Sports in Uruguay

The country has hosted the 1930 Soccer World Cup, and the 1967 World Basketball Championship. On the other hand, it hosts annual competitions such as the Uruguayan First Division, the Uruguayan Basketball League, the Uruguay Cycling Tour, the Rutas de América, the Punta del Este Grand Prix and the Punta del Este Sevens.

As of December 2019, in Uruguay there are 55 national sports federations with 236,000 athletes. There are 160,000 soccer players, of which 6.5% are women. Of the remaining 75,000 athletes, 29% are women.

At an amateur level, the place that gathers the most athletes on a daily basis is the Rambla de Montevideo, where people run, ride bicycles or skates and practice beach sports.

Organizations

The Uruguayan Olympic Committee has 34 affiliated federations, while the Uruguayan Sports Confederation has 52 affiliated federations.

The University Sports League, founded in 1914 and affiliated with the International University Sports Federation, brought together 8,000 amateur athletes from nine disciplines in 2011. The Collegiate Integration Sports Association, founded in 1966, organizes tournaments in which 9,000 students and 3,000 parents from 77 educational institutions in Montevideo compete, most of them private.

By sport

Football

Flags in the match between the Uruguayan football team and its similar Venezuela, in June 2012.

Uruguay, with a rich sporting history recognized worldwide, which stands out for being a small country with a population of around 3 million inhabitants, having garnered many continental and world titles, achievements of great hierarchy and other records that to date none or very few countries have been able to match. Soccer is the most popular sport in the country.

The first soccer match in the history of Uruguay was played in 1878 between the Montevideo Cricket Club against the crew of an English ship. In 1881 the first interclub match was played between the Montevideo Cricket Club and Montevideo Rowing.

The Uruguayan team has won two World Cups: the one in 1930 and the one in 1950; two Olympic Games, in 1924 and 1928, and 15 Copa América (Uruguay has the historic record shared with Brazil and Argentina for world titles).

The First Division championship began to be played in the year 1900. The team with the most championships is the National Football Club with 47 Uruguayan Championships, followed by the Club Atlético Peñarol with 45. These clubs are historical rivals, and they compete among themselves for the Uruguayan soccer classic. They have also excelled at an international level, obtaining between them eight Copa Libertadores and six Intercontinental Cups, as well as a long list of international titles.

The Centenario Stadium, which hosted the 1930 Soccer World Cup, was recognized by FIFA as a World Soccer Historical Monument.

More than 60,000 children from all over the country compete in the baby soccer leagues of the National Children's Soccer Organization (ONFI).

See also:

• Soccer Room Selection Uruguay
• Uruguay Beach Soccer Selection
• Women's football team from Uruguay

Futsal

Uruguay has the privilege of being considered the inventor of this sport, a variant of soccer, since it has several differences with traditional soccer, which makes it a different sport. For FIFA it is considered another sport different from traditional soccer. Uruguay participated on several occasions in the FIFA Futsal World Championship, and the AMF (World Futsal Association, formerly called FIFUSA, International Futsal Federation). Although it is worth clarifying that, and if there are already differences between futsal and traditional soccer, which makes both different sports, these two types of futsal are also very different from each other: AMF/FIFUSA is about indoor or micro soccer football, while FIFA refers to futsal. Hall (AMF) and Hall (FIFA) are very different from each other, although both are the two types of Futsal that exist in the world. Uruguay is associated with the two aforementioned organizations, AMF and FIFA, which govern this discipline on the planet.

Basketball

The Uruguayan basketball team is the team that has won the South American Senior Championship the third most times, behind Brazil and Argentina, with a total of 12 titles. He also won two bronze medals at the 1952 Helsinki and 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, and a bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games.

Over the years, basketball consolidated itself as the second sport of choice for Uruguayans, which allowed the survival of the FUBB in full force.

The Uruguayan Basketball League (LUB) began to be played in 2003. Before that date, the basketball championships in Uruguay were only federal and there was no competition that brought together all the country's clubs.

Billiards

In this sport, Uruguay had a great performance, especially in the Italian Billiards known as Five Pin Billards, governed internationally by FIBIS (International Federation of Italian Sports Billiards) where Anselmo Berrondo in 1968 was world champion

Boxing

Boxing at the Peñarol Palace in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Boxing won a bronze medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics through boxer Washington Cuerito Rodríguez in the Bantamweight category. Among the greatest exponents of this sport in Uruguay are: Alfredo Evangelista, Dogomar Martínez, Caril "Ratón" Herrera, José María Flores Burlón and Chris Namús.

Cycling

It is a popular sport that takes place in all departments. As road competitions, the Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay and Rutas de América are traditional, which travel throughout the country with good public acceptance, enthusiastically receiving the competitors of these races. Clubs from Uruguay and invited teams from other countries participate in them.

As for its exponents, the third place achieved by Rubén Etchebarne, Juan José Timón, Vid Cencic and René Pezzati in the team time trial at the 1962 World Road Cycling Championship, and in track cycling stand out the silver medal obtained by Milton Wynants in the points test of the Sydney 2000 Olympics stands out. Timón, Héctor Raúl Rondán, Mariano De Fino, Fabricio Ferrari and Mauricio Moreira are the only Uruguayan cyclists who have competed in European professional teams of route. Moreira won the 2022 Tour of Portugal, valid for the UCI Europe Tour.

Riders

Jineteadas are a very popular traditional sport in Uruguay and are practiced in many festivals in all departments. The most important of all without a doubt is the Fiesta de la Criolla del Prado de Montevideo, organized by the Uruguayan Rural Association and which takes place in the Prado neighborhood of Montevideo on the premises of the same organization.

The sport has generated recent controversy due to the raising of organizations in defense of animals regarding animal welfare and the treatment of horses, as a consequence the use of spurs in these horse riding has been eliminated.

Rugby

Rugby was introduced in the 1960s and is becoming increasingly popular among Uruguayans. The Uruguayan rugby team, called Los Teros, qualified for the 1999, 2003, 2015 and 2019 editions of the Rugby World Cup. It is the second strongest team in the Americas behind Argentina, which it has never beaten in official matches. In Punta de Este dates of the IRB Sevens World Series have been played.

An event sadly related to this sport was Flight 571 of the Uruguayan Air Force.

Motor sport

Four Uruguayan drivers have competed in Formula 1: Eitel Cantoni, Asdrúbal Fontes Bayardo, Óscar González and Alberto Uria. The latter two shared a seat at the 1956 Argentine Grand Prix and finished 6th. Gonzalo Rodríguez won International Formula 3000 races at the Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps and Monaco and finished third in the 1998 and 1999 seasons. He earned a spot with Team Penske in the CART series, where he finished 12th in his debut, but died when crashing training in his second participation. Santiago Urrutia was runner-up in the Indy Lights and won three World Touring Car Cup races.

Uruguay has been a powerhouse in the South American rally. The most outstanding driver in the specialty has been Gustavo Trelles who was four-time champion of the FIA Group N Rally Cup between 1996 and 1999, was vice-champion of the same in 1990, 2000 and 2001, and was ninth in the World Rally Championship of 1993 with a fourth place in the Rally of Argentina as the most outstanding performance. The 19 Capitals Grand Prix was held, with a route of more than 2,000 kilometres. The Rally del Lago (1985-1992) and the Rally del Atlántico (1994-present), held in the southeast of the country, have been regular dates for the South American Rally Championship.

The three most important racetracks today are El Pinar, Mercedes and Rivera, while several cities have hosted street races, including Montevideo, Punta del Este and Piriápolis. Several of the main Argentine and South American motorsport championships have held dates in the country, especially Turismo Carretera, TC 2000, Turismo Nacional, TCR South America, Formula 1 Mecánica Argentina, Formula 2 Codasur and Formula 3 South American, as well as international karting and motorcycling tournaments. Conversely, several Uruguayan drivers have competed in Argentina at the highest level, most recently Juan Ignacio Cáceres, José Pedro Passadore, Mauricio Lambiris and Marcos Landa.

Currently, Uruguay holds national championships in speed racing, speed motorcycling, rally, motocross and karting. AUVO is in charge of organizing speed motorsport competitions.

Tennis

The most successful Uruguayan male tennis players have been Diego Pérez, Marcelo Filippini, Pablo Cuevas and Ariel Behar. Diego Pérez won an individual ATP tournament and reached number 27 in the ATP ranking. Filippini for his part reached 30th place on the world list in 1990, won five ATP singles tournaments, and reached the quarterfinals of the Roland Garros Tournament in 1999. Cuevas has won one ATP 500 tournament and five ATP 250 singles tournaments, and in August 2016 he reached 19th place in the individual world ranking. He also won the 2008 Roland Garros men's doubles tournament, reaching number 14 in the world doubles ranking. Behar won an ATP 250 tournament in doubles.

Tennis player Fiorella Bonicelli won the 1975 Roland Garros mixed doubles title and the 1976 Roland Garros doubles title; she in singles she reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros and the round of 16 in three Grand Slam tournaments.

The Davis Cup team has competed since 1931 in the various American groups, specifically Group I since 2008. The Fed Cup team has existed since 1972, where it reached the round of 16 on its debut and in 1976.

American Football

American football, although it has been practiced for 11 years in Uruguay, is just being born. Currently there is the LUFA (Uruguayan American Football League) which has 5 teams (Goldenbulls, Emperors, Barbarians, Spartans and Ravens).

Candle

Yachting and rowing are two popular sports. The most important institutions are the Uruguayan Yacht Club and the Montevideo Rowing Club. Ricardo Fabini won a world championship in the prestigious snipe class Hub E. Isaacks and O'Leary Trophies

Athletics

Uruguay has won five medals in athletics at the Pan American Games, although none were gold.

Estrella Puente was silver in the javelin in Mexico 1955; Albertino Ethechurry was bronze in the 3000 meter hurdles in San Pablo 1963; Darwin Piñeyrúa was bronze in the hammer throw in Cali 1971; Ricardo Vera was silver 3000 meters with obstacles in Havana 1991; and Déborah Gyursek took bronze in the pole vault at Winnipeg 1999.

Isabelino Gradín was a multiple South American and Latin American gold medalist in the 100m, 200m and 400m. Andrés Silva, a specialist in the 400 meter dash and hurdles, has won numerous gold medals in South American and Ibero-American tournaments, and has competed in the Olympic Games and world championships.

The traditional long-distance races of Uruguayan athletics are the San Fernando Race (Maldonado/Punta del Este), the San Antonio Double Run (Piriápolis) and the San Felipe and Santiago Run (Montevideo). In the year 2000, the Nike 10k Montevideo was played for the first time with some 4,000 registered, which grew to exceed 8,000 by the end of the decade. Then other similar races appeared in Montevideo, including the Reebok 10 km.

Marathon and half marathon races have also begun to be organized in Montevideo and other cities. The Half Iron Punta and the Iron Punta are also held, with 400 registered.

International Games

The Uruguayan delegation to the Olympic Games has won two gold medals in soccer in 1924 and 1928. It has also won two silvers and six bronzes in the disciplines of basketball, boxing, cycling and rowing.

Meanwhile, the Uruguayan team at the Pan American Games has won 12 gold, 26 silver and 47 bronze medals, ranking 15th in the all-time medal table.

Outstanding athletes

The Charrúa Awards are the distinctions that the Circle of Sports Journalists of Uruguay has awarded annually since 1972. The highest award is the Charrúa de Oro, which rewards the most outstanding athlete of the year, although on occasions more have been chosen.

In December 2010, as part of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the light blue jersey, some 70 living athletes representing each sport were honored.

American football

• Crespi Campomar

Athletics

• Albertino Ethechurry
• Isabelino Gradín
• Déborah Gyursek
• Emiliano Lasa
• Star
• Darwin Piñeyrúa
• Andrés
• Ricardo Vera
• Heber Viera
• Déborah Rodríguez

Motor Racing

• Gonzalo Rodríguez
• Gustavo Trelles
• Santiago Urrutia

Basketball

• Esteban Batista
• Marcelo Capalbo
• Bruno Fitipaldo
• Leandro García Morales
• Jayson Granger
• Horacio López Usera
• Martín Osimani

Boxing

• Dogomar Martínez
• Chris Namús

Cycling

• Fabricio Ferrari
• Atilio François
• Federico Moreira
• Milton Wynants

Football

• Roman Angel
• José Leandro Andrade
• José Nasazzi
• Hector Scarone
• Héctor Castro
• Pedro Petrone
• Severino Varela
• Obdulio Varela
• Juan Alberto Schiaffino
• Alcides Ghiggia
• Ladislao Mazurkiewicz
• Schubert Gambetta
• Roque Gastón Máspoli
• Fernando Morena
• Hugo De León
• Enzo Francescoli
• Ruben Sosa
• Diego Forlán
• Luis Suárez
• Alvaro Recoba
• Edinson Cavani

Golfing

• Fay Crocker

Horse riding

• Pablo Falero
• Irineo Leguisamo

Swimming

• Carlos Scanavino
• Ana María Norbis

Polo

• David Stirling

Tennis

• Fiorella Bonicelli
• Marcelo Filippini
• Diego Pérez
• Pablo Cuevas

Media

Press

In June 1881, the magazine El Eco del Rowing published the first chronicle of a soccer match, describing the victory of Montevideo Rowing against Montevideo Cricket.

At the beginning of the XX century, newspapers had a sports section, and in the 1960s sports supplements appeared. The oldest known sports newspapers date back to 1902: Sports and Uruguay Football, the latter self-proclaimed the first magazine specialized in football in South America. In 1909 Racing and football was launched, which placed special emphasis on horse racing. Mundo Uruguayo, published from 1919 to 1967, used to feature photographs of sporting events.

Radius

The first sports broadcast by radio in Uruguay was in charge of Claudio Sapelli, who broadcast the details of the soccer match between Uruguay and Brazil on October 1, 1922, on the roof of the newspaper El Plata. With a powerful receiver he picked up stories from Brazilian radio stations, read cables and imagined the meeting for the South American that was taking place in Rio de Janeiro.

The first live broadcast is believed to have been made by Radio Sud América General Electric from the Parque Central Stadium in 1924. In 1925 a classic between the Nacional and Peñarol clubs was broadcast.

In 1930, Ignacio Domínguez Riera and Emilio Elena broadcast the first Soccer World Cup that took place in Montevideo on Sodre public radio. In that decade Juan Enrique de Feo began the story of various sports on the radio La Voz del Aire (currently Nuevo Tiempo). In 1933 Radio Sport was launched, dedicated to sports, which in 1939 began mobile broadcasts of the Uruguay Cycling Tour.

The radios make up channels to broadcast soccer, cycling and motor racing competitions, standing out Cooperativa de Radioemisoras del Interior and Red Oro.

Television

On June 14, 1964, Channel 10 broadcast the first soccer match live from Parque Viera between Racing and Sud América, with stories by Roberto Fascioli and comments by Pedro Cea. Channel 4 was the first television channel to broadcast matches recorded on videotape.

In the 1960s, the first sports news programs appeared. In addition, live microwave transmissions were released for the Uruguayan club matches in the Copa Libertadores played in Argentina. In 1969, the first satellite broadcasts of soccer matches began to be received in Europe. The World Champions Gold Cup (Mundialito 1980) was filmed in color, but Uruguayan television channels continued to broadcast in black and white until 1981.

From 1970 to 2017, Estadio Uno was broadcast, a soccer debate program hosted by Julio Sánchez Padilla, recorded in his house barbecue for much of its history. From 1982 to 2012, Channel 4 broadcast Formula 1 motorsport races with the stories of Mario Uberti.

In the early 1990s, cable television and microwaves were brought into the home. In 1994, the matches of the Uruguayan Soccer Championship began to be broadcast by TyC Uruguay, an alliance between TyC Uruguay, a company in which Grupo Clarín and Paco Casal participated. In 1999, Casal became the sole owner of the Uruguayan soccer broadcasting rights through the Tenfield company.

National teams

Uruguay usually uses the light blue color in the teams of different sports, often with white, black, red or yellow colors.

• Uruguay basketball selection
• Soccer Selection of Uruguay
• Women's football team from Uruguay
• Soccer American Selection of Uruguay
• Uruguay Beach Soccer Selection
• Soccer Room Selection Uruguay
• Women's Selection of Hockey on Uruguay lawn
• Male Selection of Hockey on Uruguay lawn
• Uruguay Polo Selection
• Selection of rugby from Uruguay
• Selection of rugby 7 of Uruguay
• Youth rugby selection of Uruguay
• Copa Davis Team of Uruguay
• Male volleyball selection from Uruguay