Souza. Brazil is known for producinglongboard surfers (such as former world champion Phil Razjman), big-rider surfers (such as Carlos Burle and two-time XXL award winnerMaya Gabeira) and well-knownbodyboarders.
Brazilian surfing has progressively evolved to become one of the biggest forces in the sport in the world.Fábio Gouveia reached number 5 in the world in 1992. In the 2010s, the Brazilian Storm appears, with several Brazilians getting closer and closer to the world title, until Gabriel Medina conquers the same in 2014 and Adriano de Souza wins in 2015. In 2020 surfing ascends to the category of Olympic sport andÍtalo Ferreira becomes Olympic champion.Filipe Toledo was also world champion, in 2022 and 2023.[44][45]
Despite yachting and equestrianism being inaccessible sports for the general population, Brazil has a great tradition in yachting, and, to a lesser extent, but no less important, tradition in equestrianism. The biggest center for these sports in Brazil isRio de Janeiro and its neighboring cityNiterói. Several Olympic medalists in yachting have trained inGuanabara Bay, such asMartine Grael,Clinio Freitas,Daniel Adler,Eduardo Penido,Isabel Swan,Kiko Pellicano,Marcelo Ferreira,Marcos Soares,Nelson Falcão andRonaldo Senfft. The country also has olympic medalists from São PauloRobert Scheidt,Torben Grael,Kahena Kunze,Reinaldo Conrad,Alexandre Welter,Bruno Prada andPeter Ficker. In equestrianism, theGávea Hippodrome trained athletes such asRodrigo Pessoa and his fatherNelson Pessoa, as well asLuiz Felipe de Azevedo; the country also has olympic medalists from São PauloÁlvaro de Miranda Neto and from Rio Grande do SulAndré Johannpeter.[46]
Chess is a sport with many fans in Brazil.Henrique Mecking, known asMequinho, is considered the most important Brazilian chess player, having reached his peak in 1977, when he was considered the third best player in the world, surpassed only byAnatoly Karpov andViktor Korchnoi. More recently, in an online blitz game played in May 2020,Luis Paulo Supi defeated reigning World ChampionMagnus Carlsen in 18 moves after sacrificing his own Queen.[47] In April 2021,Chess.com awarded that game the first spot in their Chess.com Immortal Game Contest.[48][49][50]
Table tennis is very popular and widely played in Brazil, and the country has a considerable tradition in this sport. The greatest player in the history of the country isHugo Calderano, who reached number 3 in the world in 2022 (becoming the greatestAmericas player of all time), and was the first male table tennis player from the Americas to win theTable Tennis World Cup, reach the final of theWorld Table Tennis Championships and reach the semi-finals of the Olympic Games. Other historically important players in the country areGustavo Tsuboi,Cláudio Kano,Hugo Hoyama,Biriba,Cazuo Matsumoto,Thiago Monteiro andBruna Takahashi.[51][52]
Intaekwondo, BrazilianNatália Falavigna was a bronze medalist at the Olympic Games in 2008 and 4th place in 2004.Maicon Siqueira won bronze in 2016.Diogo Silva finished 4th in 2004 and 2012,Milena Titoneli finished 4th in 2020, andEdival Pontes was a bronze medalist at the Olympic Games in 2024.[53]
In 2017,Karate had around 250 thousand registered practitioners in Brazil, and at the time, it was the 4th country with the most registered practitioners in the world, in the ranking of the International Karate Federation.[54] In 2019, it was estimated that around 1 million people practiced this sport in the country.[55]Douglas Brose is the biggest name in the history of the sport in Brazil, having been a three-time world champion.[56]
Brazil has a large training center for Olympic athletes inartistic gymnastics, which has already revealed athletes such asRebeca Andrade,Arthur Zanetti,Daiane dos Santos,Jade Barbosa,Flávia Saraiva,Arthur Mariano,Diego Hypólito andDaniele Hypólito.[57] Inrhythmic gymnastics, the Brazilian team won an unprecedented bronze in the general event of the Athens, Greece stage of theRhythmic Gymnastics World Cup, held in March 2023.[58]
Yane Marques is the only person born in South America to win an Olympic medal inmodern pentathlon (until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games), having also been the first person in Latin America to do so.[59]
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Insprint canoeing, The BrazilianIsaquias Queiroz is the best canoeist in the history of South America, being the only Olympic champion of this modality on the continent and adding a total of four Olympic medals until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.Erlon Silva also won Olympic silver for Brazil in canoeing.[60][61]
Inslalom canoeing, the best Brazilians in history to date areAna Sátila andPepe Gonçalves, who reached the Olympic finals and won medals in World Championships.[62][63]
Marcus Vinicius D'Almeida, in therecurve bow category, is the greatest malearchery athlete in the history of South America, having been number 1 in the world in 2023, and world runner-up in 2021.Ane Marcelle dos Santos went to the 3nd round of the2016 Olympic Games.[64][65]
Although Brazil has little tradition infencing, the country has produced some renowned athletes.Nathalie Moellhausen was world champion in 2019 and reached the quarter-finals of the 2016 Olympic Games inWomen's épée.Guilherme Toldo reached the quarter-finals of the 2016 Summer Olympics inMen's foil.[66]
Brazil also does not have a long tradition indiving, but work carried out over the decades allowed the emergence of some high-level athletes. The most relevant so far areIngrid de Oliveira, who finished 4th at the2022 World Aquatics Championships,César Castro, 5th place on the 3-meter springboard at the2009 Worlds, andJuliana Veloso, 10th place on the platform in2001.[67]
Weightlifting is a sport that began to develop more recently in Brazil. To date, the biggest names in the sport in the country have beenFernando Reis, who won a bronze medal at the2018 World Weightlifting Championships, andLaura Amaro, who won silver in the subdivision of the event called Snatch, at the2021 World Weightlifting Championships.[68][69][70]
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American football is played by young people in some states. The most popular varieties areflag football (especially inSão Paulo) and beach American football (played in coastal cities such asRio de Janeiro,Recife andJoão Pessoa).
Also, the sport is already one of the most played around the country, with approximately 130 teams. TheSuperliga Nacional de Futebol Americano (National American Football Superleague) is a recently created Brazilian American football league, created and organized by theConfederação Brasileira de Futebol Americano [pt] (Brazilian Confederation of American Football).
Rugby has been played in Brazil since at least 1888. Although it has been played in Brazil for as long as football, it has never enjoyed its popularity, it's also mostly played amateurly. TheBrazil national rugby union team has so far never qualified for aRugby World Cup, it did secured theSouth American Rugby Championship for the first time in 2018 and in November the national team had an historical friendly with theMāori All Blacks. A domestic club competition, theCampeonato Brasileiro de Rugby, has been contested annually since 1964.Rugby returned to the Olympics in Rio 2016 (in the 7-a-side tournament form) - seeRugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics.As 2016 Olympic hosts, Brazil men's and women's teams automatically qualified.
The sport is not widely played in schools, but is common in universities. All 27 states were reported to have rugby clubs, but around 50% of the active clubs are located in the São Paulo state.[71] As of 2016, rugby was played by about 60,000 Brazilians and has experienced sizeable growth in the country.[72]
Following the success of their women's programme on the 7s world series, in 2024 theYaras defeated Colombia, and earned qualification as the South American representative for the2025 Women's Rugby World Cup held in England.[73]
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Baseball is traditionally practiced mostly by the Japanese communities in Brazil.[75][76] It is not very popular in the country, but with the cable TV coverage of the games, baseball is also gaining fans among non-nisseis. There are several regional leagues on the rise in the country, however, the difficulty in findingbaseball fields prevents regular practice of the sport that is often played on adapted football fields.
TheNational team appeared in the2013 World Baseball Classic.Paulo Orlando andYan Gomes are the only Brazilians to win theWorld Series. Brazil will participate again in 2026.[77]
The first important feat of Brazilian baseball was achieved in 2023: when participating in the2023 Pan American Games, the Brazilian team surprised everyone by defeating countries that were in the top 10 in the world and that have a long tradition in the sport, such as Cuba and Venezuela, in addition to Colombia, finishing with the silver medal.[78]
Inhorse racing,Silvestre de Sousa was theBritish flat racing Champion Jockey in 2015. The Brazilian-bred horseGlória de Campeão won theDubai World Cup, then the world's richest Thoroughbred race, in2010 with Brazilian jockeyT. J. Pereira aboard.
Curling is a growing sport in Brazil; the creation of a national team was inspired by the audience for the2010 Winter Olympics inVancouver. A temporary rink in the Eldorado Shopping Center in São Paulo featured Norwegian curlerLinn Githmark and a winter-sports complex is planned, probably in the city ofCampos do Jordão.
Frescobol is a native[79] Brazilian sport similar totennis andcricket, played with a wooden racket and soft rubber ball on the beach with no scoring system. It began during the 1960s onIpanema beach.Biribol is another native sport created inBirigüi,São Paulo state. It is a kind ofvolleyball played in a swimming pool.Peteca (shuttlecock) is a native sport which originated from indigenous games.
Rodeo enjoys significant popularity in some rural regions of southern states. The rodeo event ofbull riding has become a significant niche sport on its own since the success ofAdriano Moraes on the US-basedProfessional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit in the 1990s and 2000s. PBR now runs a national touring series in Brazil, and Brazilian riders are heavily represented on the main PBR circuit in the US.
Cricket has a burgeoning Brazilian women's national team, who won the2018 South American Women's Cricket Championship. SeeCricket in Brazil.
Due to the tropical and subtropical nature of theclimate of Brazil, it has not traditionally competed in theWinter Olympics, although it made its first appearance in the1992 Winter Olympics, and most recently participated in the2014 Winter Olympics. However, Brazil has been competing in theSummer Olympics since1920. Brazil is currently ranked 33rd in the overall ranking of medals in the Summer Olympics.Rio de Janeiro hosted the2016 Summer Olympics, the first Olympic Games held in South America.
On television,football is by far the most watched sport on both free and paid television, games from regional teams often guarantee the top audience in its cities, also European football (especiallyUEFA Champions League) are guaranteed high viewing figures.
Inmotorsport, the main national competitions areStock Car Brasil andFórmula Truck.Formula One is considered the second most watched sport in terms of TV audience, behind football. TheIndyCar Series also has a good fanbase in Brazil.
MMA in a short period of time has become the second most broadcast sport on Brazilian TV, due mainly to the resounding success of Brazilian fighters in theUFC.
Both men and women'svolleyball enjoy very good viewing figures, especially theBrazilian national volleyball teams,Superliga andbeach volleyball matches.
Basketball is also widely broadcast, prominently the national league (NBB), theNBA andFIBA. Basketball's level of popularity is returning to its historical levels.
In recent years,American football has been gaining fast popularity, withNFL games guaranteeing an audience onESPN Brasil andEsporte Interativo. Also, someTorneio Touchdown (Brazilian League) games are shown byBandSports.[80] In 2016, the two main leagues merged into the Superliga Nacional.
Curling was the latest sporting phenomenon in Brazil in terms of audience. During the2013 World Women's Curling Championship, held in late March inCanada, about 3.6 million people watched the channelSporTV, leading audiences among sports channels onpay TV. The audience was even greater during themen's worlds that year.[81]
Bossaball is a team sport that originated in Brazil and was conceptualised by Belgian Filip Eyckmans in 2004.[1] Bossaball is a ball game between two teams, combining elements of volleyball, football, and gymnastics with music into a sport. It is played on an inflatable court featuring a trampoline on each side of the net.[2] The trampolines allow the players to bounce high enough to spike the ball over the net.
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Some of the most important sports competitions hosted by the country were:[82][83][84][85]
Competitions hosted annually:
Discontinued events:
| Summer Olympic Sports |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Sports |
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| Other IOC Recognised Sports |
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| Paralympic and Disabled | ||
| Others Sports |
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