After an action-packed 2018 which witnessed multi-sport events such as Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Junior Olympics while the summer extravaganza witnessed the Football World Cup. 2019 has started and it promises to be a special one, as there are also some big events lined up this year, report agencies.
Major Cricket events
ICC Cricket World Cup
The 12th edition of the Cricket World Cup will be played in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14. The first match will be played at The Oval with the final to be contested at the iconic Lord's. The tournament will pit 10 teams starting with a round robin format. The top four teams will progress to the semifinals and then the final.
Ashes series
Ashes, the traditional and high voltage cricket series pitting England and Australia, will see the action shift to England for this edition. The series is being played later than usual owing to the ODI World Cup earlier in the year. Ashes will be part of the 2019-21 ICC World Test Championship format.
General election in India to influence World CUP, IPL
The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League is expected to be held from March 29 onwards. The 2019 general elections in India will have a directly proportional impact on the twelfth edition of the Indian Premier League. Based on the dates of the elections, the BCCI will have to make a decision of hosting the tournament in India, or having it outside the country. It could also be the case of hosting a few games in India, before moving to the UAE at a later stage. With a mandatory 15-day gap between the end of the IPL and India's next international assignment, as per the Lodha reforms, the IPL will be held from March 29 to May 19. With the World Cup set to begin later in May, some of the teams may be tempted to rest their mainstay players to avoid the possibility of injuries and fatigue.
Major football events
Women's Football World Cup
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup will be played in France - the first time they will be hosting the event. It is the eighth edition of the tournament and the 24-team event will be played across nine cities in France. It will be played between June 7 and July 7 with the USA coming in as defending champions.
Copa America
A while back it seemed like the Copa America is played pretty much every year, so it might come as a surprise for some that the last edition took place in 2016. The FIFA World Cup might be the most prestigious international football competition, but Copa America is the oldest. 2019, which will be played in Brazil, will be the 46th edition. Chile, Uruguay and Colombia have all done well at recent editions, so it will be a real battle to win it. The tournament takes place on June 14 - July 7.
UEFA Nations League
The new UEFA Nations League starts to play this Autumn. A total of 55 UEFA nations are divided into four divisions with double matchdays taking place in September, October and November. Teams in the top division - League A - will decide the winner of the competition next June.
Four group winners will move on to the semi-finals stage that will be played on June 5-6, with the final and the third-place playoff following on June 9.
African Cup of Nations
The 32nd edition of the African Cup of Nations will be a very different experience compared to previous tournaments. It will be the first one that will feature 24 teams and unlike previous years, it will be played in the summer. Cameroon are the hosts with play starting on June 07 and ending on June 30.
AFC Asian Cup
Asian teams impressed at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and that should make the local championships really interesting to watch. The addition of Australia has also helped Asian football grow.
The Socceroos are also the title defenders at the tournament which takes place in the United Arab Emirates on January 5 - February 1.
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Played on June 18 - July 18, the 15th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup will decide the North, Central American, and Caribbean region champion.
Major Tennis events
Tennis will have its four mega Grand Slam events as usual. The Australian Open will be held from January 14-27. The French Open (May 26 to June 9), Wimbledon (July 1-14) and the US Open (August 26 to September 8) will follow it.