Cabo Verde (previously known as Cape Verde) is a country with 10 islands that are mostly volcanic in the Atlantic Ocean. They have one of the best places for windsurfing and kiteboarding – the break at Ponta Preta on the island of Sal is known worldwide. As a matter of fact, the 2008 Kite Surfing World Champion in the wave discipline, Mitu Monteiro, is a Cabo Verdean.

But water sports are not the only sports in Cabo Verde. Football is by far the biggest. The national team, nicknamed the Blue Sharks, qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations for the very first time in 2013, after seeing off Cameroon 3–2 on aggregate in October 2012, and reached the quarter-finals on debut. They returned in 2015, 2021 and 2023, reaching the quarter-finals again in 2023, though they missed out on the 2025 tournament in Morocco.

Everything was overshadowed by what came next. In October 2025 Cabo Verde won their qualifying group to reach the FIFA World Cup for the first time – an extraordinary achievement for a nation of roughly 530,000 people. At the 2026 finals in North America they were drawn in Group H alongside Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, and came through it unbeaten. They held Spain to a goalless draw in their opening match, with goalkeeper Vozinha named man of the match; drew 2–2 with Uruguay, Kevin Pina's free kick becoming the country's first World Cup goal and Hélio Varela adding the second; and drew 0–0 with Saudi Arabia. Three draws were enough for second place in the group, making Cabo Verde the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout rounds of a World Cup, and the first debutant to go through since Slovakia in 2010. In the round of 32 in Miami on 3 July they took the holders Argentina to extra time before losing 3–2, Sidny Lopes Cabral scoring one of the goals of the tournament along the way.

There are also a great many players with Cabo Verdean roots turning out for clubs and national teams in France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland. Jorge Andrade, Nani, Rolando, Nélson, Henrik Larsson, Patrick Vieira, Patrice Evra, Luc Castaignos and Gelson Fernandes all have Cabo Verdean heritage, and much of the current national squad is drawn from the diaspora. Captain Ryan Mendes is the most capped player in the country's history and its leading scorer.

Cabo Verde have competed at every Summer Olympic Games since 1996. For a long time they had nothing to show for it, but that changed at Paris 2024, when boxer Daniel Varela de Pina took bronze in the men's 51kg to win the country its first Olympic medal.

Basketball has produced its own breakthrough. Cabo Verde reached the FIBA Basketball World Cup for the first time in 2023, becoming the smallest nation by population ever to do so, and beat Venezuela for a first win at the tournament. Their best continental result remains the bronze medal won at AfroBasket in 2007, and they reached the quarter-finals again in 2025. Real Madrid centre Walter "Edy" Tavares is the team's best-known figure.

Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Cabo Verde. Is there something missing? If you know of something that should be listed here, please let us know.

Popular sports of Cabo Verde

  • Football (Soccer), basketball, water sports (kitesurfing, windsurfing, surfing), beach soccer, athletics, boxing

Cabo Verde Sporting Success

  • The Cabo Verde team reached the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on their tournament debut, the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout stage.
  • First Olympic medal, a boxing bronze for Daniel Varela de Pina at Paris 2024.
  • First qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013, reaching the quarter-finals on debut and again in 2023.
  • Qualified for the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023, and won bronze at AfroBasket in 2007.
  • Fourth on the medal table at the 2019 African Beach Games they hosted, with three golds

Great athletes from Cabo Verde

  • Mitu Monteiro – 2008 Kite Surfing World Champion in the wave discipline
  • Daniel Varela de Pina – boxer, Olympic bronze medallist at Paris 2024 and the country's first Olympic medallist
  • Ryan Mendes – footballer, national team captain, record cap holder and leading goalscorer
  • Vozinha – goalkeeper, man of the match against Spain on Cabo Verde's World Cup debut
  • Walter "Edy" Tavares – basketball centre, long-serving at Real Madrid

Cabo Verde Sports trivia

  • With a population of around 530,000, Cabo Verde is the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout stage of a FIFA World Cup – and also the smallest by population to qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
  • The football team are nicknamed the Blue Sharks (Tubarões Azuis).
  • Cabo Verde got through the 2026 World Cup group stage without winning a match, drawing all three.
  • Ponta Preta on Sal is one of the best known wave-riding spots in the world and a regular stop on the kitesurfing world tour.

Cabo Verde at major events

  • Cabo Verde at the Summer Olympics
  • FIFA World Cup – debut appearance in 2026, reaching the round of 32.
  • Africa Cup of Nations – 2013, 2015, 2021 and 2023.
  • FIBA Basketball World Cup – 2023.

Past sporting events hosted in Cabo Verde

  • The 1st African Beach Games, Sal, Cabo Verde, 14–23 June 2019. Forty-five nations contested 28 events across 11 sports.

Annual sporting events held in Cabo Verde

  • The Campeonato Nacional, the national football championship, played off between the champions of each island league.

Sporting Facilities in Cabo Verde

  • Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia – the national stadium, opened in August 2014, with a capacity of 15,000 and an athletics track.
  • Ponta Preta, Sal – the beach and reef break that has made the islands a destination for kitesurfers and windsurfers.