Sports in North Macedonia

What sports are played in North Macedonia?

The broadest list is the Olympic committee's own. Its site lists the national sports federations associated with it and prints no total. The list opens with the Атлетска федерација на Македонија and includes federations for badminton, boxing, wrestling, cycling, rowing, gymnastics, sailing, canoeing, equestrian sport, basketball, shooting, archery, fencing, volleyball, swimming, table tennis, handball (Ракометна федерација на Македонија), taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, judo and football (Фудбалска федерација на Македонија). It goes on to karate, kickboxing, sambo, skiing, biathlon, weightlifting and teqball, and also names the Paralympic Committee of North Macedonia and Special Olympics Macedonia.^[1] Article 15 of the committee's statute, adopted on 16 June 2021, lists several categories of full member, the first being national federations of sports on the programme of the Olympic Games.^[2]

Olympedia's per-sport table for the country carries medal rows in two sports, wrestling and taekwondo. Its narrative records that the country's Winter Olympians have competed in only two disciplines, Alpine and cross-country skiing.^[3]

The public broadcaster's sport page shows the range carried in one week. Between 15 and 22 September 2026 MRT's sport page carried items on the national football team's Nations League squad, a WTA 125 tennis tournament in Ankara, the women's national handball team, paragliding, a European Cup in judo in Skopje and the Formula 1 calendar.^[4]

What is the most popular spectator sport in North Macedonia?

No season attendance total for any domestic league could be retrieved from a league or federation. The football federation's site publishes fixtures and results for the top division but no attendance figures, and the handball federation's own site could not be retrieved.^[5] The proxies below are the ones the bodies publish, and they point at more than one sport.

Football. UEFA wrote on 12 February 2021 that “UEFA EURO 2020 will be North Macedonia's first appearance at a major finals event.”^[6] UEFA gives the capacity of the National Arena Filip II Macedonian in Skopje as 33,460; that is a capacity, not an attendance.^[7]

Handball. The club record is European. The IHF reported on 3 June 2019 that Vardar had won the EHF Champions League for the second time in three years, and the EHF records a women's Champions League title for Kometal Gjorče Petrov, as §6 sets out.^[8][9]

Broadcast carriage. The commercial broadcaster Telma's sport category page for 10 to 24 September 2026 carried items on women's handball, the football federation's sponsorship, the national football team in the Nations League, three clubs in the EHF European Cup, karate and volleyball.^[10] The Albanian-language broadcaster Alsat's sport page carried items in September 2026 on the national football team and on Vardar in the EHF Champions League.^[11] These are one week's and one month's headlines, not audience measurements, and no audited television audience figure for any sport broadcast was retrieved.

How is sport organised in North Macedonia?

The name. The Assembly's English text is titled Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia. Amendment XXXIII, adopted on 11 January 2019, provides: “In the Constitution, the words ‘Republic of Macedonia’ shall be replaced with the words ‘Republic of North Macedonia’, and the word ‘Macedonia’ shall be replaced with the words ‘North Macedonia’, except in Article 36 of the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia.” The same text ties the entry into force of Amendments XXXIII to XXXVI to the entry into force of the Final Agreement it names and to the ratification of the NATO Accession Protocol by the First Party to that agreement.^[12] The United Nations Treaty Series records that Final Agreement, signed at Prespa on 17 June 2018, as having entered into force on 12 February 2019 “by notification, in accordance with article 20”.^[30]

The sporting bodies' own records show the names they used. Olympedia states that the name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” (FYROM) “was also used by the IOC”; its participation table gives the team as Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia for every Games from 1996 to 2018 and as North Macedonia from the 2020 Summer Olympics.^[3] The EHF named the host of the 2008 women's championship “FYR Macedonia”, and on 20 June 2018 named the co-hosts of the 2022 women's championship “Slovenia, FYR Macedonia and Montenegro”; its 2022 tournament pages name North Macedonia.^[13][14][15] UEFA wrote in 2017 that the Super Cup in Skopje would be “the first UEFA club competition final to be held in FYR Macedonia”; it names the national association the Football Federation of North Macedonia.^[16][17] The federation's own site uses Фудбалска Федерација на Македонија, and so does the Olympic committee's list.^[5][1] None of the international bodies' records retrieved gives the date on which that body adopted the new name.

The Olympic committee. Радио Слободна Европа reported on 21 December 2019: “Македонскиот олимписки комитет на редовното годишно Собрание кое се одржа денеска во хотелот „Холидеј Ин“ во Скопје, донесе одлука за промена на името во Олимписки комитет на Северна Македонија, откако тоа го прифатија делегатите.”^[18] An IOC decision on the new name could not be retrieved. Olympedia's organisation entry gives the committee's name as Olympic Committee of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia from 1992 to 2019.^[31] The committee's statute, adopted on 16 June 2021, gives its formation as 20 March 1992 in Skopje and its recognition by the IOC at the IOC's 101st Session on 23 September 1993 in Monte Carlo.^[2] Its own page reads “Формиран на 20 март 1992 година во Скопје и меѓународно признат на 23 септември 1993 година” and describes it “Како 195-ти член на Меѓународниот олимписки комитет”; an NOC is recognised by the IOC, not a member of it.^[19] Olympedia records that “The Olympic Committee of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was formed in 1992 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1993.”^[3]

The statute. The Закон за спортот was published in Службен весник бр. 29/2002. The Constitutional Court's decision У.бр.11/2025 of 18 June 2025 cites it with its amending acts, the latest in бр. 59/2025.^[20] The Official Gazette's редакциски пречистен текст 1, hosted on kfm.com.mk, lists amending acts to бр. 59/25. Its член 17 describes Македонскиот олимписки комитет as the highest non-governmental sports association, whose constituent members are the national federations of Olympic sports, and continues: “МОК членува и ги застапува националните спортски федерации во Меѓународниот олимписки комитет.” An NOC is recognised by the IOC; the statute's word членува (is a member) is the statute's own.^[21]

The ministry. Радио Слободна Европа reported on 27 June 2024 that sport had until then been part of the Агенција за млади и спорт and now had a newly formed Министерство за спорт, headed by the former handball goalkeeper Borko Ristovski. That rests on a single secondary source.^[22] MRT reported on 17 September 2026 that the minister of sport, Borko Ristovski, had met the national paragliding team.^[34]

Football. UEFA's timeline records that a Macedonian Football Association was created in 1948 within the Yugoslav football association, that the FFM was founded in 1991 following independence, and that it became a member of UEFA and FIFA in 1994. UEFA also records that “North Macedonia made their international debut with a 4-1 win against Slovenia on 13 October 1993”.^[17][6]

What are the main domestic leagues and competitions?

Football's top division appears on the federation's site as “Прва МФЛ 26/27”, and the cup as “Куп на РМ 26/27”; the site gives no sponsor name for either. The eighth-round fixtures and results it showed on 24 September 2026 included Фк Вардар, Фк Шкендија, Фк Силекс, Гфк Тиквеш 1930, Ад Фк Башкими 1947 Куманово, Фк Струга-Трим-Лум, Фк Брегалница 2008 and Фк Скопје.^[5]

The handball federation's own site could not be retrieved, and no league name or sponsor is given here from it. Macedonian clubs appear in the European Handball Federation's club competitions: Telma reported on 22 September 2026 that Alkaloid, Ohrid and Butel had learned their opponents in the EHF European Cup, and Alsat's sport page carried items on 10 and 17 September 2026 on Vardar in the EHF Champions League, including a match against Nantes.^[10][11] Those are broadcasters' reports, not the EHF's own records.

The Olympic committee's list also includes the Кошаркарска федерација на Северна Македонија in basketball and the Одбојкарска федерација на Македонија in volleyball; no league names were retrieved from those federations.^[1]

How has North Macedonia performed at the Olympic Games?

Olympedia files the country under the code MKD. Its narrative states that the republic “first competed at the Olympic Games as an independent nation in 1996 and at the Olympic Winter Games in 1998”, and that it “has been represented at every Olympic Games since then”. Its participation table runs from the 1996 Summer Olympics, with 11 athletes, to the 2024 Summer Olympics, with 6, and the 2026 Winter Olympics, with 4.^[3]

Olympedia prints no totals row. Its medals-by-Games table carries two rows typed as Olympic Games: the 2000 Summer Olympics, 0 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze; and the 2020 Summer Olympics, 0 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze. Its medals-by-sport table gives wrestling 0-0-1 and taekwondo 0-1-0; the two tables agree. No Winter Olympic Games row carries a medal.^[3]

A third row, the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, one bronze in karate, is typed as Youth Olympic Games and is not included above.^[3]

Two headings in the same source differ on the name. The edition pages are headed, for example, “North Macedonia at the 2000 Summer Olympics”, while the country page's participation table gives the team for that edition as Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.^[23][3] The code in the URL is MKD throughout, and Olympedia records no change of code for the country.

Olympedia's narrative also records earlier athletes from the territory who competed for other teams: Yugoslav Olympians from 1924 to 1988, among them the wrestlers Šaban Trstena and Šaban Šejdi, and two Macedonians at the 1992 Games as Independent Olympic Participants. Those results sit with those teams, are not in the MKD tables, and are not counted here.^[3]

Which athletes and teams are internationally recognised?

At the 2000 Summer Olympics Mogamed Ibragimov won bronze in the men's light-heavyweight freestyle wrestling, the country's first Olympic medal “as an independent nation”, per Olympedia.^[23][3]

At the 2020 Summer Olympics Dejan Georgievski won silver in the men's heavyweight taekwondo.^[24]

In club handball, the IHF reported on 3 June 2019 that Vardar beat Telekom Veszprém HC 27:24 (16:11) in Cologne. It added: “It is the second Champions League title for Vardar in three years, after their victory in 2017 on their debut at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne.”^[8] The EHF's own match record gives the 2018/19 final as HC Vardar 27:24 Telekom Veszprém HC.^[25]

In women's club handball, the EHF's club record lists Kometal Gjorče Petrov as champion of the EHF Champions League and of the Champions Trophy in 2001/02, and second in the Champions League in 2004/05.^[32] The EHF's report of 2 September 2008 records that it reached the 2000 Champions League final against Hypo.^[9]

In football, the national team qualified for UEFA EURO 2020 through the play-off path. UEFA's match record gives Georgia 0-1 North Macedonia, and UEFA credits “Pandev's unanswered 56th-minute strike in the play-off final against Georgia in Tbilisi”.^[26][6]

What major international competitions has North Macedonia hosted?

Women's European Handball Championship, 2008. The EHF's draw report of 31 July 2008 gives the host as “FYR Macedonia” and the dates as “2 to 14 December 2008”, with preliminary and main-round groups in Skopje and Ohrid and the semi-finals and final in Skopje. The draw was held in the Ancient Amphitheatre in Ohrid.^[13]

Women's EHF EURO 2022. The EHF reported on 20 June 2018 that the EHF Congress in Glasgow had awarded the tournament to Slovenia, FYR Macedonia and Montenegro, with Skopje among four venues, and that it would be played in December 2022.^[14] The EHF's tournament page names the Skopje venue as Sports Centre Boris Trajkovski.^[15] It is a finished event.

UEFA Super Cup, 2017. UEFA reported on 1 May 2017 that the Super Cup had been “awarded to Skopje's National Arena Filip II of Macedonia”; the report gives no date for the award or the body that made it.^[7] UEFA's history page gives the result: “Real Madrid 2-1 Manchester United (Casemiro 24, Isco 52; Lukaku 62)”.^[27]

European Youth Olympic Festival, 2025. The European Olympic Committees reported on 27 July 2025 that EYOF Skopje 2025 had closed at the Jane Sandanski Sports Centre after six days, with more than 4,000 athletes and officials from 50 delegations across 15 sports.^[33]

What are North Macedonia's main sporting rivalries?

No named rivalry is documented by a federation source retrieved. The counts below come from a single secondary statistics site, 11v11, and are not a federation's record. The site publishes won, drawn and lost figures and no total of matches or goals.

Against Serbia, 11v11 publishes North Macedonia's men's record as 1 won, 1 drawn and 1 lost: a 1-1 draw in a friendly on 6 February 2008, a 1-0 win on 16 October 2012 and a 5-1 defeat on 15 October 2013, the last two listed under the FIFA World Cup.^[28]

Against Bulgaria, 11v11 publishes the record as 2 won, 2 drawn and 5 lost, from a 0-0 friendly on 12 April 1995 to a 0-1 defeat in the UEFA Nations League on 26 September 2022, the latest row it carried when retrieved on 24 September 2026.^[29] That is North Macedonia's side of the record as that site publishes it; the Serbia and Bulgaria pages report their own.

What is the role of school and university sport?

The Закон за спортот assigns school and student sport to local government among other bodies. In the Gazette's consolidated text, член 22-а lists among the competences of municipalities “развојот на масовниот спорт и рекреативните активности на граѓаните, опфатен во програмите на спортските и спортско-рекреативните клубови, во реализација на училишниот и студентскиот спортски систем”.^[21]

The education ministry's list of accredited associations that organise pupils' competitions could not be retrieved, and no publication by a national school-sport body was retrieved from its own site. No figures for school or university sport participation are given here for that reason.

Were any sports invented in North Macedonia?

No federation, government instrument or standard reference retrieved makes a claim that a sport was invented or codified in North Macedonia. The Gazette's consolidated text of the sports law does not, in the part retrieved, name a national sport; the retrieved text was incomplete, so that is not a finding about the whole statute.^[21]