Sport in Burkina Faso is widespread and includes football (soccer), basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, cycling

Cycling

Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

, Rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

, handball

Team handball

Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...

, tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

, athletics, boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 and martial arts

Martial arts

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

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Football

Football is very popular in Burkina Faso, played both professionally, and informally in towns and villages across the country. The national team

Burkina Faso national football team

The Burkina Faso national football team, nicknamed Les Etalons , is the national team of Burkina Faso and is controlled by the Fédération Burkinabé de Foot-Ball. They were known as the Upper Volta national football team until 1984, when Upper Volta became Burkina Faso...

 is nicknamed "Les Etalons" ("the Stallions") in reference to the legendary horse of Princess Yennenga

Yennenga

Yennenga, also known as Yennenga the Svelte, was a legendary African princess, considered the mother of the Mossi people of Burkina Faso. She was a famous warrior whose son Ouedraogo founded the Mossi Kingdoms.-Biography:...

. In 1998, Burkina Faso hosted the African Cup of Nations

African Cup of Nations

The Africa Cup of Nations, also referred to as the African Cup of Nations or African Nations Cup, officially CAN , is the main international association football competition in Africa. It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football , and was first held in 1957. Since 1968, it has been...

 for which the Omnisport Stadium in Bobo-Dioulasso

Bobo-Dioulasso

Bobo-Dioulasso is a city with a population of about 435,543 , the second largest city in Burkina Faso, Africa, after Ouagadougou, the nation's capital. The name means literally, "home of the Jula who speak Bobo," and is possibly a creation of the French who misunderstood the identity complexities...

 was built.

Cycling

Cycling is widespread both as a sport and as a cheap means of transport. The Tour du Faso

Tour du Faso

The Tour du Faso is a 10-day road bicycle racing stage race held in Burkina Faso in the late fall. Since 2005, the race has been part of the UCI Africa Tour...

, approved by the Fédération internationale de cyclisme, is a cycling event held annually in November. The stage race takes place at temperatures up to 40°

Degree (temperature)

The term degree is used in several scales of temperature. The symbol ° is usually used, followed by the initial letter of the unit, for example “°C” for degree Celsius...

C

Celsius

Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...

. It has been part of the UCI Africa Tour since 2005.

Olympic Games

Burkina Faso has sent athletes to every Summer Olympic Games

Summer Olympic Games

The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...

 held since 1988. Under its previous name of Upper Volta

Republic of Upper Volta

The Republic of Upper Volta was established on December 11, 1958, as a self-governing colony within the French Community. Before attaining autonomy it had been French Upper Volta and part of the French Union. On August 5, 1960 it attained full independence from France.Thomas Sankara came to power...

, the country also competed in 1972

1972 Summer Olympics

The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

. Despite appearing in six different Olympics, Burkina Faso has never won an Olympic medal. No athletes from Burkina Faso have competed in any Winter Olympic Games

Winter Olympic Games

The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...

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