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Sports in Tunisia

CAF records Tunisia as host and winner of the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations; the IHF records fourth place at the 2005 men’s handball World Championship in Tunisia; Olympedia files the country as TUN.
✓ Last reviewed: September 2026
Official nameRépublique tunisienne, the form used in the title and article 9 of the Constitution of 25 July 2022 (promulgated by décret présidentiel n° 2022-691 of 17 August 2022), as read on legislation-securite.tn
NOC codeTUN, as Olympedia files the country; the IOC's own list of codes could not be retrieved
National Olympic CommitteeComité National Olympique Tunisien (CNOT); Olympedia gives 1957 for its founding and for IOC recognition, and states it was formed on 27 May 1957
Football federationFédération Tunisienne de Football, created 29 March 1957 by its own account; affiliated to FIFA and to CAF in 1960, per CAF
Physical education and sport lawLoi n° 94-104 du 3 août 1994, portant organisation et développement de l’éducation physique et des activités sportives; JORT of 9 August 1994
Sports structures lawLoi organique n° 95-11 du 6 février 1995 relative aux structures sportives, as cited by a 2021 EU-funded study; the JORT text could not be retrieved
Africa Cup of Nations, CAF recordhost and winner in 2004 (2–1 v Morocco in the final); runner-up in 1965 and 1996
Handball, IHF recordhost of the 2005 men’s World Championship, fourth place; runner-up to Egypt at the 2026 African Championship in Kigali

What sports are played in Tunisia?

A study of sport in Tunisia dated 16 November 2021, prepared by International Consulting Expertise within the European Union's EU4Youth programme, refers to the sports ministry's subsidies to 50 federations for 2020, and to 1,714 sports associations taking part in federation competitions, as the ministry listed them for 2019–2020. It notes that “La majorité écrasante des AS sont omnisports”, that is, most sports associations are multi-sport clubs.[32] The Comité National Olympique Tunisien's own site could not be retrieved, so no list of its member federations was read.

Olympedia's medals-by-sport table for Tunisia carries rows in athletics, swimming, taekwondo, marathon swimming, fencing, boxing and wrestling.[1]

Team sports are documented below from their governing bodies: football from the federation and CAF, handball from the IHF, and volleyball from La Presse de Tunisie's report of the 2026 African men's championship. The public broadcaster's sports pages carry separate sections for football, basketball and handball.[36]

What is the most popular spectator sport in Tunisia?

No measured ranking of spectator sports in Tunisia was retrieved, and no season attendance figure for any league. The proxies retrieved are registrations and broadcaster output.

Registrations. The Fédération Tunisienne de Football's own data sheet, for 2022–2023, gives 40,844 players, 1,460 coaches, 351 clubs and 1,400 referees, organised in “16 (4 Ligues Nationales,12 Ligues Régionales)”.[14] No comparable registration figure from another federation was retrieved.

Broadcaster output. The sports pages of the Télévision Tunisienne, the public broadcaster, are divided into football, basketball and handball; as retrieved on 27 September 2026, its football page carried results, standings and referee appointments for the Ligue Professionnelle 1.[36] These are different measures and not a ranking.

How is sport organised in Tunisia?

The statutes. Loi n° 94-104 du 3 août 1994, “portant organisation et développement de l'éducation physique et des activités sportives”, was read on the legislation database legislation-securite.tn, which dates its publication in the Journal Officiel de la République Tunisienne (JORT) to 9 August 1994; the JORT's own portal returned no readable content. Article 2 states: “L'éducation physique et la pratique des activités sportives sont un droit fondamental pour tous les individus.” Article 3 assigns to the State the setting of policy for physical education and sport and its oversight.[31] The law on sports bodies is the “Loi organique n°95-11 du 6 février 1995 relative aux structures sportives”, as the 2021 EU-funded study cites it; its text was not read, and no amendment to it was checked against the gazette.[32]

The Olympic committee. Olympedia's organisation record gives the Comité National Olympique Tunisien (CNOT) a founding year of 1957 and an IOC recognition year of 1957, and states that it was “Previously known as Comité Olympique Tunisien.”[11] Olympedia's country narrative states: “The National Olympic Committee of Tunisia was formed on 27 May 1957.” It records that the IOC rejected recognition at its Melbourne Session on 20 November 1956 and that provisional recognition followed at the Sofia Session on 23 September 1957.[1] The committee's own site could not be retrieved.

Football. The Fédération Tunisienne de Football states that it was “créée le 29 Mars 1957 et agréée par le visa n°3017”.[14] CAF's page for the federation gives 1957 for its creation, 1960 for its affiliation to FIFA and 1960 for its affiliation to CAF.[15] On 23 July 2024 FIFA announced that the Bureau of the FIFA Council had decided to appoint a normalisation committee for the Tunisian Football Association (FTF), a decision “taken following consultations with CAF and in order to provide the FTF with the means to emerge from the current crisis, to revise the FTF statutes and electoral code and to hold elections in line with its new statutory framework.” FIFA set the committee's mandate to expire once its tasks were fulfilled, “but by no later than 31 January 2025.”[16]

Anti-doping. WADA has stated that its Executive Committee asserted the non-compliance of ANAD, the national anti-doping organisation, and that “On 30 April, the non-compliance of ANAD was confirmed as the result of its failure to fully implement the 2021 version of the Code within its legal system.” It has also stated that “On 15 May 2024, WADA announced that the non-conformity had been successfully addressed and ANAD was reinstated as compliant with the Code”, and that “the nation's flag could not be flown at certain covered events while ANAD remained non-compliant.” The same release states that ANAD's former director general was arrested “for simply trying to abide by the consequences of ANAD's non-compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code”; that is WADA's account.[35]

What are the main domestic leagues and competitions?

Football. The federation's calendar for 2025–2026 names the “بطولة الرابطة المحترفة الأولى” and the “بطولة الرابطة المحترفة الثانية”, the Ligue Professionnelle 1 and Ligue Professionnelle 2, and set the first round of the Ligue Professionnelle 1 for 9–10 August 2025, with its return phase after the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. It set the final of the Super Cup (“الكأس الممتازة”) for the 2024–2025 season for 3 August 2025.[17] In September 2026 the public broadcaster was publishing results and standings for the fourth round of the new season under the Arabic name “بطولة الرابطة المحترفة الأولى”.[36] No sponsor name for the league was found on the federation's pages.

Continental club competition. The same calendar schedules Tunisian clubs' preliminary rounds in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup from 19–21 September 2025.[17]

Handball. The public broadcaster published the opening-round programme of the “بطولة النخبة لكرة اليد”, the handball elite championship, on 3 September 2026.[36]

How has Tunisia performed at the Olympic Games?

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

Editions and codes. Olympedia's participation table lists Tunisia at every Summer Games from 1960 to 2024 except 1980, and at no Winter Games; its narrative states that Tunisia boycotted the 1976 Games “although a few of its athletes had already competed”. It lists no 1906 row. Tunisia's first Games in Olympedia's table are 1960, so the art competitions of 1912–1948 carry no row for this code, and nothing filed under another code is included here.[1]

1964 to 1996. In gold, silver and bronze: 1964, 0, 1, 1; 1968, 1, 0, 1; 1972, 0, 1, 0; 1996, 0, 0, 1. There is no row for 1960, 1976, 1984, 1988 or 1992.[1]

From 2000. No row for 2000 or 2004; 2008, 1, 0, 0; 2012, 2, 0, 1; 2016, 0, 0, 3; 2020, 1, 1, 0; 2024, 1, 1, 1.[1]

By sport. Athletics (2, 2, 1), swimming (2, 0, 1), taekwondo (1, 1, 2), marathon swimming (1, 0, 0), fencing (0, 1, 1), boxing (0, 0, 2) and wrestling (0, 0, 1).[1]

Reallocation. Olympedia's 2012 rows list Habiba Ghribi as gold medallist in the women's 3,000 metres steeplechase and carry no note of a change.[7] On 24 March 2016 the IAAF, now World Athletics, stated that the Court of Arbitration for Sport had upheld its appeals concerning six Russian athletes, among them Yuliya Zaripova, and that it would request from the IOC “the disqualification of results and the reallocation of medals.”[13] Olympedia's result page for the 2012 final lists Zaripova of RUS as disqualified and Ghribi in first place, so the TUN tables already reflect that change.[12]

Narrative. Olympedia's narrative states: “Tunisia has won 15 Olympic medals with five golds.” The tables carry later rows, and this page uses the rows.[1] The table also carries Youth Olympic Games rows for 2014, 2018 and the 2024 Winter Youth Games, which are not included above.[1]

Which athletes and teams are internationally recognised?

Olympic results. Olympedia's rows list Mohamad Gammoudi as silver medallist in the men's 10,000 metres in 1964, gold medallist in the 5,000 metres in 1968 and silver medallist in the 5,000 metres in 1972.[2][3][4] They list Fathi Missaoui as bronze medallist in the men's light-welterweight boxing in 1996.[5] They list Oussama Mellouli as gold medallist in the men's 1,500 metres freestyle in 2008, and as gold medallist in the men's 10 kilometres marathon swim in 2012.[6][7] The 2016 rows list bronze medals for Inès Boubakri in women's foil, Oussama Oueslati in men's welterweight taekwondo and Marwa Amri in women's freestyle wrestling.[8] The 2020 rows list Ahmed Hafnaoui as gold medallist in the men's 400 metres freestyle.[9] The 2024 rows list Firas Katoussi as gold medallist in men's welterweight taekwondo and Fares Ferjani as silver medallist in men's individual sabre.[10]

Football. Guinness World Records states: “Tunisia became the first African nation to win a game at the FIFA World Cup when they defeated Mexico 3–1 in a Group 2 game on 2 June 1978 at the Estadio Gigante de Arroyito in Rosario, Argentina.”[18] CAF's preview of 12 June 2026 refers to “their famous victory over Mexico in 1978” without giving the score; no FIFA match record was retrieved. CAF listed Tunisia's earlier World Cups in that preview as “1978 – Group Stage, 1998 – Group Stage, 2002 – Group Stage, 2006 – Group Stage, 2018 – Group Stage, 2022 – Group Stage.”[19] CAF reported on 8 September 2025 that a 1–0 win in Malabo against Equatorial Guinea qualified Tunisia for the 2026 World Cup, “for a seventh time in their history and a third in succession”.[20] At that tournament CAF reported a 5–1 opening defeat to Sweden, a 4–0 defeat to Japan in Monterrey that confirmed elimination, and a 3–1 defeat to the Netherlands in Kansas City on 25 June 2026.[21][22]

Handball. The IHF reported that at the 2005 World Championship Tunisia “lost 30:33 to Spain” in the semi-final and lost “25:26 to the French” in the bronze-medal match.[24] It reported that Egypt beat Tunisia 37:24 in the final of the 2026 African Men's Championship in Kigali, Rwanda.[25]

Tennis. The WTA reported on 20 June 2021 that Ons Jabeur won the first WTA singles title of her career at Birmingham, beating Daria Kasatkina 7-5, 6-4.[26] It reported on 9 July 2022 that Elena Rybakina beat her 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the Wimbledon final, and described Jabeur as “the first Tunisian and Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final.”[27]

Volleyball. La Presse de Tunisie reported on 25 September 2026 that the men's team beat Cameroon “sur le score de 3 sets à 0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-19)” in the African Championship final, and that “Grâce à cette victoire, la Tunisie décroche directement son billet pour les Jeux Olympiques de Los Angeles 2028”; that is a single newspaper report.[34]

What major international competitions has Tunisia hosted?

Africa Cup of Nations 2004. CAF states: “Tunisia hosted the tournament in 2004, defeating Morocco 2-1 in the final.”[23] The same CAF page records that Tunisia had reached the finals of 1965 and 1996 and lost both.[23]

2005 IHF Men's World Championship. The IHF reported that the championship ran from Sunday 23 January to Sunday 6 February 2005, with 86 games across five venues, in Rades, Tunis, Sfax and Sousse. Spain beat Croatia 40:34 in the final. The IHF described Tunisia's “fourth place on home soil” as a result that “remains their best-ever ranking”.[24] The IHF World Handball Championships page covers the series.

Mediterranean Games. The International Committee of Mediterranean Games lists editions held in “Tunis - Tunisia” in 1967 and in 2001.[33] See Mediterranean Games.

African volleyball, 2026. La Presse de Tunisie reported that the 2026 African men's volleyball final was played on Friday 25 September 2026 at the Palais des sports d'El Menzah; that competition had finished by 27 September 2026.[34]

What are Tunisia's main sporting rivalries?

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

Algeria, football. 11v11 prints Tunisia's record against Algeria as “Games won: 16 | Games drawn: 17 | Games lost: 23”. Its list opens with a row dated 13 November 1932, before the federation's own founding date of 1957. Its latest rows are a 0–2 defeat at the FIFA Arab Cup on 18 December 2021 and a 1–1 friendly on 20 June 2023.[29][14]

Morocco, football. 11v11 prints the record as “Games won: 8 | Games drawn: 24 | Games lost: 15”, from a 3–1 Moroccan win at the Pan Arab Games on 23 October 1957 to a 2–0 Moroccan win in a friendly on 6 June 2025.[30] CAF records the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations final as a 2–1 Tunisian win.[23]

France, football. 11v11 prints “Games won: 3 | Games drawn: 4 | Games lost: 3”, a list that includes Mediterranean Games and under-age fixtures; its latest row is a 1–0 Tunisian win at the FIFA World Cup on 30 November 2022.[28]

Egypt, handball. The IHF reported that Egypt's 37:24 win over Tunisia in the 2026 African final was “Egypt's 10th title at the CAHB African Men's Handball Championship, tying Tunisia as the joint most decorated team”.[25] No head-to-head count from the IHF was retrieved.

What is the role of school and university sport?

The statute. Article 5 of Loi n° 94-104 provides that pupils enrolled in public or private schools and universities and in vocational training centres “bénéficient de l'enseignement de l'éducation physique, sauf dispense médicale”. Article 7 provides that those establishments “œuvrent obligatoirement à la création d'une association sportive qui s'affilie à la fédération tunisienne des sports scolaires et universitaires”.[31]

The federation. The 2021 EU-funded study describes the Fédération Tunisienne de Sport Scolaire et Universitaire (FTSSU) as the body that runs school and university competitions, organised through school and university sports associations.[32] No publication of the FTSSU itself or of the education ministry was retrieved.

Were any sports invented in Tunisia?

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

The articles of Loi n° 94-104 that were read, articles 2, 3, 5 and 7, name no national sport.[31] The text of Loi organique n° 95-11 could not be read, so it was not checked for one.

References

  1. Olympedia — Tunisia (TUN): country page, narrative, participation table, Medals by Games and Medals by sport tables. Accessed 2026-09-27.
  2. Olympedia — Tunisia at the 1964 Summer Olympics: medal rows. Accessed 2026-09-27.
  3. Olympedia — Tunisia at the 1968 Summer Olympics: medal rows. Accessed 2026-09-27.
  4. Olympedia — Tunisia at the 1972 Summer Olympics: medal rows. Accessed 2026-09-27.
  5. Olympedia — Tunisia at the 1996 Summer Olympics: medal rows. Accessed 2026-09-27.
  6. Olympedia — Tunisia at the 2008 Summer Olympics: medal rows. Accessed 2026-09-27.
  7. Olympedia — Tunisia at the 2012 Summer Olympics: medal rows. Accessed 2026-09-27.
  8. Olympedia — Tunisia at the 2016 Summer Olympics: medal rows. Accessed 2026-09-27.
  9. Olympedia — Tunisia at the 2020 Summer Olympics: medal rows. Accessed 2026-09-27.
  10. Olympedia — Tunisia at the 2024 Summer Olympics: medal rows. Accessed 2026-09-27.
  11. Olympedia — Comité National Olympique Tunisien (organisation record: founded 1957, IOC recognition 1957, previous name). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  12. Olympedia — Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics: 3,000 metres steeplechase, women, result page (Zaripova disqualified). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  13. World Athletics (IAAF) — IAAF statement concerning CAS decisions: six Russian athletes (24 March 2016). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  14. Fédération Tunisienne de Football — Fiche signalétique (creation 29 March 1957; 2022–2023 registration figures). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  15. CAF — Member associations: Tunisia, Fédération Tunisienne de Football (created 1957; affiliated to FIFA 1960 and CAF 1960). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  16. FIFA — Normalisation committees appointed in Tunisia and Maldives (23 July 2024). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  17. Fédération Tunisienne de Football — Calendrier de la saison sportive 2025-2026 (21 July 2025; league headings in Arabic). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  18. Guinness World Records — First victory by an African football (soccer) nation at a FIFA World Cup. Accessed 2026-09-27.
  19. CAF — Tunisia target historic breakthrough at FIFA World Cup 2026 (12 June 2026). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  20. CAF — Tunisia book 2026 World Cup place as Morocco cruise, Mozambique climb (8 September 2025). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  21. CAF — Tunisia suffer heavy defeat to Japan and bow out of FIFA World Cup 2026 (21 June 2026). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  22. CAF — Tunisia bow out of FIFA World Cup 2026 with defeat to the Netherlands (26 June 2026). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  23. CAF — TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations 2025: Know Your Team: Tunisia (24 January 2025). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  24. IHF — Egypt 1999, Tunisia 2005… now Egypt 2021: the IHF Men’s World Championship in Africa (11 November 2020). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  25. IHF — Fourth in a row, as Egypt tie Tunisia as the most decorated team at the African Championship (31 January 2026). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  26. WTA — History Made: Jabeur defeats Kasatkina to win first singles title in Birmingham (20 June 2021). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  27. WTA — Rybakina claims historic Wimbledon title with comeback win over Jabeur (9 July 2022). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  28. 11v11 (English Football Statistics) — Tunisia: record v France (single secondary source). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  29. 11v11 (English Football Statistics) — Tunisia: record v Algeria (single secondary source). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  30. 11v11 (English Football Statistics) — Tunisia: record v Morocco (single secondary source). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  31. Legislation-securite.tn — Loi n° 94-104 du 3 août 1994, portant organisation et développement de l’éducation physique et des activités sportives (JORT of 9 August 1994): articles 2, 3, 5 and 7. Accessed 2026-09-27.
  32. International Consulting Expertise for the EU Delegation in Tunisia (EU4Youth) — Étude analytique sur le sport en Tunisie, final report, 16 November 2021 (PDF, hosted by the Observatoire National du Sport). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  33. International Committee of Mediterranean Games — Mediterranean Games editions (Tunis 1967, Tunis 2001). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  34. La Presse de Tunisie — Volley – Championnat d’Afrique messieurs : la Tunisie sacrée pour la 12e fois (25 September 2026). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  35. WADA — WADA receives wide support in efforts to free the former Director General of the Tunisian National Anti-Doping Organization (2024). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  36. Télévision Tunisienne — sports pages: football section (Ligue Professionnelle 1 items, September 2026); handball section. Accessed 2026-09-27.