As we head towards an exciting summer of sport, which will feature the European Championships in football and of course, the Olympic Games, it’s a great time to be a sports fan. The coronavirus pandemic put paid to so many sporting events over the last 12 months or so, and as a result the excitement of the sporting occasions ahead is even higher than it otherwise would be.
April has already given us a rip-roaring Grand National, and as we move into May, there is plenty more top-quality sporting events to look forward to. Read on, as we look at a few occasions that you don’t want to miss.
Table of Contents
World Snooker Championship
The beginning of May can only mean one thing: the climax of the World Snooker Championship. Each spring, 32 of the world’s best players descend on the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield to battle it out over a gruelling 17 days of long-format snooker. Only the best players have experienced lifting that famous trophy above their head at the end of it.
The second day of the final is always held on the May Day Bank Holiday, and so the first few days of the fifth month are synonymous with dramatic action taking place at the Crucible. With this year’s tournament already in full flow, it’s set to be a memorable couple of weeks.
FA Cup Final
A date in every sports fan’s diary each year is the FA Cup Final, which is one for the traditionalists. Although the FA Cup does not quite hold the same allure as in decades gone by, the match still throws up plenty of drama and excitement.
This year, the FA Cup Final will be contested by Chelsea and Leicester City. The former have won the tournament on numerous occasions in modern times, but for Leicester it’s a first appearance in the showpiece match since they won it in 1969. You can bet that Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes will be hugely motivated to land a major trophy.
French Open
The end of May sees the next tennis Grand Slam get underway, as we head to Paris for the French Open. Having won his 13th Roland Garros title last year, Rafael Nadal will be the favourite among those betting on sports to make it 14 this year. With Novak Djokovic and a returning Roger Federer also in the field, it’s likely to be a rip-roaring two weeks.
The French Open is one of the first signs of summer, and it’s one of the most difficult Grand Slams to win given the challenging nature of the clay surface. Will anyone be able to topple Nadal and master Roland Garros?
Champions League Final
Another major footballing spectacle taking place in May is the Champions League Final, slated for May 29th. As Europe’s premier club competition reaches its closing stages, the battle is on to make to the showpiece event at the Atatürk Stadium in Istanbul.
Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Real Madrid are the four remaining teams in the competition, and so you know that whichever sides prevail in the semi-finals, it’s guaranteed to be a battle of giants in Turkey at the end of next month.
