2021 Sports Events Worth Waiting For

2021 is looking like it could be a truly spectacular year for sports fans.

The European Championships in football will dominate many of the headlines, although it is likely to face plenty of competition from the Summer Olympics.

The Ryder Cup is another standout event, with the finest golf players from Europe and the United States set to battle for the prestigious trophy.

Read on as we take a closer look at some of the major sporting events that we believe will be worth watching during 2021.

European Championships

UEFA’s decision to delay the European Championships until 2021 denied fans across the continent the opportunity to enjoy an international football extravaganza this summer.

However, it now means they have an extra year to look forward to what promises to be one of the most competitive Euros ever staged.

There is little to choose between the most fancied nations in the 888 sports betting for the European Championships, a factor that makes the final outcome difficult to predict.

England and France are amongst the favourites, but the likes of Germany, Spain, Netherlands and others will all believe they can lift the prestigious trophy.

IIHF World Championships

The world’s finest ice hockey stars will showcase their talents on the international stage as the 2021 IIHF World Championships are staged in Belarus and Latvia.

Reigning champions Finland will be back to defend their title, but the likes of United States, Canada and Sweden will provide tough competition.

However, the team to beat could well be Russia as they bid to bounce back from their semi-final defeat against Finland in the last tournament.

Star forward Alex Ovechkin will be keen to add to his haul of three gold medals before he ends his career and Russia look a good bet to emerge victorious.

Royal Ascot

The absence of spectators for the 2020 edition of Royal Ascot took a lot of shine off the hugely popular five-day meeting.

The event normally attracts around 300,000 people to the Berkshire racecourse and organisers will be eager to welcome them back next summer.

The undoubted highlight of the 2021 renewal will be the Gold Cup, with star stayer Stradivarius expected to attempt to win the race for the fourth successive year.

John Gosden’s charge produced a stunning performance in this year’s race and another victory will seem him match the record set by Yeats in 2009.

Summer Olympics

The eyes of the sporting world will be on Japan next summer as the Games of the XXXII Olympiad take place in Tokyo.

More than 11,000 athletes from over 200 nations are expected to compete at the event which will be staged at over 40 different venues.

Sport climbing, surfing, skateboarding and karate are the new disciplines that have been added to the line-up, while baseball and softball return for the first time since Beijing 2008.

Great Britain will be eager to improve on the 67 medals they collected at the 2016 Games in Rio, with the likes of Adam Peaty and Dina Asher-Smith amongst their biggest hopes for success.

Ryder Cup

Discussions about postponing this year’s Ryder Cup are still ongoing, although golf’s top stars have been pushing for it not to be staged behind closed doors.

Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka are amongst the players who have been calling for the event to be delayed until 2021 and that is likely to be the outcome.

Fans play an important part in the Ryder Cup and the United States will be eager to be backed by their partisan support as they bid to wrestle the trophy back from Europe.

The US slipped to a disappointing 17½–10½ defeat at Le Golf National during 2018, but will fancy their chances of gaining revenge back on home soil.