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Uganda vs Ireland 2014 World Lacrosse Championship
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International Lacrosse: Lacrosse is Played Where?!

Editor’s Note: This article by Mark Donahue, originally entitled ‘Lacrosse is Played WHERE? A World Map of International Lacrosse,’ was published on October 30, 2015 at 8:14 p.m. It has been updated and repurposed to best serve the lacrosse community.

Anyone who’s been to a handful of international lacrosse events or more know how easy it is to accumulate a ton of gear and clothing from teams around the world. Whether I’m out coaching, playing, or just walking around, I often get stopped, typically by strangers. Questions about the shirt, hoodie or hat I’m wearing, usually begin with: “they play lacrosse in (insert country here)?”

“Yes, they play lacrosse there,” I typically reply, with, “they also play in Africa” added to the tail. I don’t know why I choose Africa; I guess it just seems odd to most Americans that Africans play, and get good at, organized sports…especially a sport where most still can’t figure out if it’s played by rich kids or Native Americans. But really the answer is both, everything in between, and everywhere beyond!

japan lacrosse 2018 FIL norway norge 2018 FIL Lacrosse Photos international lacrosse

Lacrosse is growing EVERYWHERE! People in the States are surprised when they hear of teams in the Dakotas popping up, let alone Hawaii or Alaska. But it’s more mind-blowing to me that teams like Serbia, Uganda, Colombia, China and others were able to make it to Israel to compete on lacrosse’s biggest stages.

I found 78 nations around the world that are playing lacrosse in some fashion or another. Some programs have roots as recent as 2015, while on the other end of the spectrum, lacrosse predates the recorded history of the Haudenosaunee. One thing that’s for certain: lacrosse in booming around the globe!

So where are those 78 nations? Let’s take a look around the world map of international lacrosse!

Full = Full Member of the FIL; Associate = Associate Member of the FIL; Roots = Game has been introduced, teams or  are practicing or competing.

Croatia Spain Katie Conwell 2018 FIL World Lacrosse Championships world games
Photo: Katie Conwell / LaxAllStars.com  international lacrosse

International Lacrosse: Lacrosse is Played Where?!

Africa

KENYA – Associate

RWANDA – Roots

SWAZILAND – Roots

UGANDA – Associate

SOUTH AFRICA – Roots

Australia

AUSTRALIA – Full

NEW ZEALAND – Full

Asia

CAMBODIA – Roots

CHINA – Full

HONG KONG – Full

INDIA – Roots

JAPAN – Full

KOREA – Full

MALAYSIA – Associate

PHILIPPINES – Associate

QATAR – Associate

SINGAPORE – Associate

SOUTH KOREA – Full

TAIWAN – Full

THAILAND – Full

Europe

AUSTRIA – Full

BELGIUM – Full

BULGARIA – Associate

CROATIA – Roots

CZECH REPUBLIC – Full

DENMARK – Full

ENGLAND – Full

ESTONIA – Associate

FINLAND – Full

FRANCE – Full

GERMANY – Full

GREECE – Associate

HUNGARY – Associate

IRELAND – Full

ISRAEL – Full

ITALY – Full

LATVIA – Full

LUXEMBOURG – Associate

THE NETHERLANDS – Full

NORWAY – Full

POLAND – Associate

PORTUGAL – Associate

ROMANIA – Roots

RUSSIA – Associate

SCOTLAND – Full

SERBIA – Associate

SLOVAKIA – Full

SLOVENIA – Associate

SPAIN – Full

SWEDEN – Full

SWITZERLAND – Full

TURKEY – Full

UKRAINE – Associate

WALES – Full

Israel Jamaica 2018 FIL World Lacrosse Championships 2018 FIL Lacrosse Lines
Photo: Katie Conwell / LaxAllStars.com

North America

BERMUDA – Full

CANADA – Full

COSTA RICA – Associate

CUBA – Roots

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – Roots

EL SALVADOR – Roots

GUATEMALA – Associate

HAUDENOSAUNEE NATION – Full

HONDURAS – Roots

JAMAICA – Full

MEXICO – Associate

NICARAGUA – Roots

PANAMA – Roots

PUERTO RICO – Roots

UNITED STATES – Full

South America

ARGENTINA – Full

CHILE – Associate

COLOMBIA – Associate

COSTA RICA – Associate

ECUADOR – Associate

GUATEMALA – Associate

HAITI – Associate

PERU – Full

So who did we miss, anyone? If you know of lacrosse anywhere in the world that didn’t make our map of international lacrosse, let us know in the comment section below!