Guatemala Sports – The Most Popular Sports in Guatemala
Wondering what sports the Guatemalans like to play?
Discover everything about the most popular sports in Guatemala in this post. ⚽️
The Most Popular Guatemalan Sports
Find below Guatemala national sports, ranked by popularity:
| Rank | Sport |
|---|---|
| 1 | Football |
| 2 | Baseball |
| 3 | Kickboxing |
| 4 | Basketball |
So there you have them, the most popular sports in Guatemala! Keep reading below for more information about each sport in Guatemala.
What is the National Sport of Guatemala?
The national sport of Guatemala is football. Like in most countries around the world, Guatemalans are absolute fans of football.
The national pride is the men’s football team, which represents the country on a continental level: the team represents Guatemala in the CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football).
Learn More About Guatemala Popular Sports
Guatemala is a small country located in Central America, and it is bordered by Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras. Its capital city is Guatemala City, which counts more than 995,000 inhabitants (but more than 3,700,000 if you include the metropolitan area).
An interesting part of the country that I wanted to tackle is its most popular sports. In light of that, I have listed all of Guatemala favorite sports, and I hope you will love them:
Football
The most popular sport in Guatemala is, by far and away, football. Football is the emblem of the population of Guatemala, as it has become an inherent part of the culture of the country.
The sport is probably one of the oldest ones in the country, and it has been overseen by the national federation, the Federación Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala, since 1919. Afterward, Guatemala joined FIFA in 1946 and CONCACAF in 1961. Nowadays, everyone from kids to grownups loves both watching and playing football.
Famous Guatemalan Football players: Carlos Ruiz, Marco Pappa, Juan Carlos Plata, Martín Machón, Óscar Enrique Sánchez, Guillermo Ramírez, Gonzalo Romero, Dwight Pezzarossi
Baseball
The second most popular sport in Guatemala is baseball.
There is a national team of Guatemala, which is currently ranked 53rd on the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) rankings. The team is controlled by the Amateur Baseball Federation of Guatemala and is a part of the Pan American Baseball Confederation. It has played 12 baseball World Cups and 6 Pan American games since its creation.
While football is still the most popular sport by far, baseball is also widely appreciated. The last two sports on this list are much lower than baseball in terms of popularity though.
Famous Guatemalan Baseball players: Andrés Aguilar, Juan Berger, Manuel Hernández, Dennis Hurtarte, Javier Liere, Diego Meneses, Juan Montes, Hugo Pivaral, Fabián Vizcaino
Kickboxing
The third most popular sport in Guatemala is kickboxing.
As I just told you, kickboxing, while it is the third most popular sport on this list, is much less popular than football and baseball. However, the recent trend is that the sport is greatly rising in popularity. In fact, the Guatemalan kickboxing team is a member of the Pan American Kickboxing Confederation, but the sport is most popular on a casual level, as many amateurs enjoy it.
Basketball
The fourth most popular sport in Guatemala is basketball.
Last on this list, basketball is also a sport Guatemalans enjoy. There is again a national team, which represents the country in international competitions. It is overseen by the Federación Nacional de Baloncesto de Guatemala, and it joined FIBA in 1949. The team is currently ranked 150th on the FIBA ranking.
However, the team is not very successful on an international level, as Guatemala is the most populous nation in the Americas that has never qualified for a major international basketball tournament.
Famous Guatemalan Basketball players: Bobby Aitkenhead, Juan Miguel Rosales, Marvin Ramirez, Alejandro Medina, Olaverr Camacho, Ricardo Arjona, Pablo Cano, Jose Zuniga
So there you have them, these were all the most popular sports played in Guatemala. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today. Keep reading to get a few more facts.
What do they call soccer in Guatemala?
Soccer is called “fútbol”, or football, in Guatemala. Like in many other Spanish-speaking countries, the sport is the most popular one. With the Civil War that lasted from 1960 to 1996, Guatemala was left in shambles. And while fútbol cannot rebuild the country, it certainly helped cement relationships.
Is baseball popular in Guatemala?
Guatemala was influenced by both the United States and Spain.
As a result, both baseball and football are very popular in the country. And while nothing comes close to football, baseball is definitely what is closest. The sport is the second most popular one in the country, and it is also far above the other sports in terms of popularity.
More Sport Facts!
Loved these Guatemala sports facts? Want to see what sports are the most popular in other countries?
Then check out these posts:
Or click here to see ALL the facts up on the blog! Spoiler alert: there’s A LOT of them.
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