The Most Popular Sports in Venezuela
The Most Popular Sports in Venezuela: National Sports Overview
In Venezuela, sport is culture. Baseball fills giant ballparks in Caracas and football rides a new wave of national-team momentum.
But what are the most popular sports in Venezuela? The Sporting Blog ranks the top 7 sports that Venezuelans love to play and watch!
Football is one of the most popular sports in Venezuela. Image credits: Pinterest
We take a look at the top sports in Venezuela today, anchored in official league, federation and event data. Let’s dive in!
1. Baseball (LVBP, WBC & Caribbean Series)
Baseball remains the country’s biggest shared ritual. The professional winter league (LVBP) draws crowds and provides a steady pipeline of Major League-calibre talent.
In Caracas, the new Estadio Monumental Simón Bolívar has enabled record turnouts: a Caracas-Magallanes clásico drew 33,381 fans on 31 October 2023 - an LVBP single-game record reported by the league itself.
The 2023 Caribbean Series in Caracas drew 329,000 fans overall. The following year’s edition in Miami set new tournament marks with ~340,000 total fans and a single-game record of 36,677 at loanDepot park.
Baseball’s international footprint is equally visible. On MLB Opening Day 2024, Major League Baseball reported 264 internationally born baseball players, including many players from Venezuela.
MLB’s 2023 breakdown listed Venezuela as producing the second-most baseball players, with 62 players on Opening Day rosters.
In national colours, the team’s most recent global highlight came during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where Venezuela swept its group 4-0 (top seed) before a dramatic quarterfinal loss to the USA.
2. Football (Liga FUTVE & La Vinotinto)
Football’s reach has grown through renovated stadiums and improved national-team performances. Venezuela’s senior men qualified early for the Copa América 2024 quarterfinals after a 1-0 win over Mexico at SoFi Stadium (attendance 72,773 per the official Copa América match report feed).
Read more on our football blog
In terms of football stadium capacity, the Venezuelan national side uses the Estadio Monumental de Maturín, cited by Argentina’s AFA as having a capacity of more than 50,000 for senior internationals.
The combination of meaningful qualifiers, Copa América visibility and large-capacity grounds has strengthened football’s claim as Venezuela’s broadest participation and second-largest viewing sport after baseball.
3. Basketball
Basketball is a proven medal-pathway team sport for Venezuela. The men’s national team won the continental title in 2015 (FIBA Americas Championship, now AmeriCup) in Mexico City - an official International Basketball Federation (FIBA) result.
FIBA’s current team profile lists Venezuela in the top 30 of the FIBA World Ranking (Men), reflecting regular appearances at the World Cup and ongoing AmeriCup qualification windows.
The domestic pro circuit and national-team calendar keep basketball on screens most months of the year. The 2015 title and Rio 2016 Olympic berth established a modern benchmark that still resonates in media coverage and grassroots interest.
4. Volleyball
Volleyball’s rise in Venezuela is anchored by a landmark qualification: the men’s team winning the South American Olympic Qualifier to reach Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021), as confirmed by the International Volleyball Federation’s (FIVB) official qualification summary.
Volleyball World hosts the live world rankings, which situate Venezuela within the global field.
The country’s Olympic appearance was a transformative moment, with continued attention to pathway events (U21, continental competitions) through 2025.
The sustained presence in continental play - plus a steady stream of national-team content on Volleyball World - supports volleyball’s status among Venezuela’s top indoor team sports. Volleyball is also one of the most-played participation sports across the world!
5. Athletics
Track and field enjoys a special spotlight in Venezuela thanks to Yulimar Rojas, the world’s pre-eminent women’s triple jumper. World Athletics lists her as the world record holder at 15.74m and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion - a dual credential that elevates athletics from niche to mainstream on big championship weeks.
The Olympics’ official site records the Tokyo gold and her global stature within Venezuela’s recent Olympic narrative. Rojas’ status, combined with regional road events and school meets, makes athletics a visible sport in media and municipal programmes.
6. Boxing
Boxing is one of Venezuela’s most tradition-rich sports, with landmark Olympic moments that still shape its profile today. The nation’s first-ever Olympic gold medal came via Francisco “Morochito” Rodríguez in Mexico City 1968 (light flyweight).
The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) athlete record lists him as a gold medallist in the ≤48kg division and notes his broader Games record.
Eight years later, Pedro José Gamarro won silver at Montreal 1976 (welterweight), as shown in the IOC’s official boxing results for those Games.
Those podiums, combined with a steady professional scene at home, keep boxing in the national conversation during every Olympic cycle.
The IOC’s country literature also summarises Venezuela’s historical medal haul. Rodríguez’s 1968 gold is a national milestone, reinforcing boxing’s cultural weight in Venezuela.
7. Tennis
Venezuelan tennis has a steady national-team activity and a growing doubles footprint. On the men’s side, Venezuela competes in the Davis Cup Americas zone with a long-running squad led by Ricardo Rodríguez (team records: 34-19 overall, 31-15 singles) and current doubles mainstay Luis David Martínez (15-6 doubles for the team).
Check out our tennis blog for more lists, profiles and interviews
Martínez has also pushed Venezuela onto Grand Slam broadcasts, reaching a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) doubles No. 85 and remaining a regular at ATP/Grand Slam events.
The women’s team is active in the Billie Jean King Cup, where Andrea Gámiz and Milagros Sequera headline the historical leaderboards for Venezuela with the most total and singles wins.
The Most Popular Sports in Venezuela - Key Takeaways
Venezuela’s sports map is anchored by baseball - its stadium records, Caribbean Series surges and MLB footprint are unmatched. Football commands national attention with Copa América and World Cup qualifying matches in 50k-plus venues, while the country has a proven track record in basketball wins.
Volleyball’s Olympic men’s team conquers the indoor scene - and Venezuela enjoys a global athletics superstar in Yulimar Rojas.
Together, these verified attendance figures, rankings and official event results explain how Venezuelans watch, play and celebrate sport in 2025/26.
