In Switzerland, most of the people have a regular sport activity and one in four is an active member of a sports club.[2] The most important all-embracing organisations for sports in Switzerland are the Federal Office of Sport, and the Swiss Olympic Committee (Swiss Olympic).
Because of its varied landscape and climate, Switzerland offers a large variety of sports to its inhabitants and visitors. While winter sports are enjoyed throughout the country, football and ice hockey remain the most popular sports.[3]
Switzerland is also notable as the birthplace of competitive sledding, which originated in the Swiss resort of St. Moritz, which was also where the first bobsleigh was constructed in the late nineteenth century. Switzerland has traditionally been a strong nation in bobsleigh, enjoying a particularly fierce rivalry with East Germany in the 1970s and 1980s.[5]
Curling has been a very popular winter sport for more than 30 years. The Swiss teams have won 3 World Men's Curling Championships and 2 Women's titles. The Swiss men's team skipped by Dominic Andres won a gold medal at 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.
Most Swiss people follow ice hockey and support one of the 14 teams of the National League which, as of 2023, is the most-attended European ice hockey league.[10]
Like many other Europeans, most Swiss are fans of association football and the national team or 'Nati' is widely supported. The national team has previously participated at twelve different FIFA World Cups (last in 2022) and five different UEFA European Championships (last in 2021 and as co-host with Austria in 2008. Also 1996, 2004 and 2016).
At club level Grasshopper Club Zürich holds the records for winning the most national championship titles (27) and the most Swiss Cup trophies (19). More recently FC Basel enjoyed great success on a national (winning 11 championship titles from 2003 to 2017) and international level (qualifying 8 times for the UEFA Champions League Group stage. The first appearance was in 2002).
Clint Capela has been the highest paid team athlete in Switzerland's history.[12]
Mies in Switzerland is home to the headquarters of FIBA, the world's governing agency for international events. Unsurprisingly, the country is one of FIBA's founding members and therefore has one of the world's longest basketball traditions.
Once a major team at the international scene, its national team does not have major international significance anymore, despite occasional strong showings at qualification games.
The Nationalliga A is the top level league in Switzerland formed in 1982. Below is the National league B and C. Switzerland has a national team that competes in international tournament play. The Calanda Broncos are the most successful team in Switzerland having won the most Swiss Bowl national championships and was Eurobowl champion in 2012.
Roger Federer is widely considered to be one of "the best male player in the history of tennis"
Over the last few decades, swiss tennis players Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka and Martina Hingis have been at the top of tennis. Federer, Wawrinka and Hingis all have Grand Slam singles titles to their names. Federer has won 20 Grand Slam titles and holds the record for the longest consecutive stay as the world number 1 at 237 weeks.[14] Federer has won a record 8 Wimbledon titles overall and has also won the Australian Open 6 times, the US Open 5 times and the French Open once. Another Swiss tennis figure is Marc Rosset, winning the singles gold medal at the 1992 Olympics. Both Federer and Wawrinka teamed up at the 2008 Olympics to win the doubles gold medal. Federer and Wawrinka had a massive influence in Switzerland winning the Davis Cup title in 2014.
Switzerland also hosts 3 ATP tournaments. The Swiss Indoors takes place in Basel at the St. Jakobshalle and is an ATP 500 event that holds a prominent position in the European indoor hard court swing in autumn. Federer has won it a record 10 times.[15] Other tournaments include the Swiss Open that takes place in Gstaad and the Geneva Open. Both tournaments take place on clay.
Motorsportroad racing circuits and events were banned in Switzerland following the 1955 Le Mans disaster with the exception of events held in a time trial format such as hillclimbing. On June 6, 2007 an amendment to lift the ban was passed by the lower house of the Swiss parliament.[17] However the proposed law failed to pass the upper house, and was withdrawn in 2009 after being rejected twice.[18] In 2015 the Swiss government allowed a relaxation of the law, permitting head-to-head racing for electric vehicles only.[19] In June 2018 Switzerland hosted its first motor race in 63 years when the first Zürich ePrix was held as a round of the all-electric Formula E championship.[20]
Switzerland is also the home of the sailing team Alinghi which won the America's Cup in 2003 and defended the title in 2007. Golf is becoming increasingly popular, with already more than 35 courses available and more in planning. André Bossert is a successful Swiss professional golfer.
The Switzerland national beach football team won the Euro Beach football Cup in 2005 and were runners-up twice, in 2008 Euro Beach football Cup and 2009 Euro Beach football Cup. More recently, they were also runners-up in the 2009 FIFA Beach football World Cup that took place in November.
In cycling, Fabian Cancellara nicknamed 'Spartacus' is one of the best road racer of modern times. He has achieved great success in the classics; he has won Paris–Roubaix three times, the Milan – San Remo once, and the Tour of Flanders three times. Cancellara has won the opening stage of the Tour de France five times and has led the race for 28 days total, which is the most of any rider who has not won the Tour. His success has not been limited to just time trials and classics, as he has won general classification of the Tirreno–Adriatico, Tour de Suisse, and the Tour of Oman. In 2008, he won gold in the individual time trial and silver in the men's road race at the Summer Olympics. In 2016, at the Summer Olympics, he won in his last race of his career gold in the individual time trial. In addition, Cancellara has been the time trial world champion four times in his career.
Switzerland is the third most successful orienteering country in history.
Traditional sports include Swiss wrestling or "Schwingen". It is an old tradition from the rural central cantons and considered the national sport by some. Hornussen is another indigenous Swiss sport, which is like a cross between baseball and golf. Steinstossen is the Swiss variant of stone put, a competition in throwing a heavy stone. Practiced only among the alpine population since prehistoric times, it is recorded to have taken place in Basel in the 13th century. It is also central to the Unspunnenfest, first held in 1805, with its symbol the 83.5 kg stone named Unspunnenstein.