Peruvians are quite enthusiastic about sports, and they play a wide range of sports. The most sought out sports in Peru are soccer and volleyball while traditionally, they played cockfighting, bull-fighting, and racing.

fans of Zarzuela Cusco fans of Zarzuela Cusco

The Peruvian National Football team has played in the FIFA World Cup five times, and has won two Copa América trophies.

"Peru's passion for soccer is unmatched in South America. The national team's achievements in Copa América and their World Cup appearances demonstrate the country's dedication to developing football talent at all levels."
— Robert J. Wood, PhD, Founder of Topend Sports

The country also won in Women's Volleyball. Their national team won a silver medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics. Also, they won twelve times in the South American Championship and were runner-up in the Volleyball World Championships.

Peru has other sports that are gaining popularity, like taekwondo, which was introduced in the 1970s where Cesar Landeo, a black belter, is well known at this sport. In Tennis, Luis Horna and Jaime Yzaga are the most well-known Peruvian tennis players.

For travelers and athletes across the world, Peru offers waves to everyone. The exciting Peru International Surfing Championship has given the locals one of the sport's biggest and most prestigious events ever held in their country. The competition started in 1956, unfortunately ended in 1974.

"Sofia Mulanovich's 2004 World Surfing Championship victory put Peru on the global surfing map and inspired a new generation of Peruvian surfers to pursue excellence in the sport."
— Robert Wood, founder of Topend Sports

Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Peru.

Popular sports of Peru

Traditional or Local Sports

  • Paleta Frontón — a wall based racquet sport that originated in Peru
  • Bullfighting: This is a traditional sport in Peru, where two bulls fight each other in a ring.
  • Surfing: This sport is popular in Peru, especially in the coastal regions.
  • Tinku: This is a traditional Peruvian sport that involves two teams of players competing in a physical contest.

Peru Sporting Success

  • Olympics: Edwin Vásquez, Gold medalist at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games. Peru won a gold medal at the London 1948 Summer Olympics.
  • Surfing: Felipe Pomar (1965 world surfing champion), Sofía Mulánovich (World champion in 2004)
  • Volleyball: South American Champions 12 times, 10 times runners-up.
  • Sofia Mulanovich won the World Surf League Championship in 2004.
  • Peru won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Great athletes from Peru

  • Teófilo Cubillas (Football)
  • Sofia Mulanovich (Surfing) - Women's World Champion in 2004
  • Luis Horna (Tennis)
  • Alejandro Olmedo (Tennis) - Davis Cup and Wimbledon winner (Peru-born, but played for the USA)
  • Natalia Málaga (Volleyball)
  • Kina Malpartida (Boxing)
  • Jaime Yzaga (Tennis)
  • Wilfredo Gómez (Boxing)
  • Claudio Pizarro (Football)
"The diversity of Peru's sporting achievements—from Teófilo Cubillas in football to Sofia Mulanovich in surfing—demonstrates the country's ability to produce world-class athletes across multiple disciplines."
— According to sports science expert Robert Wood, who has analyzed sports performance data for over 25 years

Peru Sports trivia

  • Peru born Alex Olmedo won the Wimbledon singles title in 1959, representing USA.
  • Peru takes part in the Bolivarian Games, a multi-sport competition involving athletes from Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
Rugby promotion for the 2019 Pan American Games in LimaRugby promotion for the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima

Peru at major events

Past sporting events hosted in Peru

Upcoming sporting events in Peru

Annual sporting events held in Peru

  • Caminos del Inca Rally - an annual car rally event
  • The Lima Marathon - This event takes place in the capital city of Lima every year in May.
  • The Copa América - This event takes place in Peru every four years.
  • The Rally Dakar - This is an annual off-road rally race that takes place in Peru and other South American countries.
  • The Peru Open - This is an annual tennis tournament that takes place in Lima.
  • The Peru National Football Championship - It is an annual football tournament that takes place in the country. This championship is contested by the top teams from the Peruvian league.

Sporting Facilities in Peru

  • Estadio Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (known as Estadio Garcilaso) - Cusco's principal stadium and the home venue of the local football team Cienciano.
  • The Estadio Nacional of Peru - a multipurpose stadium located in Lima, Peru, capacity 40,000.
  • Peru Institute of Sport.

Is there something missing? If you know of something that should be listed here, please let me know.