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Best sporting events taking place in 2020

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Every single year we are spoiled for choice when it comes to major sporting events. From the Super Bowl to the US Open to the Kentucky Derby, Americans know how to put on a show. We boast some of the greatest athletes in the world including decorated Olympians such as Michael Phelps and Simone Biles and in terms of earnings some of our sports stars are among the highest paid in the world.

So as we come to the end of 2019, it’s time to turn our attentions to the best worldwide sporting events that we can look forward to in 2020.

Football – Super Bowl LIV – February 2nd 2020

Televised by Fox, Super Bowl 54 will be watched by an anticipated 100 million fans in the US alone. Add in viewers from around the world and you have one of the biggest events of the year taking place at the hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.

And if the football wasn’t enough to have you glued to your tv, it has been confirmed that both Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will be the half time performers.

So who do we think will make the big stage and be crowned champions of the NFL season? New England Patriots are the leading favourites to not only make the final but to retain the Super Bowl in 2020. The Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers are also in with a really good chance of heading to Florida in February.

Horse Racing – Grand National 2020 – April 4th 2020

Undoubtedly one of the biggest horse races in the world, the Grand National at Aintree racecourse is the highlight of the National Hunt season. As the most valuable jumps race in Europe, even getting a runner into it is a very long process.

Entries, for horses that meet the qualification criteria, are due in by the end of January. Two weeks later the Handicapper allocates a weight to each horse starting with the maximum of 11st 10lbs to the highest rated horse entered, working his way down through the list over 100 that have been submitted.

Between then and race day, trainers and owners can withdraw their runners from contention and with two days to go the Grand National the final 40 runners (maximum allowed) are determined. This is a huge event with 600 million people in over 140 countries watching it.

Golf – The Masters – April 9th 2020

Who will the famous Masters Green Jacket be worn by in 2020? One of only four major championships in professional golf, and always played in Augusta Georgia, winning the Masters is the absolute career defining moment for all players.

Historically American golfers have dominated in this tournament. Tiger Woods achieved the comeback of all comebacks in 2018 when he won the event for the 5th time since his first win there in 1997. But Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth and Bubba Watson have also all won it in recent years.

So who will be knocking at the clubhouse door in 2020? We could very well see Tiger win for the 6th time but he will have some fierce competition from on-form golfers such as Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson. It’s a big pay day with over $2 million going to the winner.

Multi Sports – The Olympics Tokyo – July 24th 2020

There is no greater sporting event on the planet than The Olympics. Hailing back to the ancient Greek games that were once held in Olympia, this is the pinnacle of all sporting disciplines. Winning a medal at the event is the absolute crowning glory of any athlete’s career and 2020 in Tokyo will be no different.

2020 promises to be bigger and better than ever with the games featuring 339 events in 33 different sports. There is also the introduction of five new sports including baseball/softball, karate, sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding. Thousands of athletes from 137 different countries will all be vying for dominance in their chosen fields.

And for those that succeed, the sky is the limit. Winners such as Michael Phelps, who has won a staggering 28 Olympic medals, Simone Biles, Carl Lewis and Usain Bolt have gone on to become household names so will we see new emerging talent in 2020? We sure hope so!

Tennis – US Open – August 31st 2020

The final Open of the tennis season, the US Open will taken place at Flushing Meadows in New York for 2020. This hard court tennis tournament is one of the most lucrative on the circuit with the winners of both the mens and the women’s singles taking home over $3.8 million each.

Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer still jointly hold the record for the most US Open Men’s Singles wins of the modern era with five each but that could all change in 2020. He may not have won the tournament since 2008 but Federer will be back and going for glory for his 6th and record-breaking win. However, with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal both in superb form, it’s going to be a very tough ask.

Serena Williams is in a very similar position. In the open era she jointly hold the record with Chris Evert for the most Women’s Singles wins with six in the bag. She has come so close to getting title number seven, in recent years, but was stopped by Canada’s Bianca Andreescu in 2019 and Japan’s Naomi Osaka in 2018. Can she finally do it in 2020? We will just have to wait and see.

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