Sport in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

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 FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

, the French Open, and

Olympic medals An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid o ...

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

Football

Football (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''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

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 b ...

in Montevideo. The

Estadio Centenario Estadio Centenario is a stadium in the Parque Batlle of Montevideo, Uruguay, used primarily for football. The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centenary of Ur ...

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 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

, beating

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

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 Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Uruguayan Primera División club Nacional and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is ...

( Atletico Madrid) and Diego Godin. Another Uruguayan player, Sebastian "El Loco" Abreu, became an iconic figure in Uruguay, after chipping a goal during the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

, against

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

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 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

Basketball

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

has risen as a competitive alternative to football and rugby, and the Uruguayan Basketball Federation boasts a proud early history. The

Uruguay national basketball team The Uruguay national basketball team (Spanish: ''Selección de baloncesto de Uruguay'') represents Uruguay in men's international basketball competitions and it is governed by Federación Uruguaya de basketball, The team has made seven appearanc ...

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, 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 Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

, 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 * Jan ...

, 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 Patriarc ...

. 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 sec ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, 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 fo ...

. 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 Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

but lost out to

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, Japan and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. The ''Liga Uruguaya'' (Uruguay's top league) attracts many players from

and

Esteban Batista Esteban Damián Batista Hernández (born September 2, 1983) is a Uruguayan professional basketball player for Club Nacional de Football of the Liga Uruguaya de Basketball. He was the first ever Uruguayan to play in the NBA. Professional career ...

is the only Uruguayan to have played in the NBA. He played seventy games over two seasons for the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

Rugby union

With a history dating back to the 1940s,

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

is a popular recreational sport in Uruguay. The tragic crash of

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 The Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 was a chartered flight from Montevideo, Uruguay, bound for Santiago, Chile, that crashed in the Andes mountains on October 13, 1972. The accident and subsequent survival became known as the Andes flight disast ...

, and the resulting books and films, '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'' and ''

Alive Alive may refer to: *Life Books, comics and periodicals * ''Alive'' (novel), a 2015 novel by Scott Sigler * '' Alive: The Final Evolution'', a 2003 shonen manga by Tadashi Kawashima and Adachitoka * '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'', ...

'', 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, 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 The Uruguay national rugby union team ( Spanish: '' Selección de rugby de Uruguay'') represents Uruguay in men's international rugby union nicknamed ''Los Teros'', is governed by the Unión de Rugby del Uruguay. One of the older test sides in t ...

, 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 The Uruguayan Rugby Union ( es, Unión de Rugby del Uruguay) is the governing body for rugby union in Uruguay. Foundation and affiliation It was founded in 1951 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1989. They have been repr ...

, and are the second highest ranked team in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

, after Argentina, at 17th in the world. Uruguayan rugby players such as

Pablo Lemoine Pablo Adrian Lemoine (born 1 March 1975 in Montevideo) is a former Uruguayan rugby union player and former head coach of the Uruguayan national rugby team and German national team. He is now the head coach of the Chile national team. Playing ca ...

and Rodrigo Capó Ortega have enjoyed success in the professional European leagues.

Motorsport

Four Uruguayan drivers competed in

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009– 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name ...

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, Óscar González, and Alberto Uria. 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 th ...

and finished 6th. Gonzalo Rodríguez won the

International Formula 3000 The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become ...

races at Nürburgring,

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 Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, 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 Championshi ...

for

Penske Racing Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organizati ...

, 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 Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sport ...

. 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 Mitsubish ...

, 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 Argentina ( es, Rally de Argentina) is an Argentine rally competition that has been a round of the World Rally Championship, the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the South American Rally Championship and the Argentine Rally Championshi ...

. 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 Montevideo,

Punta del Este Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este later became internationally known as a resort for the Latin and North American j ...

, 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 Turismo Carretera ( Road racing, lit., ''Road Touring'') is a popular stock car racing series in Argentina, and the oldest auto racing series still active in the world. The series is organized by Asociación Corredores de Turismo Carretera. Th ...

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, and

Formula Three Sudamericana Formula 3 Sudamericana was a South American Formula Three championship. It was inaugurated in 1987 and primarily held races in Brazil and Argentina, with a small number of events held in other countries across the continent. Its most notable g ...

, and also international karting and motorcycling 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,

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...

, and karting. 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 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 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 Gr ...

, and achieving a rank of No. 30 in 1990. The Uruguay Davis Cup team currently competes in Group I of the Americas regional Zone, and the Uruguay Fed Cup team competes in Group I as well.

Pablo Cuevas Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz (; born January 1, 1986) is an inactive Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open men's doubles title with Luis Horna. He has won six singles titles and has a career-high singles ranking of ...

is currently the second highest-ranked Uruguayan male player.ATPtennis.com - AThi Rankings
/ref>

References

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