The main sports played in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

are

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

. Other popular sports are

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

Samoans Samoans or Samoan people () are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between the Independent S ...

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

are more likely to follow or play American sports such as

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. Sports such as

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

, 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 popular among most ethnic Samoans regardless of location.

Types of sports

Rugby union

Rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

is the main sport in Samoa as it is played everywhere on the island. Samoa's national team has competed in every

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

since 1991 and they consistently rank in the top 20 teams in world rugby. Some of the current national team record holders are

Brian Lima Brian Pala Lima OM (born 25 January 1972) is a Samoan former rugby union player who was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame in 2011. He earned the nickname of "The Chiropractor" for his shuddering hits both on and off the pitch that supposedly r ...

for most caps and most tries,

Tusi Pisi Tusi Pisi (born 18 June 1982) is a Samoan former international rugby union player who played at various levels in Europe, Japan and New Zealand. His position was fly half, but he had also played at centre and full back. He is currently the hea ...

for most points,

Semo Sititi Semo Sititi (born 6 March 1974) is a rugby union footballer in Samoa. He was born in Motootua. Career He is a flanker and last played for Ricoh in Japan, having previously played for Celtic League side Border Reivers and Manu Samoa internationa ...

for most matches as captain, and Gavin Williams for most points in a match.

Elvis Seveali'i Elvis Lulai Seveali'i (born 20 June 1978 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a retired Samoan rugby union footballer. He played centre and wing and represented Manu Samoa internationally. He has represented Wellington in the under-19s and under-21s ...

and

Alesana Tuilagi Alesana "Alex" Tuilagi (born 24 February 1981) is a former Samoans, Samoan rugby union, rugby player. He is a retired rugby player, currently residing in Fogapoa Savaii and has appeared numerous times for his national team Samoa national rugby u ...

are tied for most tries in a single match.

Rugby league

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

is a popular sport in Samoa, with the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

reaching the quarter-finals of the

Rugby League World Cup The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league competition contested by senior men's national teams who each represent member nations of the International Rugby League who run and administer the tournament. The tournament has be ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, and the final in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. Samoa is known for producing

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

players at one of the highest rates in the world. Many

Samoan New Zealanders Samoan New Zealanders are Samoan immigrants in New Zealand, their descendants, and New Zealanders of Samoan ethnic descent. They constitute one of New Zealand's most sizeable ethnic minorities. In the 2018 census, 182,721 New Zealanders identifie ...

and

Samoan Australians Samoan Australians refers to Australian citizens or residents who are of ethnic Samoan descent or people born in Samoa but grew up in Australia. However, there are many New Zealand-born Samoans living in Australia, known as Samoan New Zealand ...

also play in the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

and

RFL Championship The Rugby Football League Championship, (known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second highest division of rugby league in British rugby league system, Britain (with one team in the league also being based in France) ...

in the northern hemisphere. Players of Samoan descent have been part of every

-winning side for either

New Zealand Kiwis The New Zealand national rugby league team () has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. The team's colours ar ...

Australian Kangaroos The Australian national rugby league team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competitions since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Comm ...

since 2008.

-born

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (born 5 June 1993) is a List of dual-code rugby internationals, dual-code rugby international footballer who plays as a er for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League, and as a for Samoa national rugby league ...

is one of the most decorated individual players in the sport, having been named

Rugby League World Golden Boot Award The IRL Golden Boot Award (previously ''Open Rugby'' Golden Boot Award and ''Rugby League World Golden Boot'' Award) is an annual rugby league award, presented by the International Rugby League (IRL), awarded to the best player of the calendar yea ...

winner in 2019 for best international player. Tuivasa-Sheck also won the prestigious

Dally M Medal The Dally M Medal is awarded each year (annually) to the player voted for as the ' Player of the year' over the National Rugby League (NRL) regular season. The awards are named in honour of Australian former rugby league great Herbert Henry "Da ...

as the best player in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

in 2018.

Sonny Bill Williams Sonny William Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player. He is only the second person to represent New Zealand in rugby union after first playing for the cou ...

had previously won the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) International Player of the year award in 2013.

American football

is a popular sport in Samoa but it still trails

and

in terms of participation. Per capita, the

Samoan Islands The Samoan Islands () are an archipelago covering in the central Pacific Ocean, South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania. Political geography, Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Samoa, Indep ...

have produced the highest number of

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

players. It's estimated that a boy born to Samoan parents is 56 times more likely to get into the

than any other boy in America.

have been at the forefront as a wave of Polynesian players and coaches have found success in the sport. In 1945, Al Lolotai became the first Polynesian to play in the

. In 2014,

Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks footb ...

became the first Polynesian player to win the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

. In 2015,

Junior Seau Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr. (; ; January 19, 1969 – May 2, 2012) was an American professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, mostly with the San Diego Chargers. Known for his passionate ...

became the first Polynesian player to be inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

Troy Polamalu Troy Aumua Polamalu (; born Troy Benjamin Aumua; April 19, 1981) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 12-year career as a safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). An eight-time ...

won the

NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award Several organizations give out NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards. The Associated Press (AP) has been giving the award since 1972; Pro Football Writers of America/''Pro Football Weekly'' since 1970; and ''Sporting News'' has announced winners ...

in 2010 and is the first Polynesian player to be on the cover of a

Madden NFL ''Madden NFL'' (known as ''John Madden Football'' until 1993) is an American football sports video game series developed by EA Orlando for EA Sports. The franchise, named after Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and commentator John Madden, has ...

video game.

Ken Niumatalolo Kenneth Va'a Niumatalolo (born May 8, 1965) is an American college football coach and former player who is the head coach of San Jose State. He was the head coach of the Naval Academy from 2007 to 2022, accumulating the most wins in program hist ...

is believed to be the first Polynesian head coach in college football history.

Association football

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

(soccer) is a popular sport in Samoa, with the national team being ranked 149th in the world. Former Everton and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

playmaker,

Tim Cahill Timothy Filiga Cahill (; born 6 December 1979) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as an attacking midfielder but also played as a striker on many occasions. A box-to-box midfielder, Cahill became recognised for "hi ...

, represented Samoa in youth national teams. In 2004, Cahill was named

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 ...

Oceania Footballer of the Year The Oceania Footballer of the Year award was presented each year to the best football (soccer) player from the Oceania region, as chosen by a panel of football journalists. The award was dominated by Australian players until that nation became part ...

and was instrumental in helping the Australian Socceroos reach the

2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage The knockout stage was the second and final stage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, following the group stage. The top two teams from each group (16 in total) advance to the knockout stage to compete in a Single-elimination tournament, single-eliminatio ...

. At the

2015 AFC Asian Cup The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 201 ...

, Cahill was part of the winning Socceroos squad, defeating

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

2–1 in the final. Cahill finished his international career as Australia 's all-time leading goalscorer with 50 goals in 108 appearances. Cahill is the only Australian to feature at four

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

s, scoring goals at the

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 ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

tournaments. Tim's brother Chris Cahill is playing as a captain for the Samoan national team. Sarai Bareman, who represented Samoa, was named Chief Women's Football Officer of

in 2016.

Australian rules football

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

as a sport in Samoa has been played since 1997. The game is typically played under derived rules known as

Samoa Rules Samoa rules is a game derived from Australian rules football and rugby union that is occasionally played in Samoa. Rules Generally the rules are taken from Australian rules, but each team consists of 15 players, like rugby union. Unlike Australi ...

and is played on rugby fields. The governing body for the sport is the Samoa Australian Rules Football Association, first formed in 1998 and the national team, which first competed at the

Arafura Games The Arafura Games was a multi-sport event where athletes with a disability compete in the same program as able-bodied athletes. Competitors from around the world compete in the week-long games held every 2 years in Darwin, Northern Territory, Au ...

is known as the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

, the name being chosen as the AFL's

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

wore the Samoan

national colours National colours are frequently part of a country's set of national symbols. Many states and nations have formally adopted a set of colours as their official "national colours" while others have '' de facto'' national colours that have become well ...

and has sent some professional players to visit the islands on clinics.

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

players to visit Samoa for coaching clinics include

Dermott Brereton Dermott Hugh Brereton (born 19 August 1964) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club, Sydney Swans and Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Born to Irish immigrant parents, ...

, Brad Johnson and Steven Kretiuk.

Basketball

Samoa will host the 2021 FIBA Polynesian Basketball Cup. The country further hosted its last edition in 2018, when

Samoa's national basketball team Samoa national basketball team is the team that represents Samoa in international basketball and is a member of FIBA Oceania. Competitive record FIBA Asia Cup ''never participated'' FIBA Oceania Championships Pacific Games * 1983: * ...

finished runner-up. Wally Rank and James Johnson are players of Samoan descent to have played in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Boxing

Professional boxing

Samoan fighters have been visible at all levels in the world of

. On 1 May 2004,

Maselino Masoe Maselino Francis Masoe Fao (born June 6, 1966 in Apia, Western Samoa) is a retired Samoan boxer who represented American Samoa at three Olympics starting with the 1988 Summer Olympics. As a professional, Masoe made history becoming the first Sa ...

became the first Samoan boxer to win a world title from one of the four recognised boxing organizations, by capturing the WBA 'regular' world middleweight title, stopping

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Evans Ashira Evans Ashira (born 28 December 1969) is a Kenyan former professional boxer, a multi-weight world title challenger, who is best known for his loss to Joe Calzaghe in 2005, but also unsuccessfully challenged Maselino Masoe for the WBA World Middlewei ...

in the second round. On 10 December 2016,

Joseph Parker Joseph Dennis Parker, (born 9 January 1992) is a New Zealand professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Interim championship, interim heavyweight title since 2024. Previously, he held the WBO heavyweight title from 2016 ...

became the first Samoan boxer to win a major world heavyweight title, defeating

Mexican American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexico, Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the Unite ...

Andy Ruiz Jr. by a narrow majority points decision for the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

belt. Jimmy 'Thunder' Peau held the IBO heavyweight title from 1994 to 1995.

David Tua Mafaufau Tavita Lio Mafaufau Sanerivi Talimatasi (born 21 November 1972), known as David Tua, is a Samoan-New Zealand former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. A highly ranked heavyweight contender for most of his career, Tua w ...

challenged

Englishman The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common ancestry, history, and culture. The English identity began with the Anglo-Saxons, when they we ...

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a British-Canadian boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division from 1989 to 2003. He was a three-time world champion, a two-time lineal champion, ...

on 11 November 2000 for the WBC and IBF world heavyweight titles, losing by unanimous points decision. On 26 April 2014,

Alex Leapai Elise Leapai (born 16 October 1979) is a Samoan Australian former professional boxer. His career highlight was a fight against Wladimir Klitschko in 2014, for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, ''The Ring'' magazine and lineal heavyweight tit ...

challenged long-reigning

, WBA Super and IBF world heavyweight champion Ukrainian

Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in , . (born 25 March 1976) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held multiple heavyweight world championships betwe ...

, losing by fifth round stoppage. Having been wrested of his WBA world title by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Felix Sturm Adnan Ćatić (born 31 January 1979), known as Felix Sturm, is a Bosnian-German professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, at middleweight and super-middleweight. As an amateur, he won a gold medal at the ...

on 11 March 2006,

would later challenge Hungarian

Károly Balzsay Károly Balzsay (born 23 July 1979) is a Hungarian former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2012. Amateur highlights *Member of the Hungarian Olympic team of Sydney at Light Middleweight *Member of the Hungarian Olympic team of Athen ...

on 25 April 2009 for the WBO super middleweight title, losing by

TKO A technical knockout (TKO) is a professional fighting term. TKO may also refer to: Sports * TKO, the name of a professional wrestling move referring to either the cutter or stunner variant * TKO Group Holdings, a combat sports company Music Ar ...

in the 11th round.

Amateur boxing

In 2011,

Jai Opetaia Jai Opetaia (born 30 June 1995) is an Australian professional boxer. He held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title from 2022 until 2023, before vacating the title due to a disagreement with the IBF. He would however win the vacant titl ...

became the first Samoan amateur boxer to win a world championship by taking the

light heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

gold medal at the 2011

AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships The IBA Youth World Boxing Championships and the IBA Junior World Boxing Championships are amateur boxing competitions organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA), the sport's governing body, for "Youth" competitors—ages 17 or 18 ...

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

. While renowned for his punching power during his professional career,

also had a proven amateur career, winning bronze medals at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

and

1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships The Men's 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Sydney, Australia, from November 15 to 23. The sixth edition of this competition, held nearly a year before the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, was organised by the world's gover ...

while representing

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. During his amateur career, Jimmy Peau won the gold medal in the heavyweight division for

at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...

. Amateur boxers representing

have performed well at various Commonwealth Games, winning silver and bronze medals dating back to 1974.

Kickboxing

In 2001, unheralded newcomer

Mark Hunt Mark Hunt (born 23 March 1974) is a New Zealand former professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. As a mixed martial artist, Hunt competed in Pride Fighting Championships (Pride FC) from 2004 until 2006, and the Ultimate Fighting Champi ...

won the

K-1 World Grand Prix K-1 World Grand Prix, also known as the K-1 ''WORLD'' GP, is an elimination kickboxing tournament that was originally held annually from 1993 by the K-1 organization, under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG). Each year, ...

defeating

Frenchman French people () are a nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the native speakers of langues d'oïl from nort ...

Jerome LeBanner Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known for his translation of the Bible in ...

(2nd round KO),

Stefan Leko Stefan Leko (born June 3, 1974) is a German heavyweight kickboxer. He is the current WKA Super-Heavyweight world champion in kickboxing, and former Muay Thai world super-heavyweight champion and Kickboxing world super-heavyweight champion, WMT ...

(unanimous points decision) and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian Francisco Filho (extended round unanimous points decision) in a single night to become the only non-European fighter to win the prestigious event. Crowd favourite

Ray Sefo Ray Sefo (born 15 February 1971) is a New Zealand fight promoter and retired kickboxer, boxer, and mixed martial artist. He was the K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 Runner-up, is a six-time Muay Thai World Champion, and was an eight time K-1 World G ...

had reached the K-1 World Grand Prix final in 2000, losing to Dutchman

Ernesto Hoost Ernesto Frits Hoost (born 11 July 1965) is a Dutch retired professional kickboxer. A four-time K-1 World Champion, Hoost is considered to be one of the greatest kickboxers of all time. Debuting in 1993 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 1993, where h ...

by unanimous points decision. On February 25, 2018,

Genah Fabian Genah Fabian (born September 5, 1989) is a New Zealand Combat Sports athlete competing in Muay Thai, Kickboxing, MMA and Boxing. Background Fabian spent her early years living with her mother in West Auckland, before moving to Central Aucklan ...

became the first woman of Samoan descent to win a World Muaythai Council (WMC) world title.

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 a minor sport in Samoa. The Samoan national cricket team became an affiliate member of 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 2000. In 2005, they competed in the East Asia/Pacific Cup, finishing in last place, thus missing out on qualification for the

2011 Cricket World Cup The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, while the latter hosted World Cup matches for the first time. India won the tournament, defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the 2 ...

. Samoa qualified for 2025 women U19 World Cup.

Mixed martial arts (MMA)

Mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

is a growing sport among ethnic Samoans all over the world.

Mixed martial artists Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

of Samoan descent who have fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) are

Max Holloway Jerome Max Keli'i Holloway (born December 4, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Fea ...

Kendall Grove Kendall Grove (born November 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently signed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2003, he has also competed for the Bellator MMA, UFC, KSW, ProElite, King ...

Andre Fili Andre Riley Givens-Fili (born Andre Riley Givens; June 25, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Fili is of Samoan and ...

, Robert Whittaker,

Tyson Pedro Tyson Pedro (born 17 September 1991) is an Australian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Pedro is an Australian of American Samoan h ...

Tai Tuivasa Tai Anthony Tuivasa (born 16 March 1993) is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of June 10, 2025, he is #11 in the UFC heavyweight r ...

Maki Pitolo Maki Ikaika Maleko Pitolo (born November 24, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Pitolo has also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and B ...

Justin Tafa Justin Tafa (born 13 December 1993) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Tafa was born in Auckland, New Zealand, to a family of ...

Carlos Ulberg Carlos Sao Murry Ulberg (born 17 November 1990) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of March 25, 2025, ...

Falaniko Vitale Falaniko "Niko" Vitale is a retired American mixed martial artist. He competed in the Middleweight division and has fought in the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, the IFL, and King of the Cage. He is a former SuperBrawl Middleweight Champion, and als ...

and

Kailin Curran Jaydene Kailin Asoa Curran (born April 11, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She previously fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Curran was born and raised in Ewa Beach, Ha ...

. Both Whittaker and Grove are previous tournament winners of

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

in the

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

and

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

divisions respectively. On 10 December 2016,

became the first fighter of Samoan descent to win a

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

world title, taking the interim strap, defeating fellow

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Anthony Pettis Anthony Paul Pettis (born January 27, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist, and professional boxer. Pettis formerly fought in the Welterweight, Lightweight, and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ...

by third round

UFC 206 ''UFC 206: Holloway vs. Pettis'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) held on December 10, 2016, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background A UFC Light Heavyweight Championship ...

. On 8 July 2017, he was followed by Robert Whittaker who became the

interim world middleweight champion, defeating

Cuban Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Americ ...

Yoel Romero Yoel Romero Palacio (born April 30, 1977) is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate ...

by points decision at

UFC 213 ''UFC 213: Romero vs. Whittaker'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 8, 2017, at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas–Paradise, NV MSA, Las Vegas metropolitan area. B ...

. The interim championship status of Whittaker would eventually be elevated to undisputed when incumbent champion

Georges St-Pierre Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981), also known by his initials GSP, is a Canadian former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-divi ...

retired in late 2017. On 4 June 2017 at

UFC 212 ''UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on June 3, 2017, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background A UFC Featherweight Championship unification bout betwe ...

, interim champion

would go on to stop reigning champion

ian Jose Aldo in the third round of their unification bout to determine the undisputed UFC world featherweight championship. At the 2017

World MMA Awards The World MMA Awards are awards presented by ''Fighters Only'' magazine to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Winners are presented with the ''Fighters Only silver statuette''. The World MMA Awards are divided ...

, Holloway was named the Charles 'Mask' Lewis Fighter of the year with Whittaker named International Fighter of the year. In another MMA organization, on September 24, 2016, Siala-Mou Siliga won the

Road FC Road Fighting Championship (Road FC; ) is a South Korean-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which was officially launched in 2010. Prior to December 2016, Road FC had held 52 events in three countries - South Korea, Japan, and China. Abou ...

Openweight Openweight, also known as Absolute, is an unofficial weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. It refers to bouts where there is no weight limit and fighters with a dramatic difference in size can compete against each other. It is di ...

Tournament at

33.

Netball

Netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

is one of the most popular sports for girls in Samoa, usually played during the winter. In recent years, the sport has become more popular for men to play on island. Samoa's national team has qualified for every

INF Netball World Cup The Netball World Cup is a quadrennial international netball world championship organised by World Netball, inaugurated in 1963 World Netball Championships, 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australia ...

since 1991. The team also competes at every

Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continent, continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 South Pacific Games, 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently i ...

where they have won silver and bronze medals.

Volleyball

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 ...

is a popular sport in Samoa and participation rates continue to grow. Many players of Samoan descent can be seen at international competitions representing

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in both

and

Beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

Eric Fonoimoana Eric Fonoimoana (born June 7, 1969) is an American former beach volleyball player of Samoan descent who paired with Dain Blanton to win the gold medal in beach volleyball at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. He played professionall ...

(along with partner

Dain Blanton Dain J. Blanton (born November 28, 1971) is an American former beach volleyball player who won the gold medal in beach volleyball in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney with partner Eric Fonoimoana. He returned to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens w ...

representing the

) won the gold medal for

at the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sumo wrestling

In the world of

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

, Fiamalu Penitani became just the second non-Japanese-born wrestler to reach

yokozuna , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers ('' rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the o ...

, the highest rank in the sport. Saleva'a Fuauli Atisano'e was the first non-Japanese-born wrestler to reach ōzeki, the second-highest rank in the sport. Kilifi Sapa is known for being the third non-Japanese-born wrestler to reach the top division. However, his highest rank was

maegashira , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

, the lowest of five ranks in the

makuuchi , or , is the top division of Professional sumo divisions, the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous ...

division.

Professional wrestling

A number of

have ventured into

. High chief Peter Maivia was the first Samoan to crack the big circuits. His influence spawned the careers of his grandson,

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional w ...

and first cousin once removed; Savelina Fanene. Following in Maivia's footsteps, the prominent

Anoaʻi family The Anoai family ( ) is a family of professional wrestlers originating from the Samoan Islands. Family members have comprised several tag teams and stables within a variety of promotions, most notably WWE. Famous members of the family include Roma ...

led by stalwarts Afa and Sika Anoaʻi. Other prominent Anoaʻi family members are Leati Anoaʻi, Rodney Anoaʻi,

Solofa Fatu Solofa Fatu Jr. (born October 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring names Rikishi and Fatu with the WWE and under a variety of names in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonsto ...

, and Edward Fatu are known for their work in

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

. Other notable Samoan wrestlers include Sarona Snuka, Nuufolau Seanoa, Cheree Crowley, Danielle Kamela, Emily Dole, and

Sonny Siaki Sonny Siaki (born July 23, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler of American Samoan descent. He is best known for his time in NWA Total Nonstop Action, where he was a one-time TNA X Division Champion. Early life When Siaki was ...

Other sports

Several

have won medals at the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

and other international events.

Ele Opeloge Ele Opeloge (born July 11, 1985) is a Samoan weightlifter. She was the first Samoan to win an Olympic medal, winning silver in the women's +75 kg category at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Family Opeloge comes from a weightlifting family. H ...

created history for Samoa by earning the nation's first ever Olympic medal, a silver in the Women's +75 kg Weightlifting class at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Greg Louganis Gregory Efthimios Louganis (; born January 29, 1960) is an American Olympic Diving (sport), diver who won gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics on the springboard and platform. He is the only man and the second ...

won four gold medals and one silver for

Diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

in consecutive Games from 1976 to 1988 representing the

. Louganis also took five gold medals at the

FINA World Aquatics Championships The World Aquatics Championships, formerly the FINA World Championships, are the World Championships for six aquatic disciplines: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. The championships are stag ...

. In 1984, Robin Leamy won a gold medal for

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

as a member of the

men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay team.

Tumua Anae Tumuaialii "Tumua" Anae (born October 16, 1988) is an American water polo goalkeeper. She was an NCAA champion and All-American while playing for the University of Southern California. She also won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with t ...

and Sami Hill have won gold medals with the United States women's

Water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

squad at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and

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 ...

respectively.

Rugby sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...

players of Samoan descent played in the women's gold medal final at the

. Evania Pelite took home a gold medal representing

while

Ruby Tui Ruby Malae Tui (born 13 December 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player. She competed internationally when the national rugby sevens team won the silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics tournament. She won a gold medal in rugby sevens at t ...

, Theresa Fitzpatrick, and Niall Williams won silver medals for

Samoan New Zealander Samoan New Zealanders are Samoan immigrants in New Zealand, their descendants, and New Zealanders of Samoan ethnic descent. They constitute one of New Zealand's most sizeable ethnic minorities. In the 2018 census, 182,721 New Zealanders identifie ...

Beatrice Faumuina Beatrice Roini Liua Faumuina (born 23 October 1974 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a former New Zealand discus thrower. Career Faumuina was a gold medallist at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics. She has represented New Zealand in four Su ...

won the gold medal for Discus at the

1997 World Championships in Athletics The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the World Athletics, International Amateur Athletic Federation, were held at the Olympic Stadium (Athens), Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between 1 and 10 August 1997. In this event ...

. She would compete at four Olympic Games from 1996 to 2008, her highest placing - 6th in 2004. In

Professional bodybuilding Professional bodybuilding or pro bodybuilding can refer to bodybuilding for an income and/or possessing qualifications such as an IFBB Pro, IFBB Elite Pro or WNBF Pro League or Wabba International Pro Card. A professional bodybuilder may be on ...

, Samoan Sonny Schmidt became the first Pacific Islander to win a

Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest in the open division at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually and is sanct ...

event when he was crowned the 1995 Masters Olympia winner for contestants over 40 years of age.

Stadiums in Samoa

References

External links

{{Samoa topics