Figure 1 French fans celebrated victory at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

It seems a long time ago now that we were all enjoying the Beijing Olympics and the Super Bowl. Some of the biggest sporting events in the world have come around this year and fans have been able to watch their heroes at the very pinnacle of their professions.

Online sportsbooks have done a lot of business as soccer league championships have been largely decided in Europe. But there is still a lot to look forward to in 2022 for sports fans. Here are five events to look out for as we move deeper into this year of global sport.

NBA Finals

We are already very close to knowing which two teams will be battling for the NBA championship in the first two weeks of June. After pre-season favorites Brooklyn Nets fell away early on in the postseason, we currently have the conference finals playing out for our enjoyment.

There have been other surprises, such as the Suns crashing out before the last week of May. But it now looks as though Steph Curry will have another chance to size up for a ring against one of either the Boston Celtics or the Miami Heat. Whoever we are watching in the finals, they promise to be top-drawer entertainment.

World Athletics Championships

The Olympics may be the ultimate test for athletes from all over the world, but if you like your track and field undiluted by a whole host of other sports, then the World Championships is the one to watch. Eugene, Oregon will host the event over nine days in the middle of July.

This is the first time ever that the event has been held in the US – and it is interesting that a city not as well known on the world stage was picked as host. But none of that will matter to the elite track and field athletes that make it to the Pacific Northwest this summer to compete in one of the most prestigious events in the sport.

World Series

The Atlanta Braves won its tenth World Series last year when it beat the Houston Astros 4-2. The regular season is only really getting going at the moment but all teams will be hoping to emulate the Braves in the Fall Classic, a seven-game series that takes place towards the end of October.

With such a long regular season in baseball, it is very difficult to predict which two teams will be left by the time the World Series comes around. But it is an event that perhaps more than any other invokes a feeling of America and is always eagerly anticipated across the country.

Figure 2 The Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows in New York hosts the US Open

US Open

After a few years of cancelled events and others played in front of empty stadiums, tennis fans are really enjoying the experience of being able to watch their heroes play in person once again. There are plenty of tennis tournaments to enjoy but the four majors – of which the US Open is one – are the ones everyone looks forward to.

It is still unclear as to whether world number one men’s player Novak Djokovic will be able to compete though. He has already been forced to pull out of two US tennis events because of his vaccination status and he may well miss the chance to add to his list of titles if New York does not change its COVID policy.

FIFA World Cup

It will feel strange for a lot of soccer fans, but the FIFA World Cup will take center stage at the end of the year in Qatar. The tournament has always previously been held in the summer months between the FIFA calendar seasons. But the heat in the Middle East at that time of year forced a rethink.

France is the current holder but the likes of Belgium, England and Spain will all be in with a shout of winning one of the biggest prizes in world sport as a momentous year draws to an end.

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