Sports in Panama

What sports are played in Panama?

The Comité Olímpico de Panamá (COP) lists its member bodies under two headings, “olímpicas” and “no olímpicas”, and prints no total. The first list includes the federations of béisbol (FEDEBEIS), fútbol (FEPAFUT), atletismo, baloncesto, natación, judo, ciclismo, voleibol, softbol, taekwondo and tenis, and the Asociación Panameña de Surf; the second includes sambo, racquetball, billar, ajedrez, karate and bolos.^[5]

Olympedia's medals-by-sport table for Panama has two rows, athletics and boxing.^[1] Three sports are documented in more detail below: football, whose national league plays an Apertura and a Clausura each year; baseball, whose federation runs a twelve-team national championship; and professional boxing, recorded through sanctioning-body title fights.^[20][22][28]

What is the most popular spectator sport in Panama?

No measured ranking of spectator sports in Panama was retrieved. Two proxies were: television ratings for football, and the baseball federation's attendance count. They measure different things and are not a ranking.

Television. Kantar IBOPE Media's programme ranking for 1 to 30 June 2026, as published on centrotv.org, is headed by channel TM's CALLE 7 FINAL at a 19.54 household rating. The next two rows are World Cup matches of Panama's team: Ghana v Panama on RPC, at 17.71 and 234,010 individuals, and Panama v Croatia on TVMAX, at 17.66 and 240,270 individuals. The same two matches also appear in the table as carried by TM and by TVN. That is one month's reading.^[31]

Baseball attendance. TVMAX reported on 13 May 2026, citing the Federación Panameña de Béisbol: “Una afluencia de público de 124 mil 549 aficionados se registró durante la versión 83 del Campeonato Nacional de Béisbol Mayor”, an attendance of 124,549 across the 83rd national championship. It reported the figure after the final series, which Bocas del Toro won against Chiriquí.^[23]

The football league's own site, lpf.com.pa, could not be retrieved, and no league attendance figure was found.

How is sport organised in Panama?

The Constitution. Article 1 of the Constitution of 1972, in its text as revised to 2004, reads: “La Nación panameña está organizada en Estado soberano e independiente, cuya denominación es República de Panamá.” Article 86 reads: “El Estado fomentará el desarrollo de la cultura física mediante instituciones deportivas, de enseñanza y de recreación que serán reglamentadas por la Ley.”^[9]

The statute. Ley 50 de 10 de diciembre de 2007, “Que reforma la Ley 16 de 1995, que reorganiza el Instituto Nacional de Deportes”, was published in Gaceta Oficial Digital No. 25937 of 11 December 2007; that gazette issue is the text read here. Its article 1 provides that the Instituto Nacional de Deportes “se denominará Instituto Panameño de Deportes, en adelante PANDEPORTES y, como máximo organismo del deporte, constituye una entidad de Derecho Público con personería jurídica, patrimonio propio y autonomía en su régimen interno”, and continues that it is subject to “la orientación del Órgano Ejecutivo, por conducto del Ministerio de Educación, y a la fiscalización de la Contraloría General de la República”. Article 15-A defines the national federations, associations and organisations, of the Olympic programme or not, as “entidades deportivas autónomas con personería jurídica propia, reconocidas por PANDEPORTES, conformadas por ligas provinciales, distritoriales y de corregimientos, así como por clubes y ligas profesionales”. Article 15-G, in the 2007 wording, made the Comité Olímpico de Panamá the only body with exclusive authority to represent the country at the Olympic Games and at IOC-sponsored multi-sport competitions.^[6]

Later texts. Pandeportes' own page traces the institute to Decreto Ley 144 of 2 June 1970, its reorganisation by Ley 16 of 3 May 1995 and its reform by Ley 50 of 2007, and lists a further amendment, Ley 9 of 22 February 2011.^[7] Ley 9 de 22 de febrero de 2011, in Gaceta Oficial No. 26729-A, “Que reforma la Ley 16 de 1995”, gives article 23 of Ley 16, by its article 9, this text: “El Comité Olímpico de Panamá o la Asociación Olímpica de Panamá tiene la competencia exclusiva para representar al país en los Juegos Olímpicos y en las competiciones multideportivas regionales, continentales o mundiales patrocinadas por el Comité Olímpico Internacional, así como para la inscripción de los integrantes de las delegaciones deportivas nacionales a dichos eventos.” Its article 14 lists the provisions it modifies, and article 1 is not among them.^[36] No consolidated text incorporating Ley 9 was retrieved, so articles 1 and 15-A are quoted above in their 2007 wording. Decreto Ejecutivo 599 of 20 November 2008, in Gaceta Oficial No. 26177 of 3 December 2008, regulates Ley 50.^[8]

The Olympic committee. The COP's history states that it “surge en el año de 1934” and that “El COP fue reconocido por el Comité Olímpico Internacional (COI) en 1947.”^[4] Olympedia states: “The National Olympic Committee was founded in 1934, but International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognition was not granted until 1947.”^[1]

Football. FEPAFUT states that it was “fundada en 1937 y un año más tarde afiliada a la FIFA”.^[10] CONCACAF's page for the association states: “Panama was a founding member of Concacaf in 1961.”^[11]

What are the main domestic leagues and competitions?

Football. The Liga Panameña de Fútbol (LPF) plays an Apertura and a Clausura. Its own site could not be retrieved; TVMAX and RPC print the name as Liga Panameña de Fútbol (LPF), with no sponsor name. TVMAX reported on 23 May 2026 that Plaza Amador won the Torneo Clausura 2026 “al vencer a Alianza FC en tiempos extras, por 3 goles a 2”, at the Estadio Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez.^[20] As retrieved on 26 September 2026, RPC's LPF page carried the results of matchday 9 and the fixtures for matchday 10 of the Apertura 2026, and Telemetro's sports page carried a live item on a matchday 10 fixture, Árabe Unido against Herrera.^[21][34]

Baseball. The Federación Panameña de Béisbol's regulations for the 83rd Campeonato Nacional de Béisbol Mayor divide twelve provincial and regional teams into two groups, and set a regular series of sixteen games per team, a best-of-five round of eight, and best-of-seven semi-final and final series.^[22] TVMAX reported that Bocas del Toro won the 2026 final series against Chiriquí.^[23]

Regional club baseball. La Prensa reported on 10 February 2019 that Toros de Herrera won the Caribbean Series in Panama City, beating Las Tunas of Cuba 3–1 at the Estadio Rod Carew, and that “Panamá buscaba su segunda corona tras la obtenida en 1950 con el Carta Vieja Yankees”.^[26]

How has Panama performed at the Olympic Games?

All figures here are Olympedia's, from its Medals by Games and Medals by sport tables for the code PAN, read as rows. Olympedia prints no totals row under either table.^[1]

Editions and codes. Olympedia's participation table lists Panama at the Summer Games of 1928, 1948 and 1952, at every Summer Games from 1960 to 1976, and at every Summer Games from 1984 to 2024. It lists no 1906 row, no row for 1956 or 1980, and no Winter Games row; its narrative states that Panama has “never competed at the Olympic Winter Games”. Panama is filed as PAN throughout, and nothing filed under another code is included here.^[1]

Art competitions. Neither medals table carries an art-competition row for Panama, so the rows below include no art-competition medal.^[1]

Pre-war. The only pre-war edition in the participation table, 1928, carries no medal row.^[1]

1948 to 1988. The 1948 row is 0 gold, 0 silver, 2 bronze. No other edition from 1952 to 1988 carries a medal row.^[1]

From 1992. The 2008 row is 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, and the 2024 row is 0 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze. No other edition from 1992 carries a medal row.^[1]

By sport. The medals-by-sport rows are athletics, 1 gold, 0 silver, 2 bronze, and boxing, 0 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze.^[1]

Narrative. Olympedia's narrative states: “The country has won three Olympic medals.” The tables also carry the 2024 row, and this page uses the table rows. Youth Olympic Games are typed separately: the participation table lists Panama at the Youth Games of 2010, 2014 and 2018, and those are not counted here.^[1]

Which athletes and teams are internationally recognised?

Olympic results. Olympedia's narrative states that Lloyd LaBeach, Panama's lone competitor in 1948, “won two sprinting bronzes”.^[1] Its 2008 rows list Irving Saladino as gold medallist in the men's long jump.^[2] Its 2024 rows list Atheyna Bylon as silver medallist in the women's middleweight boxing.^[3]

Football. In a report dated 18 June 2018, CONCACAF stated that “Panama's first ever FIFA World Cup match ended with a 3-0 defeat to Belgium in Group G play”, at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi.^[12] Its report of 24 June 2018 records England 6, Panama 1 in Nizhny Novgorod and states that “Felipe Baloy made history by scoring Panama's first ever FIFA World Cup goal”.^[13] Its report of 28 June 2018 records Tunisia 2, Panama 1 at the Mordovia Arena in Saransk.^[14] CONCACAF reported on 19 November 2025, after a 3–0 win over El Salvador at the Estadio Rommel Fernández: “Panama (3-3-0) ends the Final Round as first place in its group to qualify for its second FIFA World Cup.”^[15] CONCACAF's 2026 team profile scheduled Panama's group matches at the FIFA World Cup against Ghana on 17 June and Croatia on 23 June, both at Toronto Stadium, and against England on 27 June at New York/New Jersey Stadium, and records Panama as runner-up at the 2023 Gold Cup.^[19] CONCACAF's match reports record Ghana 1, Panama 0 and Croatia 1, Panama 0 in Toronto.^[16][17] After England 2, Panama 0 in East Rutherford it reported: “Los Canaleros exit the 2026 edition with a 0-0-3 record and fourth place in Group L.”^[18]

Baseball. At the 2026 World Baseball Classic, Baseball America's results list Panama in Pool A losing 3–1 to Cuba on 6 March and 4–3 in ten innings to Puerto Rico on 7 March, beating Canada 4–3 on 8 March and losing 4–3 to Colombia on 9 March.^[24] MLB.com reported from the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan that “Panama and Colombia each finished pool play with a 1-3 record”, and that Colombia's win eliminated Panama.^[25] In WBSC competition, the confederation's history of the U-23 Baseball World Cup states of its first edition, in 2016: “Japan defeated Australia to earn the inaugural U-23 title, while Korea beat Panama to claim bronze.”^[27]

Professional boxing. The World Boxing Association records that Ismael Laguna won its world lightweight title on 10 April 1965, beating Carlos Ortiz at the Estadio Olímpico in Panama City.^[29] It dates Roberto Durán's WBA lightweight title fight against Ken Buchanan to 26 June 1972, and describes it as a 13th-round knockout at Madison Square Garden that won the WBA world lightweight title.^[28][35] These are dated WBA results only.

What major international competitions has Panama hosted?

Central American and Caribbean Games. Centro Caribe Sports lists Ciudad de Panamá as host of the edition of 5 to 24 February 1938 and of the edition of 28 February to 13 March 1970.^[30]

Baseball. La Prensa reported on 10 February 2019 the final of the 2019 Caribbean Series, played in Panama City at the Estadio Rod Carew and won by Toros de Herrera.^[26]

Football qualifiers. CONCACAF placed Panama's decisive 2026 qualifier against El Salvador, reported on 19 November 2025, at the Estadio Rommel Fernández in Panama City.^[15]

What are Panama's main sporting rivalries?

The counts that follow come from a single secondary statistics site, 11v11, not from either federation's own record, and are Panama's side of the record as that site prints it.

Costa Rica, football. 11v11 prints Panama's men's record against Costa Rica as “Games won: 20 | Games drawn: 13 | Games lost: 31”. Its list opens with an 11–0 Costa Rican win at the Central American and Caribbean Games on 16 February 1938, and its latest entry is a 2–2 draw in the CONCACAF Nations League on 18 November 2024.^[32]

Mexico, football. 11v11 prints Panama's record against Mexico as “Games won: 5 | Games drawn: 12 | Games lost: 28”. It lists Mexico's 1–0 win in the Gold Cup on 16 July 2023, a 2–1 Mexican win in the CONCACAF Nations League on 23 March 2025, and a 1–0 Mexican win in a friendly on 22 January 2026 as its latest entry.^[33]

Baseball. The 2019 Caribbean Series final was Panama's Toros de Herrera against Cuba's Las Tunas, 3–1, as La Prensa reported it.^[26] No head-to-head count from a baseball body was retrieved.

What is the role of school and university sport?

The regulation. Decreto Ejecutivo 599 of 20 November 2008, which regulates Ley 50 of 2007, defines deporte escolar in its article 2 as “la actividad física que se practica en los centro escolares, con la finalidad de preparar al estudiantado en las diferentes disciplinas deportivas para competir dentro de sus colegios y así seleccionar los más destacados para participar en los torneos intercolegiales nacionales e internacionales.” Article 4 provides that PANDEPORTES “colaborará con el Ministerio de Educación” so that physical education is taught in all school grades before university level “como materia obligatoria y continua”.^[8]

The statute. Article 1 of Ley 50 places Pandeportes under the orientation of the Executive “por conducto del Ministerio de Educación”.^[6] No publication of the education ministry or of a university sports body on school or university competition was retrieved.

Were any sports invented in Panama?

No federation, government instrument or standard reference retrieved claims that a sport was invented or codified in Panama.

The provisions read of the Constitution (articles 1 and 86), of Ley 50 of 2007 (articles 1, 15-A and 15-G), of Decreto Ejecutivo 599 of 2008 (articles 2 and 4) and of Ley 9 of 2011 (articles 9 and 14) name no national sport.^{[9][6][8][36]}