After an action-packed year of sport crowned by the Olympics, which included two T20 Cricket World Cups and the European Championship, sports fans can look forward to another 12 months of exciting action.
Among the dozens of high-profile tournaments spread across the calendar, Al Jazeera picks the top five events to watch out for in 2025:
ICC Champions Trophy (Pakistan and United Arab Emirates): 19 February – 9 March
After months of speculation and tug-of-war between hosts Pakistan and neighboring India, the fate of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. decided less than two months before the first match of the tournament.
The eight-team competition, which was last played in 2017 when Pakistan beat India in the final in London, will now be partially played in Dubai after India refused to play its matches in Pakistan.
Reigning 50-over world champions Australia, holders Pakistan and T20 champions India will be among the favorites when the competition kicks off on February 19 in Karachi. The match between Pakistan and India will be played in Dubai after the Indian government refused to send its team to Pakistan.
The 15-match competition will be played in a round-robin format, with the top four players qualifying for the semi-finals on March 4 and 5 in Dubai and Lahore respectively. The final is scheduled for Sunday, March 9 in Lahore, but could be moved to Dubai if India qualifies.
UEFA Euro Women’s Championship (Switzerland): July 2-27
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup has been billed as an event that has awakened “sleeping giant” and paved the way for women’s football. Two years later, the women’s game will once again be thrust into the spotlight with the Women’s Euro 2025 in Switzerland.
World champions Spain will be favorites to lift the trophy that has eluded them in 13 editions of the tournament, but holders England and record seven-time champions Germany will pose a tough challenge in the 16-team competition.
The championship will take place in eight venues in the host country, with Thun hosting the opening game between Iceland and Finland, while the final will be played in Basel on July 27.
ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup (India): September – October
A year before the FIFA World Cup returns to North America after a 32-year hiatus, the United States (USA) will host a revamped version of FIFA’s premier club competition.
In an attempt to raise the profile of the tournament and attract a wider audience, the Club World Cup was expanded to feature 32 teams from the usual top seven clubs from the regional confederations. FIFA also made the event a quadrennial tournament, with the new Intercontinental Cup becoming an annual championship.
The 2025 edition will be played at some of the venues slated to host the 2026 World Cup, with New Jersey hosting both finals of the tournament.
Argentina star Lionel Messi’s club Inter Miami CF entered the competition for the first time and will be up against world giants Real Madrid, Manchester City, Juventus, Fluminense, Boca Juniors and Bayern Munich.
The expansion of the tournament and the schedule during the summer break of European football has drawn criticism from the players’ body and football experts. FIFPRO and the Europa League body submitted a joint complaint to the European Commission against FIFA for the introduction of the tournament in the international match calendar.
Opponents of the new tournament said it added to an already crowded schedule and increased the players’ workload.
ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup (India): September – October
Given its status as a global cricket powerhouse and the success of the Women’s Premier League, India’s ICC Women’s World Cup trophy drawer remains surprisingly empty.
Global stars and domestic household names like Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues will get a chance to break the drought when the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup returns to India in September 2025.
The South Asian nation has hosted the tournament twice – in 1997 and 2013 – but at a time when women’s cricket did not enjoy the recognition it does now.
The full list of teams, venues and final schedule for the 2025 edition have not been confirmed. Record seven-time champions Australia will be favorites to extend their hold on the trophy, but four-time winners England and hosts India will look to unseat the holders.
Under the new hosting agreement between India and Pakistan, the Women in Green will play their matches at a neutral venue if they qualify for the tournament.
Africa Cup of Nations (Morocco): 21 December 2025 – 18 January 2026
Arguably the biggest sporting competition on the African continent, the bi-annual Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco will be held for the second time from December 2025 to January 2026.
The 2030 FIFA World Cup co-hosts will look to make the most of home ground advantage in their bid to win their second AFCON title since 1976, but regional giants Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal and Egypt will stand in their way.
The tournament was originally scheduled for June and July, but with the renewed Club World Cup taking over, the AFCON was moved to the end of the year.
Six cities, including Rabat, Fes, Casablanca, Marrakesh, Tangier and Agadir will host the games.
