The next 12 months promise to be a delight for sports fans across the world, with a vast array of top events taking place throughout 2018.
Winter sports and football provide the year’s top two attractions, with the Winter Olympics and the World Cup set to draw massive crowds to South Korea and Russia respectively.
Winter Olympics, South Korea
Scheduled to take place PyeongChang from February 9-25, the Winter Olympics brings together the finest exponents of cold-weather sports in the world.
Competitions will be staged at 13 venues, with figure skating and ice hockey the most popular events for sports fans from all over the planet.
Big air snowboarding, freestyle skiing, mass start speed skating and mixed doubles curling will make their debut in 2018, but arguably the biggest story of the games will be in the bobsleigh.
Thirty years after the men’s Jamaican team inspired the film ‘Cool Runnings’ by qualifying for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, the women’s team have secured their place in PyeongChang and are fancied to secure a top ten finish.
The World Cup, Russia
Five-time winners Brazil are amongst the favourites for success in Russia, but holders Germany will be difficult to beat as they bid to retain the World Cup.
Spain, France and Argentina are also well-fancied, but the absence of the Netherlands and Italy is a big shock.
Hosts Russia kick-off the tournament on June 14 against Saudi Arabia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, with the final scheduled to take place in the same stadium on July 15.
Wimbledon Tennis Championships, England
The world of tennis descends on Wimbledon from July 2-15 for the latest staging of the world’s premier grass court tournament.
World number two Roger Federer is searching for his ninth men’s singles title at Wimbledon, but he will face stiff competition from some of the sport’s rising stars.
Serena Williams is bidding for her eighth women’s singles title as she bids to overtake Margaret Court’s record of 24 career Grand Slam successes.
The Ryder Cup, France
The Ryder Cup will be held in Continental Europe for only the second time in its history.
France’s Le Golf National will be hosting the biennial match on its spectacular L’Albatros course towards the end of September.
Team USA are aiming to retain the cup for the first time since 1993 following their comfortable 17-11 victory at Hazeltine National Golf Club back in 2016.
Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth will lead the USA’s challenge, while Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose should be amongst Europe’s leading players.
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