The primary nations within the Scandinavian peninsula are Sweden, Denmark and Norway, but people also consider Iceland, Aland Islands, Faroe Islands, Bouvet Island and Finland to be part of Scandinavia. As one would expect from nations where the Vikings came from, these lands produce some of the toughest and strongest people in the world. So, it is only natural that some very physical and downright brutal sports are among the favorites of the local people. However, Scandinavia is not just about brawn when it comes to sports, as you will see soon on the list next.

Football

Is football the toughest sport in the world? It isn’t, but football is indeed the beautiful game, because playing the sport requires a unique combination of skill, strength, agility, stamina, control and arguably, playacting as well! Whatever you may think of football in your own point of view, the beautiful game is by far the most popular game in both Scandinavia and pretty much the whole world.

Ice hockey

Now that we have covered football, it’s time to make a shift towards what is arguably a team game that is more brutal than even American football! If you have not played or seen ice hockey being played before, do not assume the sport to be simply hockey on ice, because it’s far more than that. Despite the sport being so popular in the Nordic lands, surprisingly enough, some of the most brutal brawls happened in America’s NHL matches. Avid hockey fans often enjoy spicing up their match day experience by betting on matches on sites like this

Golf

Golf is actually a very popular sport in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. According to the R&A's Golf Around the World 2019 report there are 662 golf courses in Sweden and around half a million registered golfers. So even though Scandinavian countries are cold and rain in summer is quite common, golf is still one of the most practiced sports. 

Skiing

Scandinavians are more into winter sports. Skiing for instance is huge in Norway and Sweden and produces some of the best hockey players in the world. The region also boasts some of the best snow and slopes in the world. Not to mention the amazing skiing resorts with mile upon mile of glorious skiing trails that people from all over the world visit. 

Kubb

If you are not Swedish, this is a sport that you might not be familiar with at all. Check out a few YouTube videos if you really wish to learn and enjoy the game like the Swedish do. For the most part though, Kubb can be summarized along the following lines:

  • There are wood blocks, which are called the kubbs and the largest kubb is known as the king
  • There are also wood battens which are used to aim and knock down the kubbs
  • It’s played inside a rectangular field that’s similar to the shape of a football field, but much smaller in size
  • The idea is to throw six batons and knock down the kubbs, of which each team has a separate set, just like the six batons

The rest of the rules and some gameplay can be checked out in more detail via the YouTube video link above.

Varpa

In an article about Scandinavian sport, it would be wrong to not mention varpa, a game that originated back in the Viking days. If you are reminded of boules after watching a few bouts of varpa, then that’s quite natural. They are two very similar and almost identical sports after all, with the primary difference being in the thrower/ball used. In boules, a metallic ball is used instead of the metallic, flat dish like thrower used in varpa. Both sports share their name with the ball/thrower used in their respective versions of the sport. In some cases though, a traditional stone made varpa is used, instead of a metal flat dish.

In case you are wondering, the Swedish do love skiing as well and it’s also one of the most popular sports in the country. Other Scandinavian nations are also very much into skiing, but the catch is, skiing is more or less popular as a sport or as an entertaining activity in almost every part of the world where skiing is a possibility! We focused more on the unique sport attractions, rather than simply stating the obvious. One can argue that football also made it onto the list, despite being popular everywhere, but that’s only because football is by far, the most popular sport in all Scandinavian countries today.

Disclaimer: Play responsibly. Players must be over 18. For help visit https://www.gamcare.org.uk/.

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