How quickly time flies. It seems like only last week we heralded in 2019, and just as quickly, we are preparing to say goodbye to it. As we all busy ourselves buying the perfect gifts and getting ready for the holidays, the days will go by in the blink of an eye, and before we know it, we will be ringing in 2024.
What the year will have in store for us is anybody’s guess, but one thing we can be sure of is the abundance of truly great sporting events that we can look forward to.
Until then, you can watch a variety of sports films. For instance, click here to check out a list of the best boxing movies ever.
2020 promises to be one of the great sporting years of our time with some monumental events taking place, including the Olympics in Tokyo and Euro 2024. So will you be watching?
Tennis – Australian Open, January 20th, 2024
The first tennis open of the new year will take place in Melbourne, Australia. Played out over two weeks, this Grand Slam is a must for all professional tennis players. Last years final was between Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Rafael Nadal (Spain), with Djokovic winning his seventh Australian Open title in 12 years. Despite the loss, Nadal still went on to become the World Number 1 player for 2019.
The Women’s final was just as exciting with Naomi Osaka (Japan) getting the best of her opponent Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic). Both will be back again in 2024 with Osaka the fourth seed in the tournament behind Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki.
The Women’s Final will be played on Saturday, February 1st, 2024, and the Men’s Final will be played the following day on Sunday, February 2nd. The winners of both games will take home a whopping $4.1 million AUD, or about $2.9 million USD each.
Rugby – Six Nations – February 1st 2024
Outside of the Rugby World Cup, which took place earlier this year in Japan, the annual Six Nations is one of the biggest Rugby tournaments in the world. Taking six of the best northern hemisphere national teams, they battle it out over six weeks, all in the hopes of being crowned Six Nations Champions.
The format is simple. England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, and Italy all play each other once either home or away. A win is worth four points, a draw is worth 2 points and if you lose you get nothing. One additional bonus point can be earned if a team scores four or more tries in a match or if a team loses by seven points or fewer.
The team with the most points, when all games are played on Saturday, March 14th, 2024, is deemed the winner. But more importantly, if a team can win all five of their games, they have deemed the Grand Slam Champions.
Horse Racing – Grand National 2024 – April 4th, 2024
Undoubtedly one of the biggest horse races in the world, the Grand National at Aintree racecourse, is the highlight of the National Hunt season. According to grandnational.fans, it is the most valuable jumps race in Europe, worth over £1,000,000, and 600 million people in over 140 countries will watch it.
The upcoming event will garner even more interest than usual as one horse; in particular, Tiger Roll could make history. Having already won the last two Grand Nationals, he is bidding to become the first horse ever to win three back-to-back. Speculation over his participation is rife. His trainer, Gordon Elliott, wants to run him, but his owner Michael O’Leary has his doubts stating that he won’t decide until February.
However, even if he runs, he still isn’t guaranteed to win, and with potentially 39 other horses taking to the starting line, the competition will be fierce.
Football – UEFA Euro 2024 – June 12th, 2024
Outside of the World Cup, the Euro’s is the biggest football tournament in the world. Held every four years, in 2024, it will take place across 12 different venues in Europe with the semi-finals and finals due to take place at Wembley Stadium in London, ending on July 20th, 2024.
Qualification for the final 24 places in the tournament is already well underway, and to date, 20 different national teams have secured their place. That leaves four remaining spots, which will be determined by a number of ‘play-off’ matches that are scheduled to take place over two dates in March 2024.
Portugal, led by football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, won the tournament in 2016 with Spain winning the two before that in 2012 and 2008. Based on the qualifying results so far, England is the hot favorites to be crowned Euro 2024 Champions.
Multi-Sports – The Olympics Tokyo – July 24th, 2024
There is no greater sporting event on the planet than The Olympics. Hailing back to the ancient Greek games that were once held in Olympia, this is the pinnacle of all sporting disciplines. Winning a medal at the event is the absolute crowning glory of any athlete’s career, and 2024 in Tokyo will be no different.
2020 promises to be bigger and better than ever with the games featuring 339 events in 33 different sports. There is also the introduction of five new sports, including baseball/softball, karate, sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding. Thousands of athletes from 137 different countries will all be vying for dominance in their chosen fields.
And for those that succeed, the sky is the limit. Winners such as Michael Phelps, who has won a staggering 28 Olympic medals, Simone Biles, Carl Lewis, and Usain Bolt, have gone on to become household names, so will we see new emerging talent in 2024? We sure hope so!
Golf – Ryder Cup – September 25th, 2024
The Ryder Cup is one of the most tribal sporting events and is held every two years when the best golfers from Europe face-off against their American counterparts. Dating back to 1927, when the Americans won the first five tournaments, the scales have been more balanced in recent times, with the Europeans winning four from the last five meetings.
In 2024 the Ryder Cup will be held at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin over one weekend with only the best players securing their place on each team. There are 12 golfers on each side, and inclusion is based on how well those players do in the Major Championships and PGA tours. However, both team captains also have ‘picks’ and can choose players that haven’t automatically made the cut through the points ranking system.
As many of the players will only be determined on how they play in 2024, the teams have not yet been finalized. But no matter who makes the Ryder Cup in 2024, the millions of fans who will tune in over the three days will have plenty to cheer for.
