Popular Sports in Spain

Popular Sports in Spain has been traditionally dominated by football, bullfighting and cycling. Today, Spain is a major power in world sports,chiefly since the Summer Olympics of 1992 that were hosted in Barcelona and promoted a great variety of sports in the country. The heavy touristic attraction of the country has caused an improvement of the sports infrastructure, especially for golf, water sports, Tennis and skiing. Bullfighting or tauromachy is a traditional spectacle of Spain. The tradition, as it is applied today, involves professional performers those who accomplish various formal moves with the intention of appearing confident and graceful.

• Bullfighting although practiced in other countries like Portugal and France is one of the most Popular Sports in Spain.It has generated heated controversy in many areas of the world, including Spain, where the “classic” bullfighting was supposed to be born. Supporters of bullfighting argue that it is a culturally an important tradition, while animal rights groups argue that it is a blood sport because of the suffering that the bull and the horses have to undergo.



• Football or soccer is another Popular Sports in Spain. The highest division of football is La Liga that is, the Spanish for The League and is widely regarded as one of the world's strongest competitions, containing clubs such as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia CF. The Spanish national football team has made its way to the World Cup finals for twelves times, reaching every tournament since 1978.


But, at the finals they are considered as perennial underachievers. Spain's best finish was the fourth place in 1950 and beside that from that they have never marched on past the quarter-finals. Their record in the European Championship is slightly better: they were champions in 1964 and runners-up in 1984 But here also they have never progressed past the quarter-finals since then. However, the football of Spain has a huge fan following. Spain has won a silver medal in 2000 at the Sydney Games and also took the gold in Barcelona in 1992.




• Cycling Since 1940s cycling has been a Popular Sports in Spain. The Vuelta a Espana or the Tour of Spain is one of the most important cycling events in the world and one of the three Grand Tours along with the Tour de France or Tour of France and Giro d'Italia or Tour of Italy. Some of Spain's cyclists have won the Tour de France, including Luis Ocana, Federico Bahamontes and Pedro Delgado.



• Motor sports in Spain The most famous motor sport in Spain is formula one which is staged annually at a track near Barcelona.

One of the major activities of Spain is hunting. Hunting in Spain can be of two types: small game hunting for animals such as rabbits, and big game hunting of large animals such as boars and deer. Spanish hunting offers hunters and their companions to experience the natural beauty of the Spanish wilderness, from the central plains and coastal plains rising up from the Mediterranean shores, to the green northern highlands.