the essential
If 2024 offered us great sporting emotions, notably thanks to the Paris Olympic Games, 2025 should not be left out. Handball, Volleyball, football, Tennis, basketball, cycling, Formula 1, there will be something for everyone. Here are the 22 dates which should mark the coming sporting year.
January 5: Champions Trophy
The match between Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco will be held in Doha, Qatar. Initially planned in China, the event will bring in 3 million euros for the LFP. Traditionally, the two teams that compete to win the trophy are the winner of Ligue 1 and that of the Coupe de France. PSG having won both competitions, it is their runner-up in Ligue 1 who will try to prevent them from winning a new title. The Parisian club is the defending champion after its victory last year against TFC at the Parc des Princes (2-0). It is also the most successful club in the history of the competition.
January 14 to February 2: Handball World Cup
The competition will span three countries: Norway, Denmark and Croatia. 24 teams will compete for the world title. France will try to get a 7th victory in the competition. Having fallen in the final against Denmark during the previous edition, the French will try to regain a title which has eluded them since 2017. They will also have to bounce back after the failure of the Paris Olympics where France fell in the quarter-final in a match to the heartbreaking scenario against Germany. Above all, the French team will have to learn to do without Nikola Karabatic, who has retired after two decades in the blue jersey.
January 31 to March 15: Six Nations Tournament
Last year, the XV of France experienced a two-speed tournament. After a loss against the XV du Trèfle, the French had snatched a very little deserved victory against the Scots. What followed was a historic draw in many respects against the Italians (the Transalpines had until then never managed to achieve a draw away against France). On the verge of starting their Tournament with three defeats, the Blues managed to bounce back by winning largely in Wales then dominating the XV de la Rose. This year they will try to win a 27th Trophy to improve on their second place last year.
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February 11, 12, 18 and 19: Champions League play-offs new format
For this 2024-25 season, the Champions League has changed format. Teams compete in a single pool to determine their ranking. At the end of this, the first 8 are qualified directly for the round of 16. For the 16 teams ranked from places 9 to 24, it will be necessary to go through a hurdle to reach the eighth. The round-trip format is maintained and the draw will be determined on January 31.
March 16: Start of the Formula 1 season
After the traditional winter break and pre-season testing in Bahrain (February 26-28), it's time for the start of the season with the Australian Grand Prix. This year promises to be one of the most exciting, notably with the big debut of Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari. Despite the domination of Max Verstappen, winner of the last four seasons, Red Bull's lead seems to have melted (McLaren having even won the constructor's championship) and the suspense risks being total from the first to the last Grand Prix.
April 12 and 13: Paris-Roubaix for women and men
“Hell of the North” is one of, if not the, most legendary races in cycling. The race takes place each year over a long and challenging course interspersed with numerous cobbled sectors before culminating in the legendary Vélodrome de Roubaix. The last edition was won respectively by Lotte Kopecky for the women and Mathieu Van der Poel for the men.
May 24: Coupe de France final
This year, the final will return to the Stade de France since the meeting between PSG and OL was relocated to Lille last year due to the Olympics. TFC, which will face Laval in the round of 16, is still in the running to repeat its feat of 2023. All the other clubs in Occitanie have been eliminated.
May 24 and 25: Champions and Challenge Cup Finals
It is in Cardiff that the European Rugby competitions will culminate this year. In the Challenge Cup, the French representatives are Montpellier, Pau, Lyon and Vannes. Concerning the Champions Cup, we find UBB, La Rochelle, Clermont, Castres Olympique, Toulon, Stade Français, Racing and Stade Toulousain which hopes to retain its title.
June 25 to 8: Roland-Garros
Like every year, the great mass of clay court tennis will take place at Porte d'Auteuil. However, this edition will not necessarily have the same flavor. Indeed, Rafael Nadal, 14 times winner (obviously a record) has retired and will never set foot on the grounds of Philippe-Chatrier again. But, between Jannik Sinner, solid number 1, Carlos Alcaraz, already four times Grand Slam winner, a Novak Djokovic with an appetite still whetted and a pack of contenders, there is still no risk of getting bored.
May 31: Champions League Final
Come to Munich to find out the first winner of this new edition of the Champions League. The draw for the final phases will take place on February 21.
June 5: Start of the NBA Finals
Even if it risks being a little short this year for our French Bilal Coulibaly, Alexandre Sarr, Zacharie Risacher and above all, Victor Wembanyama, the NBA Finals are always the promise of a great show.
June 28: Top 14 final
Back to the Stade de France again. After the historic victory of Stade Toulousain against UBB last year at the Vélodrome, the two best teams in the French championship will face each other this time in Paris. The opportunity for the Stadistes to win a 24th Brennus and to retain, once again, their title. The two finalists from last year are currently still at the top of the favorites for this season. They currently occupy the first two places in the ranking.
July 2 to 27: Women’s Euro
In women's football, the main competition is the Olympic Games. The Blues unfortunately lost to Brazil, future finalist. Marie-Antoinette Katoto, the French striker, was the top scorer in this Olympic tournament won by the United States. Les Bleues will try to shine in Switzerland and win their first continental title.
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July 5 to 27: Men’s Tour de France
Next year, the Grande Boucle will settle down for three days in Toulouse, to the delight of the Haut-Garonnais. This edition should offer us a new duel between Jonas Vingegaard's Visma-Lease Bike and Tadej Pogacar's UAE team. Unless the Belgian Remco Evenpoel, Olympic champion, comes to play spoilsport.
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August 11 to 3: World Swimming Championships
It is in Singapore that Léon Marchand should once again light up the pools and impress the whole world. After his 5 medals in Paris, the Toulouse resident definitely wants to confirm his domination over his sport.
August 22 to September 27: Women's Rugby World Cup
After the disillusionment among the men last year, all of France is counting on the XV des Bleues to bring us a world title. The French women, 4th in the world rankings, hope to finally reach a final. They have so far experienced a record number of 3rd places, including 3 in the last 3 editions. To do this, we will have to get rid of the Americans, English and Canadians who appear to be the fiercest competitors.
September 12 to 28: Volleyball World Championship
The band of Jean Patry, Jenia Grebennikov, Antoine Brizzard and Earvin Ngapeth will set down their bags in the Philippines. France will try to win its first world title, having never known better than a third place in 2002. Building on the momentum of its Olympic title magnificently preserved in Tokyo, the Blues hope to shine.
September 13 to 21: World Athletics Championship
It is in Tokyo that the elite of world athletics will compete. Who to dislodge Noah Lyles in the 100 and 200 m? Who, Sha'Carri Richardson or Julien Alfred, will win the queen distance for women? Will Norwegians Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Karsten Warholm continue to shine? Armand Duplantis should retain his title without difficulty but will he manage to reach new heights? So many questions that will find their answers in Japan.
October 16 to 19: La Diagonale des Fous
The moment that all ultra-trail fanatics are waiting for will take place like every year in Reunion. After the victories of Mathieu Blanchard and Manon Bohard in 2024, this new edition should still offer us its share of strong emotions.
October 27 to November 4: Masters 1000 in Paris, new edition
Tennis at Bercy is over! This new edition will take place at the La Défense Paris Arena site, a location with much more suitable measurements (it is the largest indoor venue in Europe) to the standard of the tournament. The tournament, which will always be played over a week, will be spread over 4 courts including a central court with 16,500 seats. Alexander Zverev will try to defend his title in this new setting.
November 27 to December 14: Women’s World Handball Championship
Title holders, the French will try to wash away the insult of their defeat in the final of the Olympic Games against Norway. The tournament will take place in Germany and the Netherlands. As usual, the French of Estelle Nze Miko should be part of the pack of contenders for final victory.
December 21 to January 18: African Cup of Nations
This edition will take place in Morocco, which should also be one of the favorites. Côte d'Ivoire will put its title back on the line. With less than a year to go before the competition, the 24 qualified teams are known but the draw has not yet been made.
