The people of Zimbabwe are very keen sports fans. The government itself encourages its people to be physically active by building facilities and gyms to accommodate their sporting interests. Sports activities in Zimbabwe include cricket, rugby union, netball, tennis, handball, golf, swimming, and field hockey but soccer is by far most popular.

Zimbabwe has two professional soccer leagues, the Zimbabwe Football Association and the CBZ’s Premier League. There is also a room for the young lads to have the opportunity to compete with other youth soccer teams from around the world by joining the Youth Soccer League and Youth Olympics Squad.

The Zimbabwe athlete that is very well known in this profession is Knowledge Musona, a veteran striker who remains the Warriors' talisman and was still scoring for the national team at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco.

One of the biggest sporting facilities in Zimbabwe is the multi-use National Sports Stadium. At this 60,000 capacity stadium football matches and rugby union matches often are conducted, though as of the 2025-26 international season it has not held CAF approval to host international football, forcing the Warriors to play "home" qualifiers in neighbouring countries.

Zimbabwe has won eight Olympic medals since they first participated in 1980. Kirsty Coventry took 1 gold, silver and bronze in the 2004 Athens Olympics for swimming and gold and 3 silver for the same sport at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The other medal is a gold medal from the women's field hockey team in 1980. Coventry, who went on to serve as Zimbabwe's Minister of Sport, made history in March 2025 when she was elected President of the International Olympic Committee, becoming both the first woman and the first African to hold the role.

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

Popular sports of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's Sporting Success

  • 1995 - in golf, Zimbabwe reached the final of the Dunhill Cup in 1995, where they narrowly lost to Scotland.
  • 1997 - Zimbabwe became the World Champions in Polocrosse.
  • The Zimbabwe national football team has now qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations six times (2004, 2006, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2025), though they are yet to progress beyond the group stage
  • Kirsty Coventry, the country's most decorated Olympian, was elected President of the International Olympic Committee in March 2025, the first woman and first African to hold the position

Great athletes from Zimbabwe

  • Kirsty Coventry (swimming) — Africa's most decorated Olympian and, since 2025, President of the International Olympic Committee
  • Andy Flower (cricket)
  • Benjamin "Benjani" Mwaruwari (football)
  • Bruce Grobbelaar (football)
  • Knowledge Musona (football) — long-serving national team striker

Zimbabwe Sports trivia

  • Of Zimbabwe's 8 Olympic medals, 7 have been won by swimmer Kirsty Coventry. The other was in field hockey at the 1980 Summer Olympics.
  • Zimbabwe's 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers had to be played entirely on foreign soil, with "home" fixtures staged in Uganda and South Africa because the National Sports Stadium lacked CAF approval to host internationals.

Zimbabwe at major events

Past sporting events hosted in Zimbabwe

Upcoming sporting events in Zimbabwe

Annual sporting events held in Zimbabwe

  • Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League

Sporting Facilities in Zimbabwe

  • National Sports Stadium — 60,000-capacity multi-use venue in Harare for football and rugby union, though currently without CAF approval to host international football matches

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