Sport in Belgium plays a prominent role in the society. As of 2010, Belgium counted around 17,000 sports clubs with approximately 1.35 million members, thus 13% of the Belgian population is involved in the sport. Popular sports in Belgium are among others football, cycling, tennis, table tennis, athletics, swimming, basketball, badminton, judo, hockey, motocross, auto racing, volleyball and running.
Belgium has organized the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp as well as the 1972 UEFA European Championship and the 2000 UEFA European Championship along with the Netherlands. The Belgium national football team best result was a 4th place at the 1986 FIFA World Cup and a second place of the 1980 UEFA European Championship. Belgian football clubs have won 3 times the UEFA Cup Winners Cup and twice the UEFA Cup, plus 3 times the UEFA Supercup.
Belgium is widely known as a sports nation. Sport is an inevitable part of the everyday life of Belgians, football being the most popular among them. Other loved and well-developed sports disciplines are tennis, cycling, athletics, basketball, and motorsports. The country has produced first-class sports figures in all these sports during the course of time. A large number of professional and amateur sports clubs offer the chance to anyone to develop their sports talents. Abundant state-of-the-art sports facilities further contribute to the fame of Belgium as a host of various international competitions.
Top Most popular sports in Belgium
Football in Belgium: Be it the dazzling Red Devils national side or the hundreds of professional and amateur clubs, football is arguably Belgium’s most popular sport. Matches in the Belgian Pro League attract up to 25,000 supporters, and the league’s best clubs (among which Anderlecht, Club Brugge, and Standard Liège) have won one or more European Cup Final. Belgium is one of the most sports-oriented countries in the world. As of the 2010 statistics, Belgium has 17,000 sports club with about 1.35 million members.
This means that roughly 13% of Belgians are in one way or another involved in sports. Belgium has also been a popular venue for a number of international sports events like the 1920 Olympic Games, 1972 UEFA European Championship and they also co-hosted the 2000 UEFA European Championship with the Netherlands. Belgium also has a very well decorated national football team has taken the 2nd place in the 1980 UEFA European Championship and 4th place in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Other Belgian football clubs have taken the UEFA Cup Winners Cup three times, the UEFA Cup twice and finally the UEFA Supercup thrice. I guess it’s a safe bet to say that football is their most popular sport.
Cycling in Belgium: When it comes to enduring images of Belgian life, tourists might not remember football, but they do remember cycling. The sheer number of locals who cycle to school or work or to the grocery store leaves an impression. Add to that the numbers who take to the country’s scenic cycle paths at weekends, and you’ve got a national obsession.
Tennis in Belgium: Despite the popularity of the big two above, it’s tennis that is the most-watched sport on TV in Belgium. Perhaps because matches rarely happen here, a full two-thirds of Belgians watch the sport on the telly every year and half of these 10 or more times. An interest in tennis spiked dramatically in the 2000s when Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters were at the top of their games, both ranking number one in the world at different points. Clijsters retired in 2007 but made a comeback in 2009 that was so remarkable it made headlines around the world.
Running in Belgium: When it comes to sprints, the Borlée family own Belgium. Twin brothers Kevin and Jonathan are both 400m champions, with Kevin at one point winning bronze in the World Championships and gold in the European Championships. Younger brother Dylan also runs the 400m, winning silver at the European level in 2015. All the brothers make up 400m relay teams, which have won multiple medals at both world and European levels. Eldest sibling Olivia Borlée, meanwhile, runs the 100 and 200m and holds the Belgian record for the 4x100m relay, winning bronze at the World Championships in 2007. She and her three teammates also won silver at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. After the Russians were found to have used performance-enhancing drugs, however, the medal was upgraded to gold.
Field Hockey in Belgium: Belgium’s field hockey teams are consistently at the top of the class at European level. Both the men (Red Lions) and women (Red Panthers) made last year’s EuroHockey finals, and both got knocked out by the Netherlands. Check out this video by former Red Lions coach Marc Lammers, where you’ll see just how rabid hockey supporters in Belgium can be.
Swimming in Belgium: A silver medal in the 100m freestyle at the 2016 Summer Olympics was unexpected and finally got Belgians interested in the sport at the professional level. Medallist Pieter Timmers is still the one to beat in Belgium, with a wealth of medals and numerous national records to his name. For the women, watch Fanny Lecluyse, who has won more medals for the short course than any other Belgian woman over the last 20 years. The average Belgian likes to swim, too: According to a 2016 survey, swimming is the third most-practiced exercise in the country after walking and cycling.
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