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Sports in Monaco

Olympedia files Monaco as MON; its one medal row is a 1924 architecture bronze. The Grand Prix runs on the Circuit de Monaco; the Monte-Carlo Masters organiser places its event in France.
✓ Last reviewed: September 2026
Official namePrincipality of Monaco, the form used in the English text of the Constitution on the government portal
NOC codeMON, as Olympedia files the country; the IOC's own list of codes could not be retrieved
National Olympic CommitteeComité Olympique Monégasque, instituted by Sovereign Ordinance No. 688 of 31 December 1952 (Journal de Monaco, 19 January 1953)
IOC, per the committeeAfter a passage dated 1907, the committee writes: “Un an plus tard, Monaco devient la 25ème nation membre du CIO” (its wording; no year is printed for that step)
Olympic medal rows (MON)One row typed Olympic Games: 1924 Summer, 0 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze, in architecture, an art-competition event (Olympedia)
Sports billProjet de loi n° 1.088 sur le sport, deposited with the Conseil National on 19 December 2023 (Légimonaco)
Games of the Small States of EuropeHosted in 1987 and 2007, per the Comité Olympique Monégasque; the 2027 edition is scheduled in Monaco for 17 to 23 May 2027

What sports are played in Monaco?

The Comité Olympique Monégasque (COM) publishes a page headed “Les Fédérations Sportives Monégasques”. It lists, among others, federations for athletics, basketball, bobsleigh, luge and skeleton, cycling, judo, swimming, skiing, tennis, sailing and rowing, and the Fédération Equestre de la Principauté. The page states no count.[6]

The Stade Louis II's own site lists among its users the professional and amateur sections of AS Monaco Football Club and of AS Monaco's basketball club, and AS Monaco Handball, and gives for the 2024/2025 season a figure of “+480 organised events”; it names Ligue 1 football and the Herculis EBS athletics meeting among its events.[36]

The Automobile Club de Monaco lists among its events the Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo, the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco and the Monaco E-Prix.[19]

What is the most popular spectator sport in Monaco?

No measured ranking of spectator sports in Monaco was retrieved, and no attendance figure for any event held in Monaco was retrieved from an organiser, a league or a statistical body. Chapter 6 of the statistical institute IMSEE's Monaco en Chiffres 2026 lists a section “Vie sportive” in its contents, but its tables could not be read.[15] The Stade Louis II's site gives no attendance figures.[36]

One carriage proxy was read. Monaco Info, a news service whose site, per its legal notice, is operated by the State's Direction de la Communication, listed in its sport category, as read on 26 September 2026, ten items dated from 6 May to 3 July 2026, four of whose titles name the Monaco Grand Prix; the others concern Charles Leclerc and Ferrari, AS Monaco's football season, the Monaco E-Prix, the Vuelta's start in Monaco, sailing and military sport. That is one day's reading of one outlet's list, not an audience measure.[35]

How is sport organised in Monaco?

The name. The government portal's English text of the Constitution uses the form “Principality of Monaco” in its opening sentence.[11]

The Olympic committee. Sovereign Ordinance No. 688 of 31 December 1952, “instituant un comité olympique monégasque”, was published in the Journal de Monaco of 19 January 1953. Légimonaco's consolidated text gives Article 1, as amended by Ordinance No. 5.692 of 30 October 1975: “Il est institué, sous Notre patronage, un comité olympique monégasque qui a pour objet de préparer et d'assurer la représentation de la Principauté aux jeux olympiques organisés par le comité international olympique.” Articles 2 and 3 were repealed by the 1975 ordinance.[7]

The committee's own history states: “Un an plus tard, Monaco devient la 25ème nation membre du CIO ; le comte Gautier-Vignal représentera la Principauté jusqu'en 1939.” The sentence before it is dated 1907; the page prints no year for the step itself. It adds: “C'est en 1953, par l'Ordonnance Souveraine n° 688 du 31 décembre 1952 sous le patronage de S.A.S. le Prince Rainier III, que le Comité Olympique Monégasque, qui célébrera cette année 2007 son centenaire, a été officialisé.”[4] The page thus gives three separate markers: an IOC step one year after 1907, a centenary in “cette année 2007”, and an official creation by the 1952 ordinance; those are the committee's own dates. The COM uses “membre du CIO” of the nation; an Olympic committee is recognised by the IOC. Its chronology records for 1975 the election of the committee's members by the general assembly of each Monegasque sports federation every four years.[5]

The State. Sovereign Ordinance No. 3.140 of 3 February 1964, published in the Journal de Monaco of 7 February 1964, instituted a commission nationale des sports. Article 1 assigns it four missions, among them defining a programme of renovation, improvement, co-ordination and control of sporting activities and setting the rules for subsidies to sports groups. Article 2, on its composition, was replaced by Ordinance No. 1.330 of 21 September 2007.[8] The government's English portal lists among the responsibilities of the Department of Education, Youth and Sport, within the Ministry of Interior, “Managing all State sports establishments and relations with sports associations using such establishments”.[12]

A bill, not a law. Légimonaco records that the government deposited Projet de loi n° 1.088 sur le sport with the Conseil National on 19 December 2023, in ten parts covering, among other subjects, school sport, high-level sport, anti-doping and sporting events.[9] The bill's page, as read on 26 September 2026, records its deposit and its referral to the education, youth and sports commission, and no adoption. Its draft Article 5 describes the COM as an association constituted under law n°1.355 of 23 December 2008, as amended.[10] It is a proposal and has no force.

What are the main domestic leagues and competitions?

Football, in the French system. AS Monaco plays in Ligue 1 McDonald's, the competition run by the French Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP). The LFP published the Ligue 1 calendar for 2026/2027 on 10 June 2026; the season runs from 21 August 2026 to 29 May 2027, and the article lists “Havre AC – AS Monaco” on the first matchday.[23] The season was in progress on 26 September 2026.

Women's football. Monaco Hebdo reported that Monaco United beat AS Monaco Football Féminin 3–1 on 20 September 2026 in “Régional 1 Féminin”, at the Stade Didier-Deschamps in Cap d'Ail, and called it the first Monegasque women's derby.[34]

Basketball, in the French system. Eurosport reported on 1 August 2026 that “Le gendarme financier de la Ligue nationale de basket (LNB)” had refused on 3 July 2026 to admit AS Monaco to the professional championships for 2026/2027, and that the FFBB's appeal chamber had confirmed the refusal for Betclic Elite and Elite 2 in a decision the report says was announced “samedi”; it gave the ground as the club “n'ayant pas été en mesure de produire les documents sollicités dans les délais impartis”.[31] The club's own statement of 18 September 2026 records that the Bureau fédéral of the French basketball federation refused on 12 September 2026 its entry in Nationale Masculine 1 for 2026-2027, and that the conciliator of the French national Olympic committee (CNOSF) recommended maintaining that decision.[30] Basket Europe reported on 19 September 2026 that the Bureau fédéral had accepted the conciliator's proposal.[32] Monaco Hebdo reported on 16 September 2026 that the matter would continue before sports conciliators and “au tribunal de Monaco le 2 octobre 2026”; the matter was open on 26 September 2026.[24]

How has Monaco performed at the Olympic Games?

All figures here are Olympedia's, from its tables for the code MON, read as rows.[1]

Editions. Olympedia's participation table has Summer rows for 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, and every edition from 1984 to 2024, and Winter rows for every edition from 1984 to 2026. Its 1932 row lists one entrant, and its 1932 edition page shows his only entry as Marc-César Scotto in “Music, Open”, an art competition.[3] Olympedia's narrative states: “Monaco first competed at the 1920 Olympic Games, and has since missed only the Games of 1932 (although they had art entrants that year), 1956, and 1980.”[1] There is no MON row for 1896 to 1912, so the 1906 Intercalated Games are outside these rows. The pre-war rows are 1920 to 1936; the post-1992 rows run from 1994 Winter and 1996 Summer to 2026 Winter.

Medal rows. The medals-by-Games table has one row typed Olympic Games: 1924 Summer, 0 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze. The medals-by-sport table has one row: architecture, 0, 0, 1.[1] That medal is an art-competition medal. The 1924 edition rows list Julien Médecin as bronze medallist in “Architecture, Open”.[2] The narrative spells his name Médécin and states: “No Monegasque athlete has won a medal in a sporting event, but, in 1924, Julien Médécin won a bronze medal in the architecture portion of the now-defunct Art Contests.” It adds that Monaco's best results in sporting events “have come in the sport of judo”, with equal ninth places in 2012 and 2020.[1] The committee's own chronology describes the 1924 medal as the only bronze won to date.[5]

Youth Olympic Games rows, with one bronze in bobsleigh at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics, are typed separately and are not included above.[1]

Which athletes and teams are internationally recognised?

Olympic medal. Olympedia's 1924 rows list Julien Médecin as bronze medallist in the architecture competition.[2]

Motor racing. Formula 1's results table for 2024 lists Charles Leclerc, driving for Ferrari, as winner of the Monaco Grand Prix of 26 May 2024, over 78 laps.[16]

Basketball. Eurosport, in its report of 1 August 2026, described AS Monaco as “championne de France en titre”; that rests on a single secondary source, as the league's own site refused retrieval and no federation record of the title was retrieved.[31]

What major international competitions has Monaco hosted?

Formula 1. The FIA and Formula 1 announced the 2026 calendar on 9 June 2025 with Monaco on 5 to 7 June.[13] Formula 1 gives the official title “FORMULA 1 LOUIS VUITTON GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2026”, the Circuit de Monaco, 3.337 kilometres, at Monte-Carlo, Monaco, and 78 laps, and lists Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, as winner of the 2026 race.[14] On 5 September 2025 Formula 1 stated: “F1 has announced an extension of the Monaco Grand Prix until 2035 inclusive, building on the existing agreement with the Automobile Club of Monaco that runs through the 2031 season.” The same article states that Monaco was a host venue in F1's first season in 1950, and quotes a statement giving the race as first held in 1929.[17] The Automobile Club de Monaco states that on 14 April 1929 Prince Pierre inaugurated the circuit of the first Grand Prix de Monaco, and it lists the 2027 Grand Prix for 3 to 6 June.[18][19]

Rallye Monte-Carlo. The Automobile Club de Monaco dates the first Rallye Automobile Monaco to 21 to 29 January 1911.[18] The WRC's page for the 2026 event, round 1 of the championship on 22 to 25 January 2026, gives “Servicepark: Gap / Monaco” and states that the rally is “Based once again in the high-altitude hub of Gap”. It also states that the WRC “returns to the streets of the Principality for a competitive Super Special around Port Hercule - the first time the sounds of WRC engines have echoed off the harbour walls in competition since 2008.”[20] The club lists the 2027 rally for 21 to 24 January 2027.[19]

Monte-Carlo Masters. The ATP lists the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, an ATP Masters 1000 tournament on the ATP Tour, at “Monte-Carlo, Monaco”, from 5 to 12 April 2026.[21] The organiser, S.M.E.T.T., gives the venue as the Monte-Carlo Country Club, “155, avenue Princesse Grace, 06190 Roquebrune Cap Martin”, and states: “The Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters takes place in France, on the territory of Roquebrune Cap Martin.”[22] On the organiser's record, the tournament is held outside Monaco.

Athletics. The Diamond League calendar for 2026 lists Monaco on 10 July, and the Final in Brussels on 4 and 5 September 2026.[25] The meeting's site, under the name Meeting Herculis EBS, reported: “Huit records du meeting, deux records de la Diamond League et un record du monde : la soirée de vendredi 10 juillet au Stade Louis-II, sous les projecteurs, a été spectaculaire !”[26]

Cycling. The Vuelta a España's route page states: “La Vuelta 26 will start with an individual time trial in Monaco”. It gives stage 1 on 22 August 2026, 9.4 kilometres from Monaco to Monaco, and stage 2 from Monaco to Manosque on 23 August.[27]

Games of the Small States of Europe. The COM's chronology records for 1987 the “Organisation des IIèmes Jeux des Petits Etats d'Europe” and for 2007 the “Organisation des XIIèmes Jeux des Petits Etats d'Europe”.[5] Luxembourg's Olympic committee gives the Monaco 2027 edition as 17 to 23 May 2027, and Monaco Hebdo reported on 14 May 2026 that those dates were confirmed at an assembly in Monaco in early May 2026.[29][28] That edition is scheduled.

What are Monaco's main sporting rivalries?

No named rivalry with a head-to-head record from a federation or league was retrieved. The one fixture a source calls a derby is the women's match of 20 September 2026 between Monaco United and AS Monaco Football Féminin, won 3–1 by Monaco United, which Monaco Hebdo reported as the first Monegasque women's derby.[34] AS Monaco's men's fixtures in the French league, such as the visit of Olympique de Marseille on the second matchday of 2026/2027, are listed by the LFP without a head-to-head record.[23]

What is the role of school and university sport?

The government's English portal lists among the Department of Education, Youth and Sport's tasks “The implementation of schools programmes in cooperation with physical education and sports teachers” and “Drafting development plans for sport in schools”.[12]

The government reported on 11 June 2026 that the department held on 10 June the second prize-giving of the Union Nationale du Sport Scolaire (UNSS) of the Principality. It states: “L'année 2025/2026 a confirmé le dynamisme du district UNSS de Monaco, qui compte 682 licenciés, soit plus de 23 % des élèves scolarisés dans les établissements de la Principauté.” It adds that the ceremony “a permis de distinguer près de 140 élèves issus du lycée Albert Ier, du lycée Rainier III, du collège Charles III et de l'Institution François d'Assise – Nicolas Barré”, and that the collège Charles III, one of three schools qualified for the “championnats de France UNSS de football”, “s'est particulièrement distingué en remportant une médaille de bronze et une troisième place nationale”.[33]

The deposited sports bill of 2023 has a part on school sport; it has not been adopted.[9]

Were any sports invented in Monaco?

None of the sources read — the COM's history and chronology, the Automobile Club de Monaco's history and the sovereign ordinances on sport on Légimonaco — claims that a sport was invented or codified in Monaco, and none declares a national sport.[4][5][18][8] The Automobile Club de Monaco states that it was founded as a cycling club: “le club a été créé très exactement le 26 août 1890”, under the name “Sport Vélocipédique de la Principauté (SVP)”, and took the name Automobile Club de Monaco on 29 March 1925.[18] That is the club's account of an association founded, not of a sport.

References

  1. Olympedia — Monaco (MON): country page, narrative, participation table, medals by Games and medals by sport tables. Accessed 2026-09-26.
  2. Olympedia — Monaco at the 1924 Summer Olympics: medal rows and entries (Architecture, Open). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  3. Olympedia — Monaco at the 1932 Summer Olympics: entries (Music, Open). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  4. Comité Olympique Monégasque — Historique (1907; “Un an plus tard … 25ème nation membre du CIO”; Ordinance No. 688 of 31 December 1952). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  5. Comité Olympique Monégasque — Historique: Quelques dates (1920–2007). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  6. Comité Olympique Monégasque — Les Fédérations Sportives Monégasques. Accessed 2026-09-26.
  7. Légimonaco — Ordonnance souveraine n° 688 du 31 décembre 1952 instituant un comité olympique monégasque (Journal de Monaco, 19 January 1953; consolidated text). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  8. Légimonaco — Ordonnance souveraine n° 3.140 du 3 février 1964 instituant une commission nationale des sports (Journal de Monaco, 7 February 1964; Article 2 as replaced in 2007). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  9. Légimonaco — Dépôt du projet de loi sur le sport (26 December 2023). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  10. Légimonaco — Projet de loi n° 1.088 sur le sport (deposited 19 December 2023; exposé des motifs and Article 5). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  11. Gouvernement Princier, English portal — Constitution of the Principality. Accessed 2026-09-26.
  12. Gouvernement Princier, English portal — Department of Education, Youth and Sport (Ministry of Interior). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  13. FIA — FIA and Formula 1 announce 2026 calendar (9 June 2025). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  14. Formula 1 — Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Grand Prix de Monaco 2026: event page (5–7 June 2026; Circuit de Monaco; race result). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  15. IMSEE — Monaco en Chiffres 2026, chapter 6 “Cadre de vie” (contents list section 6.9 “Vie sportive”). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  16. Formula 1 — 2024 race results. Accessed 2026-09-26.
  17. Formula 1 — F1 to race in Monaco through 2035 after contract extension (5 September 2025). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  18. Automobile Club de Monaco — L’Automobile Club de Monaco (history: 1890, 1907, 1911, 1925, 1929, 1958). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  19. Automobile Club de Monaco — acm.mc home page (events organised; dates for 2027). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  20. WRC — WRC Rallye Monte-Carlo 2026: event page (22–25 January 2026; service park Gap / Monaco). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  21. ATP Tour — Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters: tournament overview (Monte-Carlo, Monaco; 5–12 April 2026). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  22. Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (S.M.E.T.T.) — Tournament info (venue, Roquebrune Cap Martin). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  23. LFP — Ligue 1 McDonald’s : le calendrier de la saison 2026/2027 (10 June 2026). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  24. Monaco Hebdo — Après son exclusion du basket professionnel, l’AS Monaco refusée en NM1 (Clément Martinet, 16 September 2026). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  25. Wanda Diamond League — 2026 calendar. Accessed 2026-09-26.
  26. Meeting Herculis EBS — monaco.diamondleague.com home page (10 July 2026, Stade Louis-II). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  27. La Vuelta — La Vuelta 26 overall route (22 August–13 September 2026). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  28. Monaco Hebdo — Les Jeux des Petits États d’Europe se dérouleront à Monaco du 17 au 23 mai 2027 (Clément Martinet, 14 May 2026). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  29. Team Lëtzebuerg (Comité Olympique et Sportif Luxembourgeois) — JPEE Monaco 2027 (17–23 May 2027). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  30. AS Monaco Basket-Ball S.A. — Communiqué de presse, Décision du CNOSF (18 September 2026). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  31. Eurosport — Coup de tonnerre : l’AS Monaco refusée en Betclic Elite et en Elite 2 (1 August 2026). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  32. Basket Europe — La FFBB justifie la décision du CNOSF, un dernier recours possible pour Monaco (19 September 2026). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  33. Gouvernement Princier — Remise des prix de l’UNSS 2026 (11 June 2026). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  34. Monaco Hebdo — Monaco United remporte le premier derby féminin monégasque (Clément Martinet, 24 September 2026). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  35. Monaco Info — Sport category, as read on 26 September 2026. Accessed 2026-09-26.
  36. Stade Louis II — stadelouis2.mc (users; events in 2024/2025). Accessed 2026-09-26.