![]() | This page documents an English Wikipedia
notability guideline. Editors should generally follow it, though
exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect
consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on
this guideline's talk page. |
![]() | This page in a nutshell: An athlete is presumed to be notable if the person has actively participated in a major amateur or professional competition or won a significant honor, as listed on this page, and so is likely to have received significant coverage in reliable secondary sources that are independent of the subject. |
Frequently asked questions Q1:
A1: |
This guideline is used to help evaluate whether or not a sports person or sports league/ organization (amateur or professional) is likely to meet the general notability guideline, and thus merit an article in Wikipedia. The article must provide reliable sources showing that the subject meets the general notability guideline or the sport specific criteria set forth below.
If the article does meet the criteria set forth below, then it is likely that sufficient sources exist to satisfy the inclusion criteria for a stand-alone article. Failing to meet the criteria in this guideline means that notability will need to be established in other ways (e.g. the general notability guideline, or other, topic-specific, notability guidelines).
Please note that the failure to meet these criteria does not mean an article must be deleted; conversely, the meeting of any of these criteria does not mean that an article must be kept. These are merely rules of thumb which some editors choose to keep in mind when deciding whether or not to keep an article that is on articles for deletion, along with relevant guidelines such as Wikipedia:Verifiability and Wikipedia:Reliable sources.
All information included in Wikipedia, including articles about sports, must be verifiable. In addition, standalone articles are required to meet the General Notability Guideline. The guideline on this page provides bright-line guidance to enable editors to determine quickly if a subject is likely to meet the General Notability Guideline. Information about living persons must meet the more stringent requirements for those types of articles. It is not intended that this guideline should apply to sports clubs and teams; for these the specific notability guideline is WP:ORG.
Subjects that do not meet the sport-specific criteria outlined in this guideline may still be notable if they meet the General Notability Guideline or another subject specific notability guideline.
Any athletic entertainment event where the results are at least partially predetermined or scripted is not covered by this page. For participants in such events (e.g. Professional wrestling), see WP:ENTERTAINER. At this time there is no consensus that Electronic sports participants are covered by the criteria of this guideline. [1]
A person is presumed to be notable if he or she has been the subject of multiple published [2] non-trivial [3] secondary sources which are reliable, intellectually independent, [4] and independent of the subject. [5] The guidelines on this page are intended to reflect the fact that sports figures are likely to meet Wikipedia's basic standards of inclusion if they have, for example, participated in a major international amateur or professional competition at the highest level (such as the Olympics).
Sport | Amateur Participation | Professional Participation | Non-Athletes | Won a Significant Professional Honor | Won a Significant Amateur Honor | Competed for Professional Championship | Competed for Amateur Championship | # of Participation | # of Leagues | Top 10 | League Notability Temporary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American football/Canadian football | No | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | 6+ | — | — |
Association football | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | hundreds? | — | — |
Athletics/track & field and long-distance running | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | up to 8 | 7 | — | — |
Australian rules football | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
Badminton | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — | 6 | — | — |
Baseball | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — | 12 | — | — |
Basketball | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — | 8 | — | — |
Boxing | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | — |
Cricket | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | 2? | — | — |
Curling | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | 5? | — | — |
Cycling | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | 4 | — | — |
Equestrian sport | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | 4 | — | — |
Figure skating | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — | 6+ | — | — |
Golf | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | 17 | — | — |
Gymnastics | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — | 8? | — | — |
Horse racing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | 2 | ? | — | — |
Ice hockey | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | ? | — | — |
Kickboxing | No | — | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | 10 | Yes | Yes |
Mixed martial arts | No | No | — | — | — | Yes | — | 3 | 2+ | Yes | Yes |
Motorsports | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | ? | — | — |
Rodeo | No | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | 4 | — | — |
Rugby league | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | ? | — | — |
Rugby union | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | ? | — | — |
Sumo | — | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2? | — | — |
Tennis | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | 18? | — | — |
Triathlon | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | 6? | — | — |
College athletes | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | ? | — | — |
Gaelic games | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | ? | — | — |
High school and pre-high school athletes | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ? | — | — |
Olympic and Paralympic Games | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
![]() | This page in a nutshell: An athlete is presumed to be notable if the person has actively participated in a major amateur or professional competition or won a significant honor, as listed on this page, and so is likely to have received significant coverage in reliable secondary sources that are independent of the subject. |
Sport | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 2.2 | # of Leagues |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American football/Canadian football | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | 6+ |
Association football | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | ? |
Athletics/track & field and long-distance running | |||||||
Australian rules football | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | 2 |
Badminton |
Association football (soccer) figures are presumed notable if they meet the following:
Association football (soccer) [figures] are presumed notable if they meet the following:
To non-athletes associated with the sport (or athletes whose main claim to notability is non-athletic activity) the following criteria of notability apply:
The following criteria may also be used to satisfy road race notability, but does not count towards the notability of athletes who compete in these races
Coaches are presumed notable if they have been the head coach of an Australian Football League team or, before 1990, a Victorian Football League team.
[Coaches] are presumed notable if they [have been the head coach of] an Australian Football League team or, before 1990, a [Victorian Football League team].
Baseball figures are presumed notable if they
Players and other figures who do not meet the criteria above are not presumed to meet Wikipedia's standards for notability. To establish that one of these is notable, the article must cite published secondary source material which is reliable, intellectually independent, and independent of the subject. Fan sites and blogs are generally not regarded as reliable sources, and team sites are generally not regarded as independent of the subject. Although statistics sites may be reliable sources, they are not sufficient by themselves to establish notability. [8]
Some minor league players receive some coverage from reliable sources, but not enough to satisfy the notability criteria for an independent article. In these cases, it may be appropriate to write a short, stub-length bio as a section within the article on the franchise's minor league players (for example, Minnesota Twins minor league players). Please note that such mini-bios should cite reliable sources and conform with Wikipedia policies such as WP:BLP.
A boxer is presumed notable if he or she:
A male cyclist is presumed notable if he:
A female cyclist is presumed notable if she:
A team is presumed notable if it is:
A race is presumed notable if it:
This section does not encompass notability issues for individuals in rodeo, which is addressed at WP:NRODEO, or horse racing, which can be satisfied through WP:NHORSERACING.
Equestrians competing at the highest level of international competition are not always "professionals", some earn money and some do not, but most have sponsors or receive money to support their activities. Both professionals and non-professionals have been put in the professional sports category for convenience.
Notability for persons associated with equestrian competition who were not notable as competitors or team coaches as outlined above:
Figure skaters competing at the highest level of international competition are not "professional" skaters, but they are also not amateurs since they do receive money. They are called eligible skaters but have been put in the professional sports category for convenience.
Notability for persons associated with skating who were not notable as eligible skaters:
Golf figures are presumed notable if:
Notability for people involved in sport horse disciplines other than horse racing are covered at WP:NEQUESTRIAN or WP:NRODEO
Not all participants in horse racing are athletic "professionals", particularly owners and breeders, but due to purse money and profit motive throughout the sport they are put in the professional sports category for convenience.
Horse racing figures, including horses and/or their human "connections" ( horse trainers, jockeys or horse owners and horse breeders) are presumed to most likely meet WP:GNG for notability if they have accomplished any of the following:
Notability for horses or persons associated with horse racing who were not competitors or do not meet the criteria above may be presumed notable if they meet GNG for any of the following:
Ice hockey players are presumed notable if they
A kickboxing athlete is presumed notable if they've:
Kickboxers that have an amateur background exclusively are not considered notable unless the person has been the subject examined in detail (more than a single paragraph) in several reliable third-party sources (at least four), excluding local publications.
See also: an essay, Wikipedia:WikiProject Mixed martial arts/MMA notability
A player, or coach of rugby league football is presumed notable if they:
Other players and personalities surrounding the game are notable if they meet WP:GNG.
A rugby union person is presumed notable if he or she has played for, coached or administered:
The above parameters apply to all rugby union persons regardless of professional or amateur status. A player who signs for a team in a fully professional rugby competition but has not played in any games is not deemed to have participated in a competition, and is therefore not generally regarded as being notable. Youth players are not notable unless they satisfy one of the statements above, or if they can be shown to meet the wider requirements of WP:GNG.
Sumo wrestlers are presumed notable if they have been ranked in either the top makuuchi division or second highest juryo division. Wrestlers who have only appeared in lower divisions are generally not notable as they have not reached fully professional status.
This guideline applies equally to singles and doubles players. Junior players are presumed to be notable if they have won at least a junior Grand slam title, have been in the top 3 of the junior ITF world rankings or can be shown to meet the wider requirements of WP:GNG.
More detailed tennis notability information can be found at WikiProject Tennis/Article guidelines.
College athletes and coaches are notable if they have been the subject of non-trivial media coverage beyond merely a repeating of their statistics, mentions in game summaries, or other WP:ROUTINE coverage. Examples would include head coaches, well-known assistant coaches, or players who:
Players of Gaelic games are presumed notable if they fulfill any of the following criteria:
High school and pre-high school athletes are notable only if they have received, as individuals, substantial and prolonged coverage that is (1) independent of the subject and (2) clearly goes beyond WP:ROUTINE coverage. Note that the first clause would exclude all school papers and school websites that cover their sports teams and other teams they compete against. The second clause excludes the majority of local coverage in both news sources and sports specific publications. It especially excludes using game play summaries, statistical results, or routine interviews as sources to establish notability.
This guideline does not cover sports teams. For guidance, please see Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies).
For details on suggested content for the above article types see Wikipedia:WikiProject Olympics/Manual of Style.
Articles can be created on individual seasons of teams in top professional leagues, as these articles almost always meet the notability requirements.
Team season articles should consist mainly of well-sourced prose, not just statistics and lists of players. Wikipedia is not a stats directory. It is strongly recommended that those articles be redirected to the team page if no sourced prose can be created.
For college sports teams, weigh both the season itself and the sport (for example, if a US college or university's football and fencing teams enjoy the same level of success, the football team is likely to receive a significantly greater amount of coverage):
Some games or series are inherently notable, including but not limited to the following:
Articles about notable games should have well-sourced prose, not merely a list of stats. Regular season games in professional and college leagues are not inherently notable.
For a games or series that is already covered as a subtopic in another article, consider developing the topic in the existing article first until it becomes clearer that a standalone article is warranted. Although a game or series may be notable, it may sometimes be better to present the topic in an existing article on a broader topic instead of creating a new standalone page.
Sports rivalries are not inherently notable. Articles on sports rivalries, such as Yankees–Red Sox rivalry, should satisfy the general notability guideline.
The following are some potential places to look for sources to establish sports notability:
![]() | This page documents an English Wikipedia
notability guideline. Editors should generally follow it, though
exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect
consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on
this guideline's talk page. |
![]() | This page in a nutshell: An athlete is presumed to be notable if the person has actively participated in a major amateur or professional competition or won a significant honor, as listed on this page, and so is likely to have received significant coverage in reliable secondary sources that are independent of the subject. |
Frequently asked questions Q1:
A1: |
This guideline is used to help evaluate whether or not a sports person or sports league/ organization (amateur or professional) is likely to meet the general notability guideline, and thus merit an article in Wikipedia. The article must provide reliable sources showing that the subject meets the general notability guideline or the sport specific criteria set forth below.
If the article does meet the criteria set forth below, then it is likely that sufficient sources exist to satisfy the inclusion criteria for a stand-alone article. Failing to meet the criteria in this guideline means that notability will need to be established in other ways (e.g. the general notability guideline, or other, topic-specific, notability guidelines).
Please note that the failure to meet these criteria does not mean an article must be deleted; conversely, the meeting of any of these criteria does not mean that an article must be kept. These are merely rules of thumb which some editors choose to keep in mind when deciding whether or not to keep an article that is on articles for deletion, along with relevant guidelines such as Wikipedia:Verifiability and Wikipedia:Reliable sources.
All information included in Wikipedia, including articles about sports, must be verifiable. In addition, standalone articles are required to meet the General Notability Guideline. The guideline on this page provides bright-line guidance to enable editors to determine quickly if a subject is likely to meet the General Notability Guideline. Information about living persons must meet the more stringent requirements for those types of articles. It is not intended that this guideline should apply to sports clubs and teams; for these the specific notability guideline is WP:ORG.
Subjects that do not meet the sport-specific criteria outlined in this guideline may still be notable if they meet the General Notability Guideline or another subject specific notability guideline.
Any athletic entertainment event where the results are at least partially predetermined or scripted is not covered by this page. For participants in such events (e.g. Professional wrestling), see WP:ENTERTAINER. At this time there is no consensus that Electronic sports participants are covered by the criteria of this guideline. [1]
A person is presumed to be notable if he or she has been the subject of multiple published [2] non-trivial [3] secondary sources which are reliable, intellectually independent, [4] and independent of the subject. [5] The guidelines on this page are intended to reflect the fact that sports figures are likely to meet Wikipedia's basic standards of inclusion if they have, for example, participated in a major international amateur or professional competition at the highest level (such as the Olympics).
Sport | Amateur Participation | Professional Participation | Non-Athletes | Won a Significant Professional Honor | Won a Significant Amateur Honor | Competed for Professional Championship | Competed for Amateur Championship | # of Participation | # of Leagues | Top 10 | League Notability Temporary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American football/Canadian football | No | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | 6+ | — | — |
Association football | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | hundreds? | — | — |
Athletics/track & field and long-distance running | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | up to 8 | 7 | — | — |
Australian rules football | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
Badminton | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — | 6 | — | — |
Baseball | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — | 12 | — | — |
Basketball | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — | 8 | — | — |
Boxing | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | — |
Cricket | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | 2? | — | — |
Curling | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | 5? | — | — |
Cycling | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | 4 | — | — |
Equestrian sport | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | 4 | — | — |
Figure skating | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — | 6+ | — | — |
Golf | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | 17 | — | — |
Gymnastics | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — | 8? | — | — |
Horse racing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | 2 | ? | — | — |
Ice hockey | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | ? | — | — |
Kickboxing | No | — | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | 10 | Yes | Yes |
Mixed martial arts | No | No | — | — | — | Yes | — | 3 | 2+ | Yes | Yes |
Motorsports | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | ? | — | — |
Rodeo | No | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | 4 | — | — |
Rugby league | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | ? | — | — |
Rugby union | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | ? | — | — |
Sumo | — | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2? | — | — |
Tennis | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | 18? | — | — |
Triathlon | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | 6? | — | — |
College athletes | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | ? | — | — |
Gaelic games | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | ? | — | — |
High school and pre-high school athletes | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ? | — | — |
Olympic and Paralympic Games | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
![]() | This page in a nutshell: An athlete is presumed to be notable if the person has actively participated in a major amateur or professional competition or won a significant honor, as listed on this page, and so is likely to have received significant coverage in reliable secondary sources that are independent of the subject. |
Sport | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 2.2 | # of Leagues |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American football/Canadian football | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | 6+ |
Association football | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | ? |
Athletics/track & field and long-distance running | |||||||
Australian rules football | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | 2 |
Badminton |
Association football (soccer) figures are presumed notable if they meet the following:
Association football (soccer) [figures] are presumed notable if they meet the following:
To non-athletes associated with the sport (or athletes whose main claim to notability is non-athletic activity) the following criteria of notability apply:
The following criteria may also be used to satisfy road race notability, but does not count towards the notability of athletes who compete in these races
Coaches are presumed notable if they have been the head coach of an Australian Football League team or, before 1990, a Victorian Football League team.
[Coaches] are presumed notable if they [have been the head coach of] an Australian Football League team or, before 1990, a [Victorian Football League team].
Baseball figures are presumed notable if they
Players and other figures who do not meet the criteria above are not presumed to meet Wikipedia's standards for notability. To establish that one of these is notable, the article must cite published secondary source material which is reliable, intellectually independent, and independent of the subject. Fan sites and blogs are generally not regarded as reliable sources, and team sites are generally not regarded as independent of the subject. Although statistics sites may be reliable sources, they are not sufficient by themselves to establish notability. [8]
Some minor league players receive some coverage from reliable sources, but not enough to satisfy the notability criteria for an independent article. In these cases, it may be appropriate to write a short, stub-length bio as a section within the article on the franchise's minor league players (for example, Minnesota Twins minor league players). Please note that such mini-bios should cite reliable sources and conform with Wikipedia policies such as WP:BLP.
A boxer is presumed notable if he or she:
A male cyclist is presumed notable if he:
A female cyclist is presumed notable if she:
A team is presumed notable if it is:
A race is presumed notable if it:
This section does not encompass notability issues for individuals in rodeo, which is addressed at WP:NRODEO, or horse racing, which can be satisfied through WP:NHORSERACING.
Equestrians competing at the highest level of international competition are not always "professionals", some earn money and some do not, but most have sponsors or receive money to support their activities. Both professionals and non-professionals have been put in the professional sports category for convenience.
Notability for persons associated with equestrian competition who were not notable as competitors or team coaches as outlined above:
Figure skaters competing at the highest level of international competition are not "professional" skaters, but they are also not amateurs since they do receive money. They are called eligible skaters but have been put in the professional sports category for convenience.
Notability for persons associated with skating who were not notable as eligible skaters:
Golf figures are presumed notable if:
Notability for people involved in sport horse disciplines other than horse racing are covered at WP:NEQUESTRIAN or WP:NRODEO
Not all participants in horse racing are athletic "professionals", particularly owners and breeders, but due to purse money and profit motive throughout the sport they are put in the professional sports category for convenience.
Horse racing figures, including horses and/or their human "connections" ( horse trainers, jockeys or horse owners and horse breeders) are presumed to most likely meet WP:GNG for notability if they have accomplished any of the following:
Notability for horses or persons associated with horse racing who were not competitors or do not meet the criteria above may be presumed notable if they meet GNG for any of the following:
Ice hockey players are presumed notable if they
A kickboxing athlete is presumed notable if they've:
Kickboxers that have an amateur background exclusively are not considered notable unless the person has been the subject examined in detail (more than a single paragraph) in several reliable third-party sources (at least four), excluding local publications.
See also: an essay, Wikipedia:WikiProject Mixed martial arts/MMA notability
A player, or coach of rugby league football is presumed notable if they:
Other players and personalities surrounding the game are notable if they meet WP:GNG.
A rugby union person is presumed notable if he or she has played for, coached or administered:
The above parameters apply to all rugby union persons regardless of professional or amateur status. A player who signs for a team in a fully professional rugby competition but has not played in any games is not deemed to have participated in a competition, and is therefore not generally regarded as being notable. Youth players are not notable unless they satisfy one of the statements above, or if they can be shown to meet the wider requirements of WP:GNG.
Sumo wrestlers are presumed notable if they have been ranked in either the top makuuchi division or second highest juryo division. Wrestlers who have only appeared in lower divisions are generally not notable as they have not reached fully professional status.
This guideline applies equally to singles and doubles players. Junior players are presumed to be notable if they have won at least a junior Grand slam title, have been in the top 3 of the junior ITF world rankings or can be shown to meet the wider requirements of WP:GNG.
More detailed tennis notability information can be found at WikiProject Tennis/Article guidelines.
College athletes and coaches are notable if they have been the subject of non-trivial media coverage beyond merely a repeating of their statistics, mentions in game summaries, or other WP:ROUTINE coverage. Examples would include head coaches, well-known assistant coaches, or players who:
Players of Gaelic games are presumed notable if they fulfill any of the following criteria:
High school and pre-high school athletes are notable only if they have received, as individuals, substantial and prolonged coverage that is (1) independent of the subject and (2) clearly goes beyond WP:ROUTINE coverage. Note that the first clause would exclude all school papers and school websites that cover their sports teams and other teams they compete against. The second clause excludes the majority of local coverage in both news sources and sports specific publications. It especially excludes using game play summaries, statistical results, or routine interviews as sources to establish notability.
This guideline does not cover sports teams. For guidance, please see Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies).
For details on suggested content for the above article types see Wikipedia:WikiProject Olympics/Manual of Style.
Articles can be created on individual seasons of teams in top professional leagues, as these articles almost always meet the notability requirements.
Team season articles should consist mainly of well-sourced prose, not just statistics and lists of players. Wikipedia is not a stats directory. It is strongly recommended that those articles be redirected to the team page if no sourced prose can be created.
For college sports teams, weigh both the season itself and the sport (for example, if a US college or university's football and fencing teams enjoy the same level of success, the football team is likely to receive a significantly greater amount of coverage):
Some games or series are inherently notable, including but not limited to the following:
Articles about notable games should have well-sourced prose, not merely a list of stats. Regular season games in professional and college leagues are not inherently notable.
For a games or series that is already covered as a subtopic in another article, consider developing the topic in the existing article first until it becomes clearer that a standalone article is warranted. Although a game or series may be notable, it may sometimes be better to present the topic in an existing article on a broader topic instead of creating a new standalone page.
Sports rivalries are not inherently notable. Articles on sports rivalries, such as Yankees–Red Sox rivalry, should satisfy the general notability guideline.
The following are some potential places to look for sources to establish sports notability: