Global sporting events you should anticipate in 2024

The AFC Asian Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations will kick off the year with two continental football tournaments, featuring some of the best teams and players from Asia and Africa. The Asian Cup will be hosted in Qatar from 12 January to 10 February, while the Africa Cup of Nations will take place in Ivory Coast from 13 January to 11 February. Both competitions will have 24 teams competing for the trophy, with the likes of Japan, Iran, Senegal and Algeria among the favourites.

The Formula One World Championship will rev up its engines for another thrilling season of motorsport, starting on 2 March in Bahrain and ending on 8 December in Abu Dhabi. The calendar will feature 24 races, including venues such as Miami and Shanghai.

The World Chess Championship 2024 will pit the best minds in the game against each other in a battle of strategy and skill. The match will take place from 3 April to 25 April, in Toronto, Canada. The defending champion Ding Liren of China will face the winner of the Candidates Tournament, which will be held in March 2024.

The Diamond League 2024 will showcase the finest athletes in track and field, as they compete for glory and prize money in a series of meetings around the world. The season will start in Xiamen, China on April 20 and end in Brussels, Belgium on September 13.

The Men’s Cricket World Cup will be the highlight of the cricketing year, as 20 teams will battle for the ultimate prize in international cricket. The tournament will be hosted by the United States and the West Indies from 4 June to 30 June. The Cricket World Cup will feature some of the best players in the world, such as Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Babar Azam and Ben Stokes.

The European Championship 2024 will be another major football event, as 24 teams will compete for the title of the best team in Europe. The tournament will be hosted by Germany from 14 June to 14 July, with matches being played in 10 cities.

The Copa America 2024 will be the oldest continental football tournament in the world, as Lionel Messi will lead World Cup winners and the current Copa champions Argentina in a title defence against 15 other teams from the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) from June 20 to July 14 in the United States.

The Paris 2024 Olympics will be the biggest sporting event of the year, as thousands of athletes from various countries will feature in some of the most popular sports such as athletics, swimming, gymnastics, football and basketball. The Games will take place from 24 July to 11 August, with venues spread across Paris and other regions of France. The Paralympics will follow the Olympics from 28 August to 8 September, with thousands of para-athletes competing in various events.

The Women’s Cricket World Cup will be the pinnacle of the women’s cricket season, as 10 teams will play for the title of the best team in the shortest format of the game. The tournament will be hosted in Bangladesh from September to October.

Other sporting events to look out for are the heavyweight boxing bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in February, the UEFA Champions League (UCL) Final in June and the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships in December.