This year is set to be another bumper one for sporting activities, with 3 different World Cups on the horizon. Read on to find out about some of the sports highlights for 2023.
Football: UEFA Champions League final: 10 June
Who will be crowned the football kings of Europe in 2023? Clubs from all over Europe will be hoping to be at the grand finale, which will conclude at Istanbul's Atatürk Olympic Stadium on Saturday. 10 June 2023. Will one of the more-fancied clubs such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Ajax, Liverpool, Bayern Munich or Manchester city be in the final, or will it be unheralded clubs? Tune in to find out!
2023 Rugby World Cup- 8 September to 28 October
The 10th Rugby World Cup is set to be one of the best yet, with up to 8 teams in with a realistic chance of lifting the famed William Webb Ellis trophy. The Springboks will be hoping to defend the trophy they won in 2019 but will face fierce competition from a host of contenders, including 3-time champions New Zealand, 2-time champions Australia, and 2003 champions England. Hosts France will hope to become 1st-time winners, while Ireland, Argentina, Wales and Scotland can’t be counted out either from contention.
2023 Cricket World Cup: October to November 2023
Twenty/Twenty cricket’s forgotten father, One Day International (ODI) cricket, will get a chance to take the spotlight when the 13th edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup is held in India towards the end of the year. The Proteas still hadn’t secured automatic qualification for the tournament (as of writing), with the 8 top-ranked teams in the ICC World Cup Super League gaining automatic entry into the tournament. Two other teams will gain entry through the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifying tournament. Should South Africa qualify, they will find it extremely tough to vanquish their checkered history of “choking” in big ICC tournaments, with numerous strong contenders including defending champions England, 5-time champions Australia and 2-time champions India.
Tennis: Wimbledon : 3 July to 16 July
Tennis’s most prestigious tournament should be a goodie once again. While 8-time champion Roger Federer has retired, 7-time champion (and 2023 winner) Novak Djokovic will once again be the man to defeat (barring injury). But he’ll have to beat off several promising contenders, as well as 2-time champion and old rival Rafael Nadal.
Football: 2023 Women’s World Cup: 10 July to 20 August
Women’s football is growing in popularity worldwide all the time, and this year’s World Cup should be one of the best yet. This year’s tournament will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Defending champions, the USA, will have to be at their best to counter the other top teams at the tournament, including Germany, Sweden, England and France.
Golf: US Masters: 6 to 9 April 2023
The first Major golf tournament of the year is always an anticipated affair, and this year’s master’s tournament is set to be held at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia is no different. The course at Augusta can be one of the most difficult to “master”, and winning there is an achievement that an elite number of golfers can brag about. A highly competitive field should make the 2023 edition another memorable tournament, with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm set to keep us on the edge of our seats.
Cycling: Tour de France: 1 to 23 July
The 110th edition of the Tour de France will start in Bilbao, Spain, with the final stage set to end at the Champs-Élysées in Paris. It’s not easy to pick a winner in such a wide and competitive field, with 18 World Teams and 4 Pro Teams competing, but someone will eventually emerge with the famous yellow jersey, indicating that they’ve won the race.
Don’t miss out on any of the betting action for these much-anticipated sports events- head on over to www.gbets.co.za to get your slice of the action!