60 sports trivia questions by sport (with answers)
Here are 60 sports trivia questions with answers, sorted by sport so you can build balanced rounds: soccer, basketball, American football, baseball, tennis and racquet sports, and an Olympics and general sports round. Each question lists its answer right after it, ready to read aloud, print, or load into an auto-scoring quiz. Because sports knowledge is so siloed, splitting by sport keeps every fan in the game. The full list is below.
Sports trivia gets lopsided fast if you over-index on one sport, so the set below spreads questions across soccer, basketball, American football, baseball, tennis and racquet sports, plus an Olympics and general round. Each question lists its answer, ready to read aloud or load into a quiz. Mix the sports so fans of each get a round they know, and weight toward the sports your audience actually follows.
Soccer (football)
- How many players are on the field per team in soccer? — A: Eleven
- Which country has won the most men's World Cups? — A: Brazil
- How long is a standard soccer match, excluding stoppage time? — A: 90 minutes
- What is awarded for a foul inside the penalty box? — A: A penalty kick
- Which player is known by the nickname 'CR7'? — A: Cristiano Ronaldo
- What is it called when one player scores three goals in a game? — A: A hat-trick
- Which European club competition is the most prestigious? — A: The UEFA Champions League
- How often is the FIFA World Cup held? — A: Every four years
- What card does a referee show for a serious foul, ejecting a player? — A: A red card
- Which Argentine legend scored the 'Hand of God' goal in 1986? — A: Diego Maradona
Basketball
- How many players from each team are on the court in basketball? — A: Five
- How many points is a shot from beyond the arc worth? — A: Three
- Which league is the top professional basketball league in the U.S.? — A: The NBA
- Who is nicknamed 'His Airness' and wore number 23 for the Bulls? — A: Michael Jordan
- What is it called when a player takes steps without dribbling? — A: Traveling
- How high is a standard basketball hoop in feet? — A: Ten feet
- What is a successful free throw worth? — A: One point
- Which team has won the most NBA championships (tied with the Lakers)? — A: The Boston Celtics
- What do you call grabbing the ball after a missed shot? — A: A rebound
- Who holds the NBA all-time scoring record? — A: LeBron James
American football
- How many points is a touchdown worth? — A: Six
- How many players from each team are on the field in American football? — A: Eleven
- What is the championship game of the NFL called? — A: The Super Bowl
- How many yards must a team gain to earn a first down? — A: Ten yards
- What is a kick through the uprights worth (not after a touchdown)? — A: Three points (a field goal)
- What position typically throws the ball? — A: The quarterback
- How many points is a safety worth? — A: Two
- What is the extra kick after a touchdown worth? — A: One point
- Which trophy is awarded to the Super Bowl winner? — A: The Vince Lombardi Trophy
- How many quarters are in an NFL game? — A: Four
Run one sport per round and let teams nominate their specialist. Sports knowledge is unusually siloed — the soccer fan often knows nothing about baseball and vice versa — so a single mega-round punishes generalists. Splitting by sport and rotating who answers keeps every fan engaged and the scores honest.
Baseball
- How many strikes make an out in baseball? — A: Three
- How many bases must a runner touch to score a run? — A: Four (including home)
- What is it called when a batter hits the ball out of the park? — A: A home run
- How many players are on the field for the defending team? — A: Nine
- What is the championship series of MLB called? — A: The World Series
- How many innings are in a standard baseball game? — A: Nine
- What do you call three outs that end a half-inning instantly via one play? — A: A triple play
- Who pitches the ball to the batter? — A: The pitcher
- What is it called when a batter is walked on four pitches? — A: A base on balls (a walk)
- What position wears extra padding behind home plate? — A: The catcher
Tennis & racquet sports
- In tennis, what is a score of zero called? — A: Love
- How many Grand Slam tournaments are there each year? — A: Four
- What is it called when a server wins a point untouched? — A: An ace
- Which Grand Slam is played on grass? — A: Wimbledon
- What term describes a tie at 40-40? — A: Deuce
- How many sets does a man typically need to win a Grand Slam match? — A: Three (best of five)
- What sport uses a shuttlecock? — A: Badminton
- Which surface is the French Open played on? — A: Clay
- What do you call hitting the ball before it bounces? — A: A volley
- Who has won the most men's Grand Slam singles titles era-defining rivalry — name one of the 'Big Three'? — A: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Novak Djokovic
Olympics & general sports
- How many rings are on the Olympic flag? — A: Five
- How often are the Summer Olympics held? — A: Every four years
- What is the maximum score in ten-pin bowling? — A: 300
- In golf, what is one stroke under par on a hole called? — A: A birdie
- What sport is contested at the Tour de France? — A: Cycling
- How many players are on a volleyball team on the court? — A: Six
- What do the five Olympic rings represent? — A: The five inhabited continents
- In which sport would you perform a 'triple axel'? — A: Figure skating
- What is the term for scoring zero in cricket as a batsman? — A: A duck
- Which country has hosted the most Summer Olympic Games? — A: The United States
Turn these into an auto-scored quiz
Hand-scoring sports trivia slows down once you have several competing teams. A free quiz maker lets you paste each question, set the correct answer and point value, and grade every submission the moment it arrives, with a live leaderboard. Formkii's quiz maker supports multiple-choice and multi-answer questions, optional countdown timers for fast rounds, shuffled question order to keep repeat players honest, and per-question analytics — so you can turn the sports categories above into a reusable, self-grading trivia game.
Frequently asked questions
How do you make sports trivia fair for everyone?
Split the questions by sport and run one sport per round, because sports knowledge is unusually siloed — a soccer fan may know nothing about baseball. Letting teams nominate a specialist for each round, and including a general Olympics round, keeps generalists and single-sport fans both competitive.
How many sports trivia questions should a round have?
About 10 questions per sport works well, with five or six sports for a full quiz. That gives each fan base a round to shine in while keeping the overall game from running too long. For a quick energizer, one round of 10 mixed questions is enough.
What sports should I include in a trivia quiz?
Cover the most widely followed sports for your audience — soccer, basketball, American football, baseball, and tennis are safe global and U.S. choices — plus an Olympics and general round that even casual fans can attempt. Weight the mix toward the sports your specific crowd actually watches.
How do you score sports trivia for a big group?
Use an online quiz tool that grades automatically as teams submit, instead of marking paper sheets between rounds. Automatic scoring gives an instant leaderboard, removes disputes over close calls, and lets you run trivia for a large or remote audience without a dedicated scorekeeper.
Can I reuse these sports trivia questions?
Yes. Build them in a quiz tool that shuffles question order so repeat players can't win on memory, and rotate a few questions between events. Keeping a bank organized by sport makes it fast to assemble a fresh quiz for the next game night.