Nigeria just s every other nation on earth view sports with great enthusiasm, passion which bring people together while igniting a sense of national pride. Whether it’s football, basketball, athletics, or other sports, sports unite all regardless of creed, tribe or religion from time immemorial.
It won’t be different in 2024 as there are several sporting events across the globe which will once again bring everyone including Nigerians together to savour the wins or mull over defeats as the case maybe of their favourite teams or athletes.
Trust Sports highlights some of the major sporting events ranging from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations to the 2024 Summer Olympics which will take place this year in different parts of the world.
2023 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2023 African Cup of Nations, known for short as the 2023 AFCON or CAN 2023 is scheduled to be the 34th edition of the biennial African association football tournament organised by Confederation of African Football. It will be hosted by Ivory Coast for the second time and the first since 1984.
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This year’s tournament was supposed to be the third since 2019 to take place during the summer in the Northern Hemisphere, in order to avoid scheduling problems with European club teams and events.
However, because of concerns about the unfavourable summer weather in Ivory Coast, CAF decided to postpone it from July 3, 2022, to January 13–11, 2024, while keeping the original name of the edition for sponsorship purposes. This came after the 2021 edition in Cameroon was likewise shifted, for identical reasons, to the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere.
Nigeria who have won the tournament three times will be participating for the 20th time.
2023 African Games
The 13th African Games formerly known as All Africa Games is expected to be held in Ghana between 8 and 23 March 2024. This is the second time in history that the continental multi-sport event will be decentralized, as three cities on country will host the event as 53 nations are expected to participate including Nigeria.
2024 Summer Olympics
The 2024 Summer Olympics otherwise known as Paris 2024, is a multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 26 July to 11 August 2024 in France, with Paris as the main host city and 16 other cities spread across metropolitan France.
Since the nation made its debut in Helsinki 1952, Nigerian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, except for Montreal 1976 as part of the Congolese-led boycott.
National Sports Festival
The National Sports Festival (NSF) is a biennial multi-sport event for athletes from Nigeria’s 36 states. The festival is also known as the Unity Games. The 22nd edition tagged ‘Gateway Games’ will be held in Abeokuta, Ogun State with the dates to be announced soon according to the festival’s Main Organizing Committee (MOC).
African Men’s Handball Cup of Nations
The 23rd African Men’s Handball Cup of Nations will take place in Egypt from January 19–29, 2024. The Nigeria Men’s Handball National Team, also known as the Golden Arrows, will compete in Group D alongside 10-time champions Tunisia, Angola, and Kenya.
The Golden Arrows have been preparing for the tournament with a training camp in Abuja. The team’s goal is to qualify for the 2025 World Handball Championship and the 2024 Olympics. This will be the Golden Arrows’ 15th appearance at the Nations Cup, with their best finish being fourth place in 1998
African Military Games
2nd Edition of African Military Games scheduled to take place in Abuja between the 6th to 15th November, 2024 is a avenue where all African Military Athletes come together to interact with one another towards enhancing the good historical collaborative efforts and working relationships built, and enjoyed over the years. The games are supported by the International Military Sports Council (CISM) and the Organization of Military Sport in Africa (OSMA).
Wimbledon
This is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. It is one of the four Grand Slams tournaments alongside Australian Open, French Open and US Open.
The 137th edition will begin from July 1 to July 14, featuring top players and possibly more historic moments.
Men’s UEFA Champions League Final
The 69th season of Europe’s premier club football tournament organised by UEFA will be played on June 1, at the Wembley Stadium with the winners playing against the winners of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League in the 2024 UEFA Super Cup, as well as qualify for the 2025 expanded FIFA Club World Cup
Women’s UEFA Champions League Final
The 23rd season of Europe’s premier women’s club football tournament organised by UEFA will be played at the San Mamés in Bilbao, Spain between 24 and 26 May 2024
The Masters (Golf)
Also known as US Masters, this is one of the four men’s major golf championships in professional golf, scheduled to tee off from April 11 to April 14, the Masters is the first major golf tournament of the year which will be held at the Augusta National Golf Club, a private course in the city of Augusta, Georgia where Jon Rahm seeks to defend his title.
2024 UEFA European Football Championship
The 17th edition of the quadrennial international football championship organised by UEFA, known as Euro 2024 will be hosted by Germany from 14 June to 14 July 2024 and the winner will later compete in the 2025 CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions against the 2024 Copa América winner.
Formula One World Championship
F1 which is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) will begin from March 2 to December 8.
The championship which is in its 75th edition is scheduled to be contested over a record twenty-four Grands Prix held around the world.
Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk
On February 17, the boxing world awaits this heavyweight clash billed as Ring of Fire, between English WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and Ukrainian WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship. The bout is scheduled to take place on 17 February 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Australian Open (Tennis)
The 112th edition of the Australian Open, the 56th in the Open Era, and the first major of the year is a Grand Slam level tennis tournament to be held at Melbourne Park, from 14–28 January 2024. Novak Djokovic is the defending men’s singles champion while Aryna Sabalenka is the defending women’s singles champion.
