Five sport events to watch in 2025: From Champions Trophy to AFCON

After a twelvemonth packed with sporting enactment that was crowned by the Olympics, and included 2 T20 cricket World Cups and a Euro championship, athletics fans tin look guardant to different 12 months of thrilling action.

Amid dozens of high-profile tournaments dispersed crossed the calendar, Al Jazeera picks the apical 5 events to ticker retired for successful 2025:

ICC Champions Trophy (Pakistan and United Arab Emirates): February 19 – March 9

After months of speculation and tug-of-war betwixt hosts Pakistan and neighbours India, the destiny of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was decided little than 2 months earlier the tournament’s opening game.

The eight-team competition, past played successful 2017 erstwhile Pakistan bushed India successful the last successful London, volition present beryllium partially played successful Dubai aft India’s refusal to play their fixtures successful Pakistan.

Reigning 50-over satellite champions Australia, holders Pakistan and T20 champions India volition beryllium among the favourites erstwhile the lawsuit gets nether mode connected February 19 successful Karachi. The marquee Pakistan vs India clash volition beryllium played successful Dubai aft the Indian government’s refusal to nonstop its squad to Pakistan.

The 15-match contention volition beryllium played successful a round-robin format and the apical 4 finishers volition suffice for the March 4 and 5 semifinals successful Dubai and Lahore respectively. The last is scheduled for Sunday, March 9 successful Lahore but could determination to Dubai should India qualify.

UEFA Women’s Euro Championship (Switzerland): July 2 – 27

The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 was termed arsenic the lawsuit that awakened a “sleeping giant” and blazed a way for women’s football. Two years later, the women’s crippled volition beryllium thrown backmost into the limelight with the Women’s Euro 2025 successful Switzerland.

World champions Spain volition beryllium favourites to assistance the trophy that has eluded them successful the tournament’s 13 editions but holders England and grounds seven-time champions Germany volition airs a stiff situation successful the 16-team event.

The title volition beryllium dispersed crossed 8 venues successful the big nation, with Thun hosting the opening crippled betwixt Iceland and Finland, portion the last volition beryllium played successful Basel connected July 27.

England lifted their archetypal Women’s Euro rubric aft beating Germany 2-1 successful the last astatine Wembley Stadium successful London connected July 31, 2022 [Alessandra Tarantino/AP]

ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup (India): September – October

A twelvemonth earlier the FIFA World Cup returns to North America pursuing a 32-year gap, the United States (US) volition big the revamped mentation of FIFA’s premier nine competition.

In a bid to boost the tournament’s illustration and pull a wider audience, the Club World Cup has been expanded to a 32-team lawsuit from the accustomed 7 apical clubs from determination confederations. FIFA has besides made the lawsuit a quadrennial tournament, with the caller Intercontinental Cup taking implicit arsenic an yearly championship.

The 2025 variation volition beryllium played astatine immoderate of the venues slotted to big the 2026 World Cup, with New Jersey hosting some tournaments’ finals.

Argentina prima Lionel Messi’s nine Inter Miami CF person entered the contention for the archetypal clip and volition beryllium up against the likes of planetary giants Real Madrid, Manchester City, Juventus, Fluminense, Boca Juniors and Bayern Munich.

The tournament’s enlargement and scheduling during European football’s summertime interruption has invited disapproval from players’ bodies and shot experts. FIFPRO and the European Leagues assemblage person filed a associated ailment to the European Commission against FIFA implicit the instauration of the tourney into the planetary lucifer calendar.

Opponents of the caller tourney person said it adds further congestion to an already crowded docket and increases the workload of players.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino (left) and Brazilian subordinate Ronaldo Nazario unveil the FIFA Club World Cup trophy during the Club World Cup gully [File: Sam Navarro/Imagn Images]

ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup (India): September – October

Given its presumption arsenic the planetary powerhouse of cricket and the occurrence of the Women’s Premier League, India’s trophy furniture successful the Women’s ICC World Cup remains amazingly empty.

Global stars and section household names specified arsenic Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues volition get a accidental to interruption the drought erstwhile the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup returns to India successful September 2025.

The South Asian federation has hosted the tourney doubly – successful 1997 and 2013 – but astatine a clip erstwhile women’s cricket did not bask the designation it present does.

The afloat database of teams, venues and last docket for the 2025 variation person not been confirmed. Record seven-time champions Australia volition beryllium favourites to grow their clasp connected the trophy but four-time winners England and hosts India volition look to sound the holders disconnected their perch.

Under the caller hosting statement betwixt India and Pakistan, the women successful greenish volition play their fixtures astatine a neutral venue should they suffice for the tournament.

India are yet to triumph an ICC Women’s T20 oregon 50-over World Cup [File: Altaf Qadri/AP]

Africa Cup of Nations (Morocco): December 21, 2025 – January 18, 2026

Arguably the biggest sports contention successful the African continent, the bi-annual Africa Cup of Nations volition beryllium held successful Morocco for the 2nd clip from December 2025 to January 2026.

The FIFA World Cup 2030 co-hosts volition look to marque the astir of the location vantage successful their effort to triumph their 2nd AFCON rubric since 1976 but lasting successful their mode volition beryllium determination giants Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal and Egypt.

The tourney was primitively scheduled for June and July but with the revamped Club World Cup taking up the slot, AFCON was moved to the extremity of the year.

Six cities, including Rabat, Fes, Casablanca, Marrakesh, Tangier and Agadir volition big the games.

Morocco volition big its 2nd AFCON tourney successful 2025-26 [File: Julio Cortez/AP]