The Ten Most Anticipated Sporting Events Of 2025

As 2024 draws to a close, anticipation is starting to build around what next year has in store for us from a sporting perspective. 2025 is on track to be a defining year for sport. This post explores some of the most anticipated events on the 2025 global sports calendar.

Super Bowl LIX

February 9th

The self-proclaimed ‘greatest show on Earth’, the Super Bowl remains one of the highlights of the global sporting calendar. Caesars Superdome in New Orleans will host the event for the eighth time whilst Kendrick Lamar has been confirmed as the headline act of the half-time show.

On the field, Kansas City Chiefs could create history as they bid to become the first franchise to win three successive Super Bowl titles. Detroit Lions are the bookies’ favourites to win Super Bowl LIX despite being one of only four NFL teams never to have appeared in a Super Bowl.

Cheltenham Gold Cup

March 14th

We could see history made at Prestbury Park next March as Galopin Des Champs aims to become the first horse to win three successive Cheltenham Gold Cups since Best Mate between 2002 and 2004. The Willie Mullins-trained superstar won the Gold Cup in both 2023 and 2024 and ahead of a busy winter schedule for National Hunt horses in the UK and Ireland, Galopin Des Champs is the current market leader to win the 2025 Cheltenham Gold Cup. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the feature race on the final day of the four-day Cheltenham Festival with next year’s meeting set to run from the 11th to the 14th of March.

Grand National

April 5th

The Grand National remains in a league of its own when it comes to sports betting with over £300 million wagered on the race in the UK alone. The world’s greatest steeplechase dates back to 1839 and manages to encapsulate an audience of casual bettors like no other sporting event.

In 2024, I Am Maximus romped home under the ride of jockey Paul Townend and having gone off as 7/1 favourite, the result proved costly for bookmakers. Following on from Corach Rambler’s success in 2023, the last two renewals of the Grand National have been won by the SP favourite. The last time back-to-back favourites won the Grand National was back in the 19th century. Looking ahead to the 2025 Grand National, a spokesperson for popular sports betting platform, betting.bet commented,

“The success of the race favourites over the past few years is testament to the unprecedented amount of data, race insights and expert betting tips at the disposal of bettors nowadays. The additional safety measures implemented in recent years has also seen a reduction in the race’s sheer unpredictability.”

UEFA Champions League Final

May 31st

The UEFA Champions League is Europe’s elite football competition therefore it may not be a surprise to learn that the competition’s final attracts a TV audience in excess of 400 million. The Champions League remains the pinnacle for football clubs in Europe and the 2025 final will be the first since the tournament’s new format was introduced at the start of the 2024/25 season. The 2025 UEFA Champions League final will be staged at the Allianz Arena in Munich. The iconic home of Bayern Munich previously hosted the UEFA Champions League final in 2012 with Chelsea winning a dramatic penalty shootout against Bayern Munich.

FIFA Club World Cup

June 15th - July 13th

The FIFA Club World Cup in 2025 will be the 21st edition of the tournament but the first under its vastly expanded format. A total of 32 clubs will take part in the competition including the winners of the last four of each of the premier continental club tournaments. Entrants include European heavyweights Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus as well as current European champions Manchester City. Lionel Messi will also be present at the tournament courtesy of Inter Miami’s MLS Supporters’ Shield success in 2024.

The United States are set to host the competition as a prelude to the 2026 FIFA World Cup with the Club World Cup set to run from June 15th to July 13th. The finals of both the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

UEFA Women’s Euro 2025

July 2nd - 27th

Twelve months on from Spain’s Euro 2024 success, the women take centre stage with the 14th edition of the UEFA Women’s Championship. Holders England will again be amongst the favourites to win the tournament despite finishing behind France in their qualification group. Switzerland have been selected as hosts for Euro 2025 with the tournament getting underway on the 2nd July. The final will be staged at St. Jakob-Park in Basel on July 25th.

US Open (Tennis)

August 25th - September 7th

In 2024 we witnessed a changing of the guard in men’s tennis with none of the 'Big Three' of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer winning a Grand Slam singles title in a calendar year for the first time since 2002. The new generation of stars in the men’s game has created a new-found buzz ahead of the four Grand Slam events in 2025.

The US Open has rapidly become the most entertaining Grand Slam on the annual tennis calendar. The men’s singles tournament has produced six different winners in the last six years whilst the last eleven women’s singles tournaments have been won by ten different players. Only Iga Swiatek in 2020 and 2022 has won the US Open more than once since Serena Williams won the last of his six titles at Flushing Meadows.

Ryder Cup

September 26th - 28th

The 2025 Ryder Cup will see the return of players that have defected from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf. Henrik Stenson was named Europe captain in 2023 but was removed from the European squad due to his LIV Golf participation. The LIV Golf contingent returns in 2025 but for the first time ever, players will be paid to represent Team USA. Europe regained the Ryder Cup in Rome in 2023 but they have not won a Ryder Cup competition held in the USA since the Miracle at Medinah in 2012. Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, New York has been selected as the venue for the 2025 Ryder Cup. The venue has never staged a Ryder Cup in its 88-year history but did host the 2019 PGA Championship and the US Open in both 2002 and 2009.

The Ashes

November 21st - January 8th (2026)

We head Down Under in November 2025 for the start of the 74th Ashes Test Series between cricket heavyweights Australia and England. The Ashes remains one of the most prestigious events in international cricket and next year’s hosts, Australia head into the Series as defending champions having won on home soil in 2021/22 before drawing in England in 2023.

If England fail to win next year’s Ashes Series they will surpass more than a decade without wrestling the famous urn away from the Aussies. England’s last Ashes Series win came back in 2015. In 2025/26, the Ashes Series will be staged at some of the most iconic venues in Test cricket with the five Tests to be held at the Perth Stadium, the Gabba, the Adelaide Oval, Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney Cricket Ground.

Africa Cup of Nations

December 21st - January 18th (2026)

The only major men’s international football tournament in 2025 gets underway on December 21st with Morocco chosen as host nation for the 35th Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Ivory Coast are the defending champions whilst just over twelve months out from the start of the competition, host nation Morocco are the bookies’ favourites to win a first AFCON title since 1976. Algeria, Egypt and Senegal are all expected to feature prominently whilst Europe-based stars such as Mohamed Salah, Victor Osimhen and Victor Boniface will hope to light up the tournament following their snubs when the shortlist for this year’s African Player of the Year was announced.