Sporting highlights of the year ahead
JANUARY
1 DARTS PDC World Ch’ship final (Alexandra Palace, London). 5-13 DARTS BDO World Professional Ch’ships (Lakeside CC, Surrey). 8 FOOTBALL Carabao Cup semi-final 1st leg Tottenham v Chelsea. 9 FOOTBALL Carabao Cup semi-final 1st leg Man City v Burton. 11-27 BOWLS World Indoor Ch’ships (Hopton-on-sea, Norfolk). 14-27 TENNIS Australian Open (Melbourne). 17 BASKETBALL NBA: Washington Wizards v New York Knicks (The 02, London). 22-23 FOOTBALL Carabao Cup semi-finals 2nd leg (match days tbc). 23-27 CRICKET W Indies v England 1st Test (Bridgetown, Barbados). 31-FEB 4 CRICKET West Indies v England 2nd Test (North Sound, Antigua). 31 RUGBY LEAGUE Super League starts: St Helens v Wigan.
FEBRUARY
1 RUGBY UNION Six Nations: France v Wales (Paris). 2 RUGBY UNION Six Nations: Scotland v Italy (Murrayfield), Ireland v England (Aviva Stadium). 3 AMERICAN FOOTBALL Super Bowl LIII (Atlanta, Georgia).
4-17 ALPINE SKIING World Ch’ships (Are, Sweden). 9 RUGBY UNION Six Nations: Scotland v Ireland (Murrayfield), Italy v Wales (Rome). 9-10 ATHLETICS British Indoor Ch’ships (Birmingham).
9-13 CRICKET West Indies v England 3rd Test (Gros Islet, St Lucia).
10 RUGBY UNION Six Nations: England v France (Twickenham). 12 FOOTBALL Champions Lge rd of 16: 1st leg Man Utd v Paris St-germain, Roma v Porto.
13 FOOTBALL Champions Lge rd of 16: 1st leg Tottenham v Borussia Dortmund, Ajax v Real Madrid.
14 FOOTBALL Europa Lge rd of 32 1st leg: BATE Borisov v Arsenal, Malmo v Chelsea, Celtic v Valencia.
19 FOOTBALL Champions Lge rd of 16 1st leg: Liverpool v Bayern Munich, Lyon v Barcelona.
20 FOOTBALL Champions Lge rd of 16 1st leg: Schalke v Man City, Atletico Madrid v Juventus.
20 CRICKET West Indies v England 1st ODI (Bridgetown, Barbados).
21 FOOTBALL Europa Lge rd of 32 2nd leg. 22 CRICKET West Indies v England 2nd ODI (Bridgetown).
23 RUGBY UNION Six Nations: France v Scotland (Paris), Wales v England (Principality Stadium).
24 RUGBY UNION Six Nations: Italy v Ireland (Rome).
24 FOOTBALL Carabao Cup final (Wembley). 25 CRICKET West Indies v England 3rd ODI (St George’s, Grenada). 27 CRICKET West Indies v England 4th ODI (St George’s). 27-MARCH 3 CYCLING World Track Ch’ships (Pruszkow, Poland).
MARCH
1-3 ATHLETICS European Indoor Ch’ships (Glasgow).
2 CRICKET West Indies v England 5th ODI (Gros Islet, St Lucia). 5 FOOTBALL Champions Lge rd of 16 2nd leg: Borussia Dortmund v Tottenham, Real Madrid v Ajax. 5 CRICKET West Indies v England 1st T20 (Gros Islet). 6 FOOTBALL Champions Lge rd of 16 2nd leg: PSG v Man Utd, Porto v Roma. 6-10 BADMINTON All England Open (Birmingham).
7 FOOTBALL Europa Lge rd of 16 1st leg. 8 CRICKET West Indies v England 2nd T20 (Basseterre, St Kitts).
9 RUGBY UNION Six Nations: Scotland v Wales (Murrayfield), England v Italy (Twickenham).
10 RUGBY UNION Six Nations: Ireland v France (Aviva Stadium). 10 CRICKET West Indies v England 3rd T20 (Basseterre). 12 FOOTBALL Champions Lge rd of 16 2nd leg: Man City v Schalke, Juventus v Atletico Madrid. 12-15 RACING Cheltenham Festival. 13 FOOTBALL Champions Lge rd of 16 2nd leg: Bayern Munich v Liverpool, Barcelona v Lyon.
14 FOOTBALL Europa Lge rd of 16 2nd leg. 14-17 GOLF Players Ch’ship (Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida).
15 FOOTBALL Champions Lge & Europa Lge draws.
16 RUGBY UNION Six Nations: Italy v France (Rome), Wales v Ireland (Principality Stadium), England v Scotland (Twickenham).
16-24 CURLING World Women’s Ch’ship (Silkeborg, Denmark). 17 MOTOR RACING Australian F1 GP (Melbourne). 21 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Kazakhstan v Scotland, N Ireland v Estonia. 22 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: England v Czech Rep.
23 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Gibraltar v Rep of Ireland. 23 ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS All-around World Cup (Birmingham). 24 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: N Ireland v Belarus, San Marino v Scotland, Wales v Slovakia. 24-27 CRICKET Champion county match: MCC v Surrey (Dubai). 25 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Montenegro v England.
26 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Rep of Ireland v Georgia.
27-31 GOLF WGC Match Play (Austin, Texas). 29-31 RUGBY UNION European Champions Cup qtr-finals, European Challenge Cup qtr-finals. 30-APRIL 7 CURLING World Men’s Ch’ship (Lethbridge, Canada). 31 MOTOR RACING Bahrain F1 GP (Sakhir).
APRIL
5-8 CRICKET County Ch’ship starts. 6 RACING Grand National (Aintree). 6-7 FOOTBALL FA Cup semi-finals (Wembley). 7 ROWING Oxford v Cambridge Boat Races (Putney). 9-10 FOOTBALL Champions Lge qtr-finals 1st leg.
11 FOOTBALL Europa Lge qtr-finals 1st leg. 11-14 GOLF Masters Tournament (Augusta, Georgia). 13-14 FOOTBALL Scottish Cup semi-finals. 14 MOTOR RACING Chinese F1 GP (Shanghai). 16-17 FOOTBALL Champions Lge qtr-finals 2nd leg. 16-21 SWIMMING British Ch’ships (Glasgow). 18 FOOTBALL Europa Lge qtr-finals 2nd leg. 19-21 RUGBY UNION European Champions Cup semi-finals; European Challenge Cup semi-finals. 20-MAY 6 SNOOKER World Ch’ship (Sheffield). 21-28 TABLE TENNIS World Ch’ships (Budapest). 28 MOTOR RACING Azerbaijan F1 GP (Baku). 28 ATHLETICS London Marathon. 30 FOOTBALL Champions Lge semi-final 1st leg.
MAY
1 FOOTBALL Champions Lge semi-final 1st leg. 1-5 EQUESTRIANISM Badminton Horse Trials. 2 FOOTBALL Europa Lge semi-finals 1st leg. 2-5 CYCLING Tour de Yorkshire (inc 3-4 women’s race).
3 CRICKET Ireland v England ODI (Malahide, Co Dublin). 4 FOOTBALL Women’s FA Cup final (Wembley).
4 RACING 2,000 Guineas (Newmarket). 4 RUGBY UNION Inter Services Ch’ship: Army v Navy (Twickenham). 4-5 FOOTBALL English Football Lge season ends.
5 CRICKET England v Pakistan T20 (Cardiff). 5 RACING 1,000 Guineas (Newmarket). 7-8 FOOTBALL Champions Lge semi-finals 2nd leg. 8 CRICKET England v Pakistan 1st ODI (Oval). 9 FOOTBALL Europa Lge semi-finals 2nd leg. 10 RUGBY UNION European Challenge Cup final (St James’ Park, Newcastle). 10-12 ROWING World Cup I (Plovdiv, Bulgaria). 11 RUGBY UNION European Champions Cup final (St James’ Park, Newcastle). 11 CRICKET England v Pakistan 2nd ODI (Ageas Bowl). 11-JUNE 2 CYCLING Giro d’italia. 12 FOOTBALL Premier League ends.
12 MOTOR RACING Spanish F1 GP (Barcelona). 14 CRICKET England v Pakistan 3rd ODI (Bristol). 15-19 TAEKWONDO World Ch’ships (Manchester).
16-19 GOLF PGA Championship (Bethpage, New York). 17 CRICKET England v Pakistan 4th ODI (Trent Bridge). 17-18 RUGBY UNION Pro14 semi-finals. 17-19 DIVING World Series (London Aquatics Centre).
18 FOOTBALL FA Cup final (Wembley). 19 FOOTBALL Scottish Premiership ends. 19 CRICKET England v Pakistan 5th ODI (Headingley). 24 RUGBY UNION Premiership semi-finals. 25 FOOTBALL Scottish Cup final (Hampden Park). 25 RUGBY UNION Pro14 final (Celtic Park, Glasgow).
25 CRICKET County One-day Cup final (Lord’s). 25-26 RUGBY LEAGUE Super League Magic Weekend (Anfield, Liverpool). 26 MOTOR RACING Monaco F1 GP. 26-JUNE 9 TENNIS French Open (Paris). 27 FOOTBALL Championship play-off final (Wembley).
29 FOOTBALL Europa League final (Baku). 30 CRICKET World Cup (England & Wales, to July 14): England v S Africa (Oval). 31 RACING Oaks (Epsom).
JUNE
1 RACING Derby (Epsom). 1 FOOTBALL Champions League final (Madrid). 1 RUGBY UNION Premiership final (Twickenham). 1-7 MOTORCYCLING Isle of Man TT. 2 RUGBY UNION England XV v Barbarians (Twickenham). 3 CRICKET World Cup: England v Pakistan (Trent Bridge). 6 FOOTBALL Nations Lge semi-final: England v Holland (Guimaraes, Portugal). 7 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Denmark v Rep of Ireland. 7-JULY 7 FOOTBALL Women’s World Cup (France). 8 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Croatia v Wales, Estonia v N Ireland, Scotland v Cyprus. 8 CRICKET World Cup: England v Bangladesh (Cardiff). 8-9 TRIATHLON World Series (Leeds). 9 FOOTBALL Nations Lge final (Porto) & 3rd place play-off (Guimaraes). 9 MOTOR RACING Canadian F1 GP (Montreal). 10 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Rep of Ireland v Gibraltar. 10-15 CYCLING Women’s Tour (GB). 10-16 ARCHERY World Ch’ships (’s-hertogenbosch, Holland). 11 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Belarus v N Ireland, Belgium v Scotland, Hungary v Wales. 13-16 GOLF US Open (Pebble Beach, California). 14 CRICKET World Cup: England v West Indies (Southampton). 14-JULY 27 SHOOTING 150th Imperial Meeting (Bisley). 15-16 MOTOR RACING Le Mans 24 Hours. 16-30 FOOTBALL European U-21 Ch’ship finals (Italy). 17-22 GOLF Amateur Ch’ship (Portmarnock & The Island, Co Dublin). 17-23 TENNIS Fever-tree Ch’ships (Queen’s Club, London). 18 CRICKET World Cup: England v Afghanistan (Old Trafford). 18-22 RACING Royal Ascot. 20-23 EQUESTRIANISM British Jumping Derby (Hickstead, Sussex). 21 CRICKET World Cup: England v Sri Lanka (Headingley). 21-23 ROWING World Cup II (Poznan, Poland).
21-30 European Games (Minsk, Belarus). 23 MOTOR RACING French F1 GP (Le Castellet). 25 CRICKET World Cup: England v Australia (Lord’s). 27-30 HOCKEY Pro League Grand Final (Amsterdam). 27 & 30 CYCLING British National Road Ch’ships (Norfolk). 29 SAILING Round the Island Race (Cowes, Isle of Wight). 29 RACING Irish Derby (The Curragh). 29-30 BASEBALL Major Lge: Boston Red Sox v New York Yankees (London Stadium). 30 CRICKET World Cup: England v India (Edgbaston). 30 MOTOR RACING Austrian F1 GP (Spielberg).
JULY
1-14 TENNIS The Championships (Wimbledon).
3 CRICKET World Cup: England v New Zealand (Chester-le-street). 3-7 ROWING Henley Royal Regatta. 3-14 Summer Universiade (Naples). 6-28 CYCLING Tour de France. 7 FOOTBALL Women’s World Cup final (Lyon).
12-14 ROWING World Cup III (Rotterdam). 12-21 NETBALL World Cup (Liverpool). 12-28 AQUATICS World Ch’ships (Gwangju, S Korea).
14 CRICKET World Cup final (Lord’s). 14 MOTOR RACING British F1 GP (Silverstone).
15-23 FENCING World Ch’ships (Budapest). 18-21 GOLF The Open Championship (Royal Portrush, Co Antrim). 18-21 CRICKET England v Australia women’s Test (Taunton). 20-21 ATHLETICS Anniversary Games (London Stadium).
23-28 EQUESTRIANISM Royal Int’nal
Horse Show (Hickstead). 24-27 CRICKET England v Ireland
Test (Lord’s).
25-28 GOLF Senior Open Ch’ship (Royal Lytham & St Annes). 26-AUG 11 XVIII Pan American Games (Lima).
27 RACING King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Ascot). 28 MOTOR RACING German F1 GP (Hockenheim).
30-AUG 3 RACING Glorious Goodwood.
AUGUST
1-4 GOLF Women’s British Open (Woburn).
1-5 CRICKET England v Australia 1st Test (Edgbaston).
3 (tbc) FOOTBALL English Football Lge starts, Scottish Lge starts. 3 SAILING Fastnet Race starts. 4 (tbc) FOOTBALL Community Shield (Wembley).
4 MOTOR RACING Hungarian F1 GP
(Budapest). 6-11 MODERN PENTATHLON
European Ch’ships (Bath).
10 (tbc) FOOTBALL Premier Lge starts. 10 RUGBY UNION Int’nal: Ireland v Italy (Aviva Stadium).
10-17 SAILING Cowes Week. 11 RUGBY UNION Int’nal: England v Wales (Twickenham). 14-18 CRICKET England v Australia 2nd Test (Lord’s). 16-25 HOCKEY Eurohockey Ch’ships (Antwerp, Belgium).
17 RUGBY UNION Int’nals: France v Scotland (tbc), Wales v England (Principality Stadium).
18 ATHLETICS Grand Prix (Birmingham).
21-25 CANOEING Sprint World Ch’ships (Szeged, Hungary).
22-25 GOLF Tour Ch’ship (Atlanta). 22-26 CRICKET England v Australia 3rd Test (Headingley). 24 RUGBY UNION Int’nals: England v Ireland (Twickenham), Scotland v France (Murrayfield). 24 RUGBY LEAGUE Challenge Cup final (Wembley).
24-SEPT 15 CYCLING Vuelta a Espana. 24-26 ATHLETICS British Ch’ships (Birmingham).
25 MOTORCYCLING British Grand Prix (Silverstone). 25-SEPT 1 ROWING World Ch’ships (Linz-ottensheim, Austria). 25-SEPT 1 JUDO World Ch’ships (Tokyo).
26-SEPT 8 TENNIS US Open (New York). 31 RUGBY UNION Int’nals: Georgia v Scotland (Tbilisi), Wales v Ireland (Principality Stadium).
SEPTEMBER
1 MOTOR RACING Belgian F1 GP (Spa). 2-9 MODERN PENTATHLON World Ch’ships (Budapest).
4-8 CRICKET England v Australia 4th Test (Old Trafford).
5 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Rep of Ireland v Switzerland. 5-8 EQUESTRIANISM Burghley
Horse Trials (Lincs).
6 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Scotland v Russia, Wales v Azerbaijan. 6 RUGBY UNION Int’nals: England v Italy (St James’ Park, Newcastle), Scotland v Georgia (Murrayfield). 7 RUGBY UNION Int’nal: Ireland v Wales (Aviva Stadium).
7 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: England v Bulgaria.
7-8 GOLF Walker Cup (Hoylake). 8 MOTOR RACING Italian F1 GP (Monza).
8-15 CYCLING Tour of Britain. 9 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: N Ireland v Germany, Scotland v Belgium.
10 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: England v Kosovo. 12-16 CRICKET England v Australia
5th Test (Oval).
13-15 GOLF Women’s Solheim Cup (Gleneagles).
14 RACING St Leger (Doncaster). 17-18 FOOTBALL Champions Lge group stage starts.
19-22 GOLF PGA Ch’ship (Wentworth). 20-NOV 2 RUGBY UNION World Cup (Japan).
21 CRICKET County T20 Blast finals day (Edgbaston).
21 SPEEDWAY British Grand Prix (Principality Stadium, Cardiff ). 21-29 CYCLING Road World Ch’ships (Yorkshire).
22 MOTOR RACING Singapore F1 GP. 23-26 CRICKET Final round of County Ch’ship matches. 25-29 CANOEING Slalom World Ch’ships (La Seu d’urgell, Spain). 27-OCT 6 ATHLETICS World Ch’ships (Doha).
29 MOTOR RACING Russian F1 GP (Sochi).
OCTOBER
3-6 RALLYING Wales Rally GB (Deeside, Flintshire).
4-13 ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS World Ch’ships (Stuttgart, Germany). 6 RACING Prix de l’arc de Triomphe (Parislongchamp).
10 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Holland v N Ireland, Russia v Scotland, Slovakia v Wales. 11 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Czech Rep v England.
12 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Georgia v Rep of Ireland. 12 RUGBY LEAGUE Super League Grand Final (Old Trafford). 13 MOTOR RACING Japanese F1 GP (Suzuka).
13 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Scotland v San Marino, Wales v Croatia. 14 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Bulgaria v England.
15 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Switzerland v Rep of Ireland. 19 RACING British Champions Day (Ascot).
27 MOTOR RACING Mexican F1 GP (Mexico City). 27-NOV 3 TENNIS WTA Finals (Shenzhen, China).
NOVEMBER
1-2 RACING Breeders’ Cup (Santa Anita, California).
2 RUGBY UNION World Cup final (Yokohama, Japan).
3 MOTOR RACING US F1 GP (Austin, Texas).
9-10 TENNIS Women’s Fed Cup final (venue tbc). 10-17 TENNIS ATP Finals (The O2, London).
14 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: England v Montenegro.
16 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Azerbaijan v Wales, Cyprus v Scotland, N Ireland v Holland. 17 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Kosovo v England. 17 MOTOR RACING Brazilian F1 GP
(Sao Paulo). 18 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Rep of Ireland v Denmark.
18-24 TENNIS Davis Cup finals (Madrid).
19 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 q’fying: Germany v N Ireland, Scotland v Kazakhstan, Wales v Hungary. 21-24 GOLF DP World Tour Ch’ship (Dubai).
DECEMBER
1 FOOTBALL Euro 2020 finals draw. 1 MOTOR RACING Abu Dhabi F1 GP (Yas Marina).
4-8 SWIMMING European Shortcourse Ch’ships (Glasgow). 10-11 FOOTBALL Champions Lge group stage ends.
12 FOOTBALL Europa Lge group stage ends.
12 RUGBY UNION Oxford v Cambridge Varsity Match (Twickenham). 16-22 EQUESTRIANISM London Int’nal Horse Show (Olympia). 26 RACING King George VI Chase (Kempton).