Sports in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

comprise both traditional Nepalese and modern international games. Even though there is no exact data,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

are the most popular sports in Nepal. On 23 May 2017, volleyball was also declared as a

national sport A national sport is a physical activity or sport that is culturally significant or deeply embedded in a nation, serving as a national symbol and an intrinsic element to a nation's identity and culture. Several sovereign states and constituent ...

. Before 2017, traditional games like

dandi biyo Dandi biyo (, ) is a game played in Nepal which was considered the ''de facto'' national game until 23 May 2017, when volleyball was declared as the national sport. Dandi biyo is played with a stick (''dandi'') about long and a wooden pin (''bi ...

and

kabbadi Kabaddi (, ) is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. In this game, a raider enters the opposing half of the court to touch defenders and attempt to return within 30 ...

were considered as the '' de facto'' national games.

Franchise leagues

Popular sports

Cricket

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

is the most popular sport in Nepal. It rapidly grew in popularity in the mid 2010s, following the slight successes of the Nepalese cricket team as well as the country's explosive rise in social media and television viewing influence from neighboring country India. The

Nepal national cricket team The Nepal men's national cricket team () represents Nepal in men's International cricket and is governed by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). They have been an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1996. Nepal ...

is controlled by the

Cricket Association of Nepal Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) is the official Sport governing body, governing body of cricket in Nepal national cricket team, Nepal. Its headquarters are situated in Mulpani, Kathmandu, Mulpani, Kathmandu District, Kathmandu. It is Nepal' ...

(CAN) which was founded in 1946. CAN became a member of the

National Sports Council The National Sports Council (NSC) is the national overseer of the control authorities of 41 different sports in Bangladesh. It is responsible to the Bangladesh Ministry of Youth and Sports and is based in Purana Paltan, Dhaka. History Prior ...

in 1961 and was awarded affiliate status by the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...

in 1988 and since 1996 has been recognized as an associate member. Nepal has been successful in regional events organized by the

Asian Cricket Council The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is a cricket organization which was established in 1983, to promote and develop the sport of Cricket in Asia. Subordinate to the International Cricket Council, the council is the continent's regional administrati ...

, placing first in the

ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament The ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament was a three-day cricket tournament run by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), contested between its top-ranking ICC associate members. It was played three times between 2004 and 2006, and then replaced by th ...

in 2006/07 and sharing the title with the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

in the

2012 ACC Trophy Elite The 2012 ACC Trophy Elite is a cricket tournament in UAE, taking place between 3 and 12 October 2012. It gives Associate and Affiliate members of the Asian Cricket Council The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is a cricket organization which was e ...

. The

women's team A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...

made their debut in 2007 and has qualified for the

Women's Asia Cup The Women's Asia Cup is the biennial cricket tournament organised by the Asian Cricket Council. The tournament is played by senior national cricket teams of Asian members, determining the continental champion of Asia. The first Asia Cup was ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. Nepal qualified for the

2014 ICC World Twenty20 The 2014 ICC World Twenty20 was the fifth edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament, that took place in Bangladesh from 16 March to 6 April 2014. It was played in t ...

which was the only appearance by the senior men's team at a major ICC event, which also gave them Twenty20 International (T20I) until 2015. The national under-19 team has qualified for the

Under-19 Cricket World Cup The Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup is an international cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council contested by national under-19 teams. First contested in 1988, as the Youth Cricket World Cup, it was not staged aga ...

seven times including winning the Plate Championship in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. Recently Nepal has qualified and played in the ICC World Twenty20 2024. ACC_Twenty20_Nepal_v_Malaysia

Nepal claimed

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

(ODI) status for the first time with their six wicket win over

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

in the

2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier The 2018 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier was a cricket tournament that took place during March 2018 in Zimbabwe. It formed the final part of the Cricket World Cup qualification process for the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales. The top two t ...

play off encounter on 15 March 2018. The men and women's team both currently have T20I status as a result of an ICC decision to expand the status to all member nations.

Football

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

(also known as soccer) is the second most popular sport in Nepal. The

All Nepal Football Association The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) (Nepali language, Nepali: अखिल नेपाल फुटबल संघ (एन्फा)) is the governing body of football in Nepal. It is responsible for the Nepal national football team, men's ...

(ANFA) is the governing body of Nepalese football that organizes the men's and

women's A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...

national teams. Football was introduced to Nepal during the Rana regime in the 1921. Since its introduction play was mostly limited to the

Kathmandu Valley The Kathmandu Valley (), also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley (, Newar language, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः), National Capital Area, is a bowl-shaped valley located in the Himalayas, Hima ...

but since the turn of the millennium more tournaments have started to be organized throughout the country. The

Martyr's Memorial A-Division League Martyr's Memorial A-Division League ( Nepali: शहीद स्मारक ए- डिभिजन लिग; formerly known as the Kathmandu League Championship) also known as the Qatar Airways Martyr's Memorial A-Division League for sponso ...

is the premier football league in Nepal and has been organized since 1955. The Nepal national team was organized in 1972 after being affiliated to

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

in 1971 and lost to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in their first official match. Nepal regularly participates in tournaments organized by the

South Asian Football Federation South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) is an association of the football playing nations in South Asia. Incorporated in 1997, it is a regional subsidiary of Asian Football Confederation. The members of the association are Bangladesh, Bhutan, A ...

(SAFF) and the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...

(AFC) and was the winner of the

2016 AFC Solidarity Cup The 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup was the inaugural and only edition of the AFC Solidarity Cup, an international association football, football tournament. It took place between 2–15 November 2016 in Malaysia. The tournament was created by the Asian ...

Volleyball

Volleyball, the third most popular sport in Nepal, was declared the

of Nepal on 22 May 2017 (2074 Jestha 8). The

Nepal Volleyball Association The Nepal Volleyball Association (NVA) is a national non-governmental, nonprofit sports organization in the Nepal. It represents Nepal in the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball and the Asian Volleyball Confederation, as well as the volleyb ...

(NVA) is the governing body of volleyball in Nepal and organizes the men's and

national teams. Nepal competes in tournaments organized by the

Central Asian Zonal Volleyball Association The Central Asian Volleyball Association (CAVA) is one of five zonal associations of governance in volleyball within the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC). It governs indoor volleyball and beach volleyball in Central Asia and South Asia. CA ...

which operates under the

Asian Volleyball Confederation The Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) is one of five continental bodies of governance in volleyball. It governs indoor volleyball, beach volleyball and other disciplines in Asia and Oceania, excluding the transcontinental countries of Russi ...

. As in many other countries, women's volleyball is more popular than men's. it is played in all 77 district which means all parts of Nepal.

Kabaddi

Kho Kho

Mountain Biking

Other ball sports

Basketball

Baseball

Golf

Rugby

Netball

Handball

Racquet sport

Table Tennis

Badminton

Tennis

Squash

Individual sports

Swimming

Gaurika Singh Gaurika Singh (; born 26 November 2002) is a Nepalese Swimming (sport), swimmer. She has held many national records since beginning her swimming career at the young age of eight. She has set the record of winning 4 gold medals in a season of th ...

participated at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil, as the youngest Olympian, representing Nepal in the Women's 100m backstroke.

Cycling

Athletics

Shooting

Archery

Paragliding

Canyoning

Mountaineering and Ice Climbing

Combat sport

Karate

Taekwondo

Wushu

Martial arts

Boxing

National Competition

National Games of Nepal

The

Nepal Olympic Committee Nepal Olympic Committee (; IOC code: NEP) is responsible for selecting athletes to represent Nepal at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international sports competitions, and managing Nepalese teams at these events. Since the establishment ...

and the

hosts the National Games of Nepal every two or three years. The event is meant to identify talent for the South Asian Games, Asian Games and Olympic Games as well as develop sporting infrastructure throughout the country. The National Games have been held eight times with the first event being held in 1982 at

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

National Sports Leagues

Franchise League

International Competition

Olympics

Nepal first competed in the summer Olympics at the

1964 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequ ...

and has competed in eleven straight summer Olympics starting from the

1972 Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

. Nepal has also competed in four winter Olympic events first competing in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and last competed in the event at the

2014 Sochi Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

. As of 2018, Nepal has not won a medal in any of the Olympic events.

Asian Games

Nepal competed at first Asian Games in 1951 at New Delhi and won its first medal at the event in the 1986 Seoul Games, winning 8 bronze medals. As of 2018, Nepal has won 2 silver medals and 22 bronze medals at the event.

South Asian Games

Nepal has competed in every edition of the South Asian Games and has hosted the event in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. As of 2019, Nepal is the fourth-most successful country, winning 679 medals winning 130 gold medals, 182 silver medals and 367 bronze medals.

Administration

National teams

International sports events held in Nepal

The following is a list of international sports events held in Nepal:

Sports Awards

* NSJF Sports Award * Pokhara Sports Award * NNIPA Sports Award

References

External links

National sports commission of NepalMinistry of youth and sports, Nepal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sport In Nepal

Sports in Nepal Sports in Nepal comprise both traditional Nepalese and modern international games. Even though there is no exact data, football, cricket and volleyball are the most popular sports in Nepal. On 23 May 2017, volleyball was also declared as a nat ...