Top 10 Oldest Sports In The World

Have you ever wondered which was the first competitive sport ever played? Well, we dig deep into the history books and bring you the top 10 oldest sports according to artifacts found worldwide.

We could write this article in two different ways:
A) Oldest Sports ever known
B) Oldest sports according to official competitive events
So, we try to merge both and come up with a list with actual facts and evidence.

1 – Wrestling

Earliest evidence found: 15,300 years ago in the Upper Paleolithic era.
Territory of Origin: Greece and France
Competitive debut: In Paris, France early 1830’s

Comes without any surprise; wrestling is by far the oldest sport ever known to man, and it actually comes with documented evidence to support the claim. According to one of many “fragments of papyrus” found back in the 18th century, instructions on how to wrestle and some other details make wrestling the oldest sport with documented evidence.

Ancient wrestling is widely mentioned in several fragments of papyrus found, and one such piece actually has a lot of details for a competitive fight between 100 and 200 A.D. The piece contains details of a wrestling match between two teenagers named Nicantinous and Demetrius. It was also the first-ever evidence of match-fixing.

According to the fragment in the Greek language, Nicantinous’s father and Demetrius’ trainer agreed that Demetrius must “fall three times and yield.” The loser will be paid 3,800 drachmas. The text also details that if Demetrius fails to comply with the contract, he will be penalized 18,000 drachmas.

Now, as far as modern times are concerned, Wrestling was one of the first sports to have been included in the Olympics, according to Olympic history. Professional wrestling dates back to the 1830s with documented evidence and was played in Paris, France.

Today’s wrestling has evolved and become mainstream around the world. It is still part of the Olympics, and there are other professional circuits where wrestling is very popular as a sport.

2 – Running/Sprinting

Earliest evidence found: 15,300 years ago, in the Upper Paleolithic era
Territory of Origin: France
Competitive debut: In Ireland, back in 1831, it was used as a recreation and competitive sport.

Just like wrestling, running/sprinting as a sport first appeared in fragments found from the Upper Paleolithic era (15,300 years ago), and the earliest depictions of sprinting are in the Lascaux caves in France.

Running/sprinting was part of the first set of sports in the first Olympics, dating back to 776 BCE. Many believe the first-ever recorded competition involving running/sprinting also occurred in Ireland in 1831.

3 – Archery

Earliest evidence found: 10,000 years ago, towards the end of the Upper Paleolithic era.
Territory of Origin: The oldest evidence is found in Africa
Competitive debut: Included in the modern Olympics back in 1900

Bow and Arrow were invented towards the end of the Upper Paleolithic era, and archery was used for hunting and in warfare in different regions. As a sport, it dates back to the very first ancient Olympics in different disciplines.

As far as the recorded history goes, Archary was part of sports in the Olympics back in 1900, 1904, 1908, and 1920. Then, it was withdrawn as a sport from the Olympics and returned from the 1972 Olympics.

4 – Swimming

Earliest evidence found: 6000 BCE.
Territory of Origin: The oldest evidence is found in the Libyan Desert
Competitive debut: As a competitive sport in England

Humans developed the skills to swim thousands of years ago, and the very first depictions of swimming activity can be found in what is now known as the “Cave of Swimmers” in the Gilf Kebir plateau (Libyan desert). Swimming became a competitive sport back in the 19th century in England, where it was introduced as a recreation and competitive sport.

Additionally, it was first introduced in the Olympics back in 1896 as a men’s sport. Swimming as a sport is one of the most prominent events in the Olympics every four years. Both men and women participate in several swimming disciplines in a bid to win Olympic medals for their country.

5 – Boxing

Earliest evidence found: The earliest evidence of boxing comes from Ancient Mesopotamia from the Sumerian civilization.
Territory of Origin: Sumerian civilization, which is modern-day Iraq.
Competitive debut: As a competition, it dates back to Roman times when it was fought to death with leather-like wrappings on fists. The modern citation came when it was included as a competitive sport in the ancient Olympics in 688 BCE.

Romans also had a boxing-like sport where two fighters would wear leather thongs and fight to the death. Fist fighting in England dates back to the 17th century with “bare-knuckle” boxing with rules and regulations. The rules included a 30-second count out and not hitting below the chest while the opponent is down.

6 – Gymnastics

Earliest evidence found: 500 BCE
Territory of Origin: Ancient Greece.
Competitive debut: As a competitive sport, it was introduced in the Olympics back in 1890’s

The earliest evidence of Gymnastics is found in ancient Greek history. It was introduced as just a set of training methods for the Army. When Romans invaded Greece, they adopted the Gymnastics training for their army, and that is how it was brought to Europe. As far as modern Gymnastics is concerned, it dates back to the 18th century when it was included in the Ancient Olympics. The International Federation for Gymnastics was formed back in 1891, and since then, Gymnastics has been part of the modern Olympics in both men’s and women’s categories.

7 – Chess

Earliest evidence found: The earliest evidence found is from the 6th century in Persian history of a game that has striking similarities to modern chess.
Territory of Origin: Unknown but games with striking similarities were played in Persia, India, and China.

Now, Chess actually dates back to the 6th century, according to some of the evidence found in Persian history. Some historians claim it started in India or Persia, and some say it came from China. However, regardless of the origin, Chess’s documented history goes back to 1350 years ago when it was introduced in Europe. Moreover, it was different in those times from what we know today. However, modern Chess has striking similarities to what was played so many centuries ago.

8 – Football

Earliest evidence found: The first evidence of the ball game comes from China with a sport called Tsu Chu or Cuju.
Territory of Origin: China.
Competitive debut: Football as a sport with official rules & regulations was developed in England in the 19th century.

Football history is vague as there were so many sports, including “ball games” around the world. One of the very first evidence of ball games comes from China with a sport called Tsu Chu or Cuju back in c.2500 BCE. FIFA, “The world governing body of Football,” recognizes Tsu Chu as the very first form of football ever discovered, making China the game’s inventor.

In Europe, there were several forms of “ball games” played in the 13th and 14th centuries, especially in England, where a sport called “mob ball” was played where participants were unlimited. The very first rules and regulations of sport were found in England when football was introduced to children at school.

In the 19th century, football was played around England and became very popular. The very first club ever formed was “Sheffield United” back in 1857, and soon after, modern rules were introduced, and the first-ever league was created in England.

9 – Hurling

Earliest evidence found: The earliest evidence found is a 300-year-old.
Territory of Origin: Ireland.
Competitive debut: Hurling is a sport that has been played in Ireland with official rules since the early 1900s.

Hurling has been played in Ireland for the better part of the last 3000 years. Thus, it makes it one of the oldest sports in the world. However it did not become a worldwide sport; football actually stems from Hurling early days in England. So it’s only right we mentioned this one of the oldest yet unknown sports in the world.

10 – Polo

Earliest evidence found: 4th Century (310’s AD)
Territory of Origin: The oldest evidence is found in the Persian empire.
Competitive debut: As a competitive sport, it was developed in the Indian subcontinent during the British Empire era

Polo as a sport dates back to the peak of the Persian empire in central Asia back in the 4th century. It was developed as a team sport for the Persian royals who learned to ride horses early in their lives. The earliest evidence found was from 316 AD. As a sport with rules and regulations, it was developed further by the British Empire during their tenure in the Indian subcontinent.

#	Sports	Origin	Competitive Debut
1	Wrestling	15,300 years ago	Professional wrestling dates back to 1820’s in Paris, France
2	Running/Sprinting	15,300 years ago	1891 professional fights were held under the banner of the “National Sporting Club.”
3	Archery	10,000 years ago	First competitive running event took place in Ireland in 1830
4	Swimming	6000 years ago	Archery made its debut in the Olympics back in 1900
5	Boxing	1200 years ago	Became part of the Olympics in 1890’s
6	Gymnastic	1000 years ago	Developed as a team sport under the British Empire in India in the early 1900s
7	Chess	1000 years ago	Chess has been played professionally since the 19th century
9	Football	800 years ago	Hurling as a competitive sport dates back to the early 1900s
9	Hurling	300 years ago	Developed as a team sport under the British Empire in India in the early 1900s
10	Polo	200 years ago	Football turned professional in England in the late 1870s

These are the details about the oldest sports in the world. If there is any change, we will make them available here. Stay tuned for more information!