Sport in Tunisia
Football is the most popular sport in Tunisia. The most watched sports in Tunisia are football, handball, basketball, volleyball, tennis, and rugby union.[1][2][3]
Sport is encouraged in school, and local sports clubs receive financial support from the local governments.[4][5][6][7][2]
The national stadium is the Stade Olympique de Radès.
Football
Football is the most popular sport in Tunisia. The Tunisia national football team, also known as "The Eagles of Carthage", won the 2004 African Cup of Nations (CAN) which was held in Tunisia.[8] They also represented Africa in the 2005 Confederations Cup which was held in Germany, but they could not go beyond the first round. The Eagles of Carthage have participated in four FIFA World Cup Championships.
The Premier Football League is the "Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1". The main clubs are Espérance Sportive de Tunis, Club Africain, Club sportif Sfaxien and Étoile du Sahel.[9] The latter team participated in the 2008 World Cup for Clubs and reached the semi-final match, in which it was eliminated by Boca Juniors from Argentina. Tunisia's star players are centre forward Issam Jemaa, left back Ahmed Seliet and right back Aiyah Wliid Fatiha'a.
Handball
Handball is the second most popular sport in Tunisia. The Tunisia national handball team has participated in several Handball World Championships. In 2005, Tunisia held the 2005 Handball World Championship, and they came fourth. The national league consists of about 12 teams, with Etoile du Sahel and Espérance Sportive de Tunis dominating. The most famous Tunisian handball player is Wissem Hmam. In the 2005 World Men's Handball Championship in Tunis, Wissem Hmam was ranked as the top scorer of the tournament. The Tunisian national handball team won the African Cup 10 times as a record, being the team dominating the competition. The Tunisians won the 2012 African Cup in Morocco for the 2nd Consecutive time and it is the 9th title at all by defeating Algeria in the final, the last time tunisia won the African Cup was in 2018 against Egypt.
Basketball
Tunisia recently celebrated a revival in basketball when its national team won the 2011 FIBA Africa Championship, a title rarely won by North African nations.[10] Since then, Tunisia has been home to several players in the Spanish ACB, which is often regarded as one of the world's strongest basketball leagues. And now Tunisia have an NBA player, in the season of Salah Mejri has joined the Dallas Mavericks/
Tennis
In tennis, Tunisia holds a tournament called Tunis Open.
Cycling
Cycling is a popular recreational sport, with the Tour de Tunisia, being the main annual competition of Cycling in Tunisia.
Pétanque
Pétanque is mostly played in the north of Tunisia. Tunisia has won the world championship many times.
References
- "SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class journal research". doi:10.1177/101269027501000307. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - "Sport and Identity in tunisia" (PDF). Jstage.jst.go.jp. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- Testa, Alberto; Amara, Mahfoud (25 September 2015). Sport in Islam and in Muslim Communities. Routledge. ISBN 9781317595434. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via Google Books.
- Testa, Alberto; Amara, Mahfoud (25 September 2015). Sport in Islam and in Muslim Communities. Routledge. ISBN 9781317595434. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via Google Books.
- "Tunisia Spurs On Equestrian Sports". FEI.org. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- "GENDER & SPORT IN TUNISIA" (PDF). Gestproject.eu. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- Bedhioufi Hafsi; Abidi Aymen; Kumar Serge Rogert (October 2014). "Publications Violence in sport in Tunisia: the itinerary of a hateful sportization" (PDF). International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications. 4. ISSN 2250-3153. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- "Tunisia win Cup of Nations". 14 February 2004. Retrieved 4 March 2019 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- AfricaNews (11 January 2019). "Tunisia's Espérance celebrates centenary". Africanews.com. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- Travel, D. K. (1 June 2016). DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Tunisia. Dorling Kindersley Limited. ISBN 9780241249154. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via Google Books.