World Cups, title fights and rivalries renewed: EIGHT sporting events in 2023 to get excited about

The year 2022 has come to a close, bringing the curtain down on what has been another monumental year for the sport.

The controversial World Cup in Qatar went on and on, the Lionesses won their first major trophy in women’s football, while the Winter Olympics kicked off the year in style in February.

But now, with 12 great months of sport behind us, what are the biggest and most prominent sporting events we can start to look forward to as we enter 2023? Schedules ready because Sportsmail has you covered…

Fury and Usyk to finally unify the heavyweight division

Date to be confirmed

While this entry seems a bit on the sidelines as there is no exact date confirmed at the time of writing, you can still expect to see Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk do it in 2023 and finally unify the heavyweight division.

Usyk’s manager had claimed the fight could take place on March 4, and Fury remains adamant that he will ‘knock out’ the Ukrainian heavyweight if they meet next year.

The location of the fight, which will see the division unified for the first time since Lennox Lewis in 1999, has yet to be decided, though both fighters are keen for the clash to take place in early 2023.

Usyk is the current occupant of the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight belts after he convincingly beat Anthony Joshua for all four belts in September 2021, before winning the rematch just under a year later. in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Fury currently holds the WBC heavyweight title.

It promises to be a monumental fight between two men who have all the gold.

Hamilton aims to make F1 history

february to november

After a year of watching Max Verstappen absolutely dominate from start to finish, Lewis Hamilton will be looking forward to starting the season in February.

Having controversially lost to Verstappen on the last lap of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hamilton struggled to compete with Red Bull, leaving many wondering if he would continue racing given that he turns 38 this year. month.

A host of problems, including a struggling car in the first half of the year, also meant that Hamilton failed to record a single win in a season for the first time in his career.

However, despite a difficult campaign and uncertainty over his future, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff “absolutely” expects Hamilton to remain as the team’s driver beyond 2023.

Hamilton previously stated that he would not race past his 40th birthday, which would be in January 2025, but is still eager to clinch an eighth drivers’ championship title.

His legion of fans will be desperate to finally clinch that eighth world title, and if he stays and has a car capable of matching Red Bull, finally surpassing Michael Schumacher’s seven world titles could be on the line.

Lionesses in search of glory at the Women’s World Cup

July 20 – August 20

Coming home… again?

The Lionesses made history earlier this summer by winning their first major trophy in women’s football, after beating Germany in front of more than 80,000 fans at Wembley to take the nation by storm.

It was truly a brilliant achievement from a team that has etched their names into English folklore and will now become world champions in Australia and New Zealand next summer.

England fans may still be licking their wounds after France’s men’s World Cup elimination from Qatar, but they can get back to rooting for Sarina Wiegman’s side in July and expect more of the same a year after their win at Euro 2022.

However, it will not be an easy feat for Beth Mead and Co, as reigning world champions USA will be the heavy favourites.

Can Arsenal keep up the momentum?

Now through May 28

When the Premier League took a month off due to the World Cup in Qatar, so did Arsenal’s impressive bid to win the title.

The Gunners are the better side at mid-stage, with a seven-point gap to nearest challengers and reigning champions Manchester City.

Mikel Arteta’s men have only lost once in the league this season and have enjoyed a stellar campaign so far.

However, there is still a long way to go before we find out if they manage to maintain momentum, or if they fizzled out with someone else overtaking them for the top spot at the end of May.

Will Gabriel Jesus’ long layoff due to a knee injury derail his title bid or will Arteta be able to stabilize the boat and reignite his pre-World Cup form?

Rugby World Cup

September 8 – October 28

The men’s Rugby World Cup returns in September with South Africa looking to defend its crown in France.

The Springboks will still have fond memories of the last time this competition was held in France, as they beat England, the same opponent they defeated to win the 2019 crown, in that 2007 final.

Since 2007, the World Cup has only been shared between the Springboks and New Zealand, with the All Blacks winning it back-to-back in 2011 and then in 2015, with both nations now tied for three world titles each.

This year’s edition will also be the first major tournament since 2015 that England will not be led by Eddie Jones, following his sacking earlier this month.

The Ryder Cup returns to Europe

September 25 – October 1

The year 2022 was dominated by the start of the controversial LIV Golf, which nearly ripped the sport apart to the seams.

The defections of some of golf’s biggest stars to the Saudi-funded tour have raised questions about whether those involved will be able to take part in the sport’s grand traditional tournament.

This includes the Ryder Cup, which returns to European soil for the first time, hosted by Marco Simone & Country Club of Rome this year.

Both teams are set to make massive changes, with Europe captain Luke Donald hinting that he will not select those who have defected to the breakaway series, which could see the likes of Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood miss out. .

Europe was defeated over a year ago by Team USA at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, losing 19-9, which was the toughest in modern history.

With revenge on the line for Europe and the possible exemption of LIV defectors, it makes the 2023 edition not to be missed.

England to defend their Over-50 Cricket World Cup title

from october to november

England have been on top of the world in cricket of late.

In 2019, they won the Cricket World Cup in most spectacular fashion, and Eoin Morgan’s side required a super over to beat New Zealand on an incredible day at Lord’s.

Fast forward to November of this year and Jos Buttler’s side are crowned T20 World Cup champions after beating Pakistan by five wickets at the MCG.

It sees them become the first men’s team to hold both white ball trophies at the same time and Stokes will hope to continue England’s red-hot form at the tournament this summer.

It promises to be another exciting tournament, but it will be an almighty challenge given that it will be held entirely in India, for the first time, this time around.

But given their recent performances, I wouldn’t pass up Buttler and company for another epic performance to mirror the achievement of Morgan’s team in 2019.

…and the ashes will be up for grabs!

June 16 – July 31

It promises to be a great summer of cricket with the Ashes set to take place in England this time around.

Australia dominated under Joe Root last time out, winning the five-match series Down Under 4-0 in humiliating fashion.

But since then, Ben Stokes has taken the reins and turned around the fortunes of England’s red ball, having recorded the first facelift over Pakistan on his own patch in December’s three-test series.

With England vastly improved, this summer’s Ashes promise to be a lot more competitive actually, and that’s a good thing for everyone, isn’t it?