Europe's traditional sports landscape is extraordinarily diverse — a patchwork of regional wrestling styles, ball games, strength contests, and precision sports that reflect the continent's rich cultural mosaic. The International Council of Traditional Sports and Games recognises Europe as one of the world's most dynamic regions for traditional sports heritage, home to dozens of disciplines with ancient roots and vibrant contemporary practice.

Glíma – Iceland's Living Viking Heritage

Glíma is Iceland's national sport and one of the oldest wrestling traditions in the world, practised since the Viking Age. The standard form — trouser-grip glima — requires competitors to grip their opponent's waistband and attempt to throw them to the ground using technique, never brute force. Glima was demonstrated at the 1912 Olympic Games and the International Glima Association has advocated for UNESCO intangible cultural heritage recognition. ICTSG's Nordic coordinator Finn Berggren has championed glima's global profile through ICTSG's international programmes.

Chidaoba – Georgia's National Wrestling Art

Chidaoba is the traditional wrestling style of Georgia, inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2018. Wrestlers wear a traditional costume — the chidaobis tansaci — and compete using a combination of standing and ground techniques, with competitions held at major Georgian cultural festivals year-round. Chidaoba is deeply intertwined with Georgian national identity and family tradition.

Basque Pelota and Herri Kirolak

The Basque Country has one of Europe's richest traditional sports ecosystems. Basque pelota — a family of ball sports played against a wall — encompasses over a dozen variants from bare-hand to racket to basket forms. Herri Kirolak ("rural sports") includes stone lifting, log chopping, bale tossing, and tug-of-war disciplines developed from agricultural labour traditions.

Breton Wrestling (Gouren) and Cornish Wrestling

Celtic wrestling traditions survive in Brittany (France) and Cornwall (England), sharing ancient roots and technical similarities. Gouren and Cornish wrestling emphasise upright technique and fair play, with practitioners in both regions maintaining living lineages of practice tracing back centuries.

Yağlı Güreş – Turkish Oil Wrestling

While geographically bridging Europe and Asia, oil wrestling (yağlı güreş) — inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2010 — is Turkey's national sport and one of the world's oldest combat sports traditions. The Kirkpinar tournament in Edirne has been held continuously since 1346, making it the longest-running sporting event in history.

ICTSG in Europe

ICTSG's European chapter, led by Vice President Bulat Galimgereyev, works across the continent to document traditional sports in collaboration with national cultural heritage agencies, sports ministries, and academic institutions. Europe's traditional sports are an argument against the homogenisation of global sport culture — proof that human beings find infinite creative ways to play.