Sports in Denmark

Sports are popular in Denmark, and its citizens participate in and watch a wide variety. The national sport is Football (soccer) with the most notable results being qualifying for the European Championships six times in a row (1984-2004) and winning the Championship in 1992. Other significant achievements include winning the Confederations Cup in 1995 and reaching the quarter final of the 1998 World Championships.

Other popular sports include handball, cycling, sailing sports, badminton, ice hockey, cricket, swimming and recently also golf.A few youths also play basketball.

Sport is encouraged in school, and there are local sports clubs in all citys and most towns.

The national stadium is the Parken Stadium.

Football

:See also Denmark national football team:See also Football in Denmark

Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Denmark. The national football team in Denmark have reached high and notable results, like qualifying for the European Championships six times in a row (1984-) and winning the UEFA Championship in 1992. Other significant achievements include winning the Confederations Cup in 1995 and reaching the quarter final of the 1998 World Championships.

Denmark national football team reached #3 ranking in the FIFA ranking in May 1997, and #1 at the World Football Elo Ratings system in (1912-1920).

The top-league in Danish football is called The Danish Superliga.

Handball

:See also Denmark national handball team:See also Denmark women's national handball team

There are over 146.000 licensed handball players in Denmark. Both the male, and female national teams have reached high international rankings.

Denmark women's national handball team have won the Olympics gold medal 3 times, the European Women's Handball Championship 3 times, and the World Women's Handball Championship 1 time. The male national team won the European Men's Handball Championship in 2008.

Cycling

Denmark have in the recent years, marked their status as a strong cycling nation, with Bjarne Riis wining Tour de France in 1996, and Michael Rasmussen reaching King of the Mountains status, in the Tour since 2005.

Motor Sports

In Denmark there is also a small but successful group of people doing motorsport. The driver with the most 24 Hours of Le Mans wins so far is Denmark's Tom Kristensen with 8 1st places.

Motorcycle speedway

Denmark have marked their status as one of the leading motorcycle speedway countries. Denmark won the Speedway World Cup in 2006, and came 2nd, in 2007 missing only 2 points to Poland.

Danish Speedway World Championship Champions include Ole Olsen, Erik Gundersen, Hans Nielsen (nicknamed "The Professor", 4-times World Champion), and Nicki Pedersen, the 2003 World Champion.

Erik Gundersen and Hans Nielsen occupied the first two places at Gothenburg in 1984. And, in fact, there were two Danes on top of the table in each and every World final from 1984 to 1988 - a somewhat extraordinary record. Gundersen and Nielsen took three titles each as the Danes won six successive and seven out of eight titles from 1984 to 1991.

Boxing

Denmark have got many great boxers, including former Super Middleweight World Boxing Council World Champion and Super Middleweight World Boxing Association World Champion, Mikkel Kessler. Former great boxers include Johnny Bredahl a former WBO and WBA champion. Brian Nielsen who fought Mike Tyson in 2001. The active boxer Ahmed Khaddour who was in the American reality tv-show The Contender also comes from Denmark.

Cricket

Cricket is a minor sport in denmark but the Denmark national cricket team has been performing well and has reached World Cricket League's Division two which kept their hopes to qualify for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Cricket has been played in Denmark since the mid 19th century, brought there by British. Along with the men's team Denmark national women's cricket team also has some introduction into cricket.