This is the season
Welcoming in a new sporting year
As the world bade farewell to 2020, the sporting new year started in earnest. Within days of the clocks striking 12 on 2021, we have already seen a new world darts champion crowned – Welsh arrow slinger Gerwyn Price beat Gary Anderson in the final at a fan-free Alexandra Palace in London.
Price, 35, is a spring chicken in the darts world. He represents the present and future of the sport, becoming the first new world champion since Michael van Gerwen dethroned Phil “The Power” Taylor seven years ago.
The former rugby union player for Neath was earning his tour card when the Dutchman was ascending to the top of the sport and his own rise has been rapid in recent years.
Van Gerwen was not there to watch having been knocked out in the quarters by world No.8 Dave Chisnall, but the feeling is that he will not to long relinquish the world No.1 ranking that Price has taken from him with victory in the final.
That could mean a vintage year for darts despite the differences that will continue to carry over from last year.
The pandemic saw the Asian Tour canceled, darts players competing from home via Zoom and travel restrictions making teams miss out on events.
All of that – and the absence of fans – will remain non-negotiable for as long as deemed necessary, but the headline is that sport can not only continue in such circumstances but it can thrive, offering everything that it has before but is now needed more than ever.
Here are some of the highlights of the coming 12 months that we can all hope deliver like the darts.
FIFA Club World Cup – February 1-11
The best club sides in the game descend on Qatar in February to decide who is the best in the world. This is the delayed edition from last year, which was moved from December.
UEFA Champions League winners Bayern Munich will be favorites ahead of Al Ahly, Ulsan Hyundai, UANL, Al-Duhail and Auckland City plus whoever wins the 2020 Copa Libertadores at the end of this month.
Super Bowl – February 7
The Kansas City Chiefs ended a 50-year wait for the Vince Lombardi Trophy last year and they will not want to let go of their grip on American football’s biggest prize.
They looked in good form as the regular season ended with them clinching the AFC Conference with a 14-2 record and the second loss coming on the final day where they rested starters and their second string for the playoffs.
There will be a challenge from the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC and the NFC’s Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints, but the playoffs already have a new complexion with the New England Patriots missing out for the first time since 2019.
F1 – March 21
It may feel like it just finished but the F1 season is soon set to restart for 2021. The biggest story will be whether Lewis Hamilton can become the first man to win an eighth driver’s championship and cement his place as the most successful star the sport has ever seen, but there will be intrigue abound as Mick Schumacher, the son of Michael Schumacher, makes the step up to the division his father dominated.
Euro 2020 – June 11 - July 11
One of the headline events of last summer that were put off for a year, the 2020 European Championship will keep their name but they may not keep their new format.
A month-long festival of football was meant to take in 51 matches in 12 cities across the continent ending at Wembley in London with the final.
That may need a rethink come this summer but whatever the format, football fans are in for a treat starting with the opener between Italy and Turkey.
Copa America 2021 – June 11-July 11
Argentina and Colombia will host the delayed Copa America, becoming the first shared hosts of the tournament in its 105-year history.
Brazil are the reigning champions and will hope to get one closer to 15time record champions Uruguay by lifting the trophy in Colombia.
The neutrals – and co-hosts Argentina – will be focused on whether Lionel Messi can finally win a tournament with his country.
The first since the death of Diego Maradona would be a fitting tribute.
NBA Finals – July 8-22
It seems like just yesterday that the NBA Finals were being played out between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat in the bubble that the league created at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
The Lakers, led by finals MVP LeBron James, are the favorites to go back-to-back.
The Hundred
Delayed from its inaugural season start in the summer of 2020, this new cricket format is set to shake up English cricket in the same way that the Indian Premier League revolutionized the game on the subcontinent.
The long awaited opening match of the new format – which sees innings of just 100 balls per side – will see the Oval Invincibles take on Welsh Fire.
Tokyo 2020 – July 23 - August 8
The elephant in the room when it comes to the global sporting calendar, the 32th Summer Games were of course meant to take place last summer and they will at least keep the name.
They became the first Games to be cancelled outside of wartime as the pandemic wrought havoc on the sporting world. Hosts Japan have been adamant that the show must go on but it is sure to look a little different than the extravaganza they had planned. The Paralympics will follow the Olympics.
Rugby World Cup – Sept 18 - Oct 16
This is the first RWC since World Rugby decided to name the men’s and women’s tournaments exactly the same and it is the women who will descend on New Zealand to duke it out for the trophy.
Rugby fans will also get another Six Nations, a British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa and the Rugby League World Cup in an action-packed year.