Sporting calendar 2023: Your guide to the major events of the year
It’s set to be another blockbuster year with the men’s Rugby World Cup in France, the women’s football World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, golf’s Ryder Cup in Italy, the Pan American Games in Chile as well as the delayed 2022 Asian Games in China, the 100th edition of the 24-hour Le Mans race and The Ashes - to name a few!
The year will also be a significant stepping stone for athletes bidding for glory at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with various sports holding qualifying events - from athletics in Poland, aquatics in Japan, archery in Berlin, sports climbing in Switzerland, weightlifting in Riyadh, to the Olympic's newest sport - break dancing (or officially, 'breaking') - holding its first qualifying event in Belgium.
While most of the calendar is set, some events are still to be finalised. England will look to defend the men's ODI crown in India later in the year but the start date is still to be confirmed. There are also questions over whether Qatar can hold the Asian Cup at all: the quadrennial football tournament was moved from China due to Covid-19 concerns and might be pushed back to early 2024 because of extreme summer heat in the Gulf state.
The heat was a major factor in why FIFA rescheduled the recent World Cup in Qatar to the winter, meaning the 2022/23 Premier League season will end later than usual and the start of the new 2023/24 season delayed two weeks to accommodate it.
But whatever the future has in store, it’s set to be another emotional roller coaster. Here are some of the most significant events of the year:
January
16-29: Australian Open, Melbourne Park, Australia
13-29: Men’s Hockey World Cup, Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, India
England and Wales are in Pool D, along with hosts India
21-27: Special Olympics World Winter Games, Berlin, Germany
27-29: X Games, Aspen, Colorado
February
1-11: FIFA Club World Cup, Morocco
4 (until 18 March): Six Nations Rugby
Featuring England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy
10-26: Women's T20 World Cup, South Africa
England have been drawn in Group 2 along with Ireland, the West Indies, India and Pakistan
12: Super Bowl LVII, State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
26: Carabao Cup final, Wembley Stadium
March
1: Bangladesh v England, Dhaka, Bangladesh
England's first ODI warm-up ahead of the men's World Cup later in the year
5: F1 seasons begins, Sakhir, Bahrain
14-17: Cheltenham Festival
23: Euro 2024 qualifiers get underway
England are in Group C with Italy, Ukraine, North Macedonia and Malta
Wales are in Group D with Croatia, Armenia, Turkey and Latvia
Scotland are in Group A with Spain, Norway, Georgia and Cyprus
N. Ireland are in Group H with Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan and San Marino
April
8-15: The Masters, Augusta National Golf Club, Georgia, USA
13-15: Grand National, Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool
15 (until 1 May): World Snooker Championship, The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
27-29: NFL Draft
May
15-21: PGA Championship, Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, New York
20: Heineken Champions Cup final, Dublin, Ireland
20-28: Table Tennis World Championship, Durban, South Africa
27-29: EFL Play-offs, Wembley Stadium
28: Premier League 2022/23 season ends
28 (until 11 June): French Open, Roland Garros, Paris, France
30 (until 7 June): World Surfing Games, El Sunzal and La Bocana, El Salvador
31: Europa Leauge final, Budapest, Hungary
June
1-18: NBA Finals
3: FA Cup final, Wembley Stadium
7: Europa Conference League final, Eden Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
10: Champions League final, Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey
10-11: 24hrs of Le Mans - 100th anniversary, Circuit de la Sarthe, France
15-18: US Open, Los Angeles Country Club, USA
16 (until 16 July - dates TBC): Asian Cup, Qatar
16-20: The Ashes: England v Australia, Edgebaston, Birmingham
The Ashes will continue until 31 July at Lord’s, Headlingley, Old Trafford and the Kia Oval
21 (until 2 July): European Games, Krakow, Poland
22: NBA Draft
24-25: MLB World Tour - St. Louis Cardinals v Chicago Cubs, London Stadium
July
1-23: Tour de France (Grand depart in Bilbao, Spain)
3-16: Wimbledon, London
9: British F1 Grand Prix, Silverstone, England
10 (until Aug 10): FIFA Women’s World Cup, Australia and New Zealand
England will face Denmark and China, and play-off winner (TBD in February), in Group D
14-30: World Aquatics Championship, Fukuoka, Japan
20-23: The 151st Open Championship, Royal Liverpool, Wirral
28 (until 6 August): Netball World Cup, Cape Town, South Africa
August
3-13: Cycling World Championship, Glasgow
4-19: African Games, Accra, Ghana
5-12: World Beach Games, Bali, Indonesia
10-20: Sailing World Championship, The Hague, Netherlands
12: Premier League season 2023/24 gets underway
19-27: IAAF World Athletics Championships, Budapest, Hungary
25 (until 10 Sept): Men’s Basketball World Cup
28 (until 10 Sept): US Open, Flushing Meadows, New York, USA
September
3-10: World Rowing Championships, Belgrade, Serbia
England are in Pool D with Japan, Argentina, Samoa and Chile
Wales are in Pool C with Australia, Fiji, Georgia and Portugal
Scotland are in Pool B with Ireland, South Africa, Tonga and Romania
9-26: Invictus Games, Düsseldorf, Germany
19-20: Champions League 2023/24 Group Stages get underway
21: Europa League and Europa Conference League 2023/24 Group Stages get underway
22-24: Solheim Cup, Andalucía, Spain
22-24: World Dance Championship, Leuven, Belgium
23 (until 8 Oct): Asian Games 2022, Hangzhou, China *Delayed because of Covid-19
29 (until 1 Oct): Ryder Cup, Rome, Italy
30: AFL Grand Final, Melbourne, Australia
October
8: Chicago Marathon, Illinois, US
20 (until 5 Nov): Pan American Games, Santiago, Chile
TBC (until 26 Nov): ODI Cricket World Cup, India
November
7: Melbourne Cup, Australia
7-26: ParaPan American Games, Santiago, Chile
December
15 (until 3 Jan): PDC World Darts Championship, Alexandra Palace, London
