The History of Sport in Sydney

In 2006, 565,898 people attended National Rugby League (NRL) games at Sydney’s Stadium Australia alone. This figure highlights how deeply sport is embedded in the city’s DNA—something that has been the case for a long time. This makes Sydney the perfect location for GIS’ new campus.

Sport has been an integral part of Sydney’s history, with the origins of recreational sport in the city dating back to the late 1700s. European settlers brought their love of horse racing, followed by early forms of football, establishing Sydney as the country’s first sporting hub.

In 1938, the city hosted the third edition of the British Empire Games (now known as the Commonwealth Games), with over 40,000 spectators at the Sydney Cricket Ground (home of GIS Sydney) for the opening ceremony.

With Australia winning 25 gold medals—their highest tally at the time—the Games marked the first major international sporting event held in New South Wales’ capital, setting the stage for the city’s ever-growing sporting legacy.

Most notably, Sydney hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics, the first to feature 300 events. A total of 199 teams competed, and the Games were widely regarded as the best ever. In fact, in the build-up to London 2012, Lord Sebastian Coe described Sydney 2000 as the “benchmark for the spirit of the Games, unquestionably.”

Today, rugby league remains one of the most popular professional sports in the country, and Sydney is the ultimate destination for NRL fans. With eight of the league’s 16 teams based in the city, Sydney is home to the three most successful clubs—South Sydney Rabbitohs, Sydney Roosters, and St. George Dragons—since competitive rugby league began in 1908.

That said, the title for the most attended sport in Australia belongs to the Australian Football League (AFL), with an average crowd of over 37,000 in the 2024 season so far. Sydney is home to two AFL teams: the Greater Western Sydney Giants, who play at Engie Stadium and Manuka Oval, and the Sydney Swans, who play at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), also home to GIS Sydney.

It’s impossible to mention the SCG without talking about another of Sydney’s most beloved sports—cricket. Self-proclaimed as Sydney’s Original Home of Sport, the SCG embodies the city’s sporting heritage. Built in 1851, it has hosted legendary players from Shane Warne to Brian Lara, with a record Test match attendance of 58,446 in 1928.

This is just one of 30 stadiums in Greater Sydney with a capacity of over 10,000—further proof of how central sport is to Australia’s most populous city.

Another of Sydney’s major venues is the Sydney Football Stadium, which is also home to GIS Sydney and Sydney FC. The stadium hosted six matches during the most recent FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023—a tournament played 143 years after the city’s first team, the Wanderers, was formally established.

Despite only scratching the surface of Sydney’s sporting history, it’s clear that sport is woven into the fabric of the city’s culture.

Learn more about GIS’ Sydney campus—Sydney’s new home of sport.

Article by Zak Anani