2015

Your guide to
major sports events in

Daniel Mothowagae picks some of the events that will set the agenda
among sports fans in the New Year

Wimbledon

IRB Rugby World Cup

June 29 to July 12
London, England

September 18 to October 31
England

Serena
Williams

Bryan Habana

July 4 to 26, France

The tour comprises 21 stages and
will cover a total distance of 3 344km.
With just two rest days, riders hopefully
without the aid of performance enhancing
drugs will tackle nine at stages, three
hill stages, seven mountain stages with
ve altitude nishes and one individual
time-trial and team time-trial stages

Money vs
Pacman

May 2 2015

According to reports abroad, the

bidding war to host the megaght is set to be between the
Venetian Macao in China and the
MGM Grand in Las Vegas

US Open

August 31 to September 13, New York, USA

New York Marathon

November 1, New York

Chad le Clos

Fina World Championship

Vincenzo Nibali

Tour de France

The Springboks kick off

their campaign against
Japan on September
19. Theyve been drawn
in Pool B with Samoa,
Scotland and USA

Roland Garros

May 25 to June 7 in Paris, France

July 24 to August 9
Kazan, Russia

The French Open is the worlds premier clay

tournament. Will Rafael Nadal take the title
for a record 10th time?

The ultimate swimming machine,

Chad le Clos, and Cameron van der
Burgh will lead Team SAs charge for
medals at the global meet. Le Clos
will bid to defend his 100m and 200m
buttery titles, while Van der Burgh
goes to Russia as the reigning 50m
breaststroke champ

The Presidents Cup

October 8-11, Incheon, Korea

Uefa Champions
League nal
May 27
Berlin, Germany

Usain Bolt

Fifa presidential elections

IAAF World
Championships

May 29 in Zurich, Switzerland

August 22 to 30
Beijing, China

Incumbent president Sepp Blatter will bid for a

fth term at the world football governing bodys
congress. The 78-year-old will be challenged by
Frenchman Jrme Champagne (56)

The SA team will be aiming to do

better than the single medal
(Johan Cronjes 1 500m bronze)
from the global track and eld
meet in Moscow, Russia, two years
ago. Hopefuls have until August 10
to make qualifying entry standards
to reach Beijing, where Jamaican
sprint sensation Usain Bolt will be
attempting to win the 100m for the
third time as well as defending his
200m title as well. The Birds Nest
Stadium is where the Jamaican
superman burst on to the world
stage at the 2008 Olympic Games

Abu Dhabi
Grand Prix

Fifa Ballon dOr

January 12 in Zurich, Switzerland

November 29
Abu Dhabi

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is

hotly tipped to upstage Argentina and
Barcelona icon Lionel Messi, and Germany and
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in the
contest for the Fifa Ballon dOr

Final race of the

2015 F1 season

CAF Champions
League, CAF
Confederation Cup
From February 13
across the continent

African Under-20 Youth

Championship

African Under-17 Youth

Championship

March 8 to 22, Senegal

The two continental club championships get under way with preliminary
round xtures on the weekend of
February 13, 14, and 15. A total of 58
clubs have entered the Champions
League while 56 clubs will campaign in
the Confederations Cup. South African

February 15 to March 1, Niger

Seminalists will automatically qualify for

the Fifa Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand
from May 20 to June 20. South Africa has
been drawn against Ghana, Mali and
neighbours Zambia

Seminalists will earn

automatic entry to the Fifa
Under-17 World Cup in
Chile. The global tournament runs from October 17
to November 8. In Niger,
South Africa h
have been
drawn in the ssame group
as Cte d'Ivoi
d'Ivoire, Mali and
Cameroon

Fifa Under-17 World Cup

October 17 to November 8, Chile

Africa Cup of Nations

January 17 to February 8
Equatorial Guinea

December; exact dates TBC,

Sun City, North West

December 26 to February 21
across South Africa

Ephraim Shakes Mashaba will

ce as a
mark his maiden appearance
nship
coach at a major championship
fana at
when he guides Bafana Bafana
ial
the Afcon nals in Equatorial
een
Guinea. South Africa has been
egal
drawn against Algeria, Senegal
and Ghana in Group C

April 3 to 4 in Cape Town

The highlight of Easter weekend, SA
Olympian Lusapho April will run the
21km this year

Formula One Grand Prix

March 15 to November 29 across 21 countries

This years calendar features
20 rounds, including the return
of Mexico to the F1 calendar in
November. All eyes will be on
reigning champion Lewis
Hamilton, who drove Mercedes
to 11 victories en route to his
second world title
Lewis Hamilton

May 31, Durban

This years race is the
up run as it starts in
Durban and ends in
Pitermaritzburg

ICC Cricket World Cup

February 14 to March 29
Australia and New Zealand

May 30 to June 20
New Zealand

Bongiw Msomi
Bongiwe

Netball World Cup

August 7 to 16, Sydney, Australia

Full schedule of
exciting cricket,
featuring four
tests, ve ODIs
and two T20s

Comrades Marathon

Old Mutual Two

Oceans Marathon

Fifa Under-20
World Cup

has four representatives Kaizer

Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns (Champions League); Orlando Pirates and
Bidvest Wits (Confederation Cup).
Pirates have been exempted from the
preliminary round and will only kick off
their campaign in March

Nedbank Golf Challenge

England tour of South Africa

Tokelo Rantie

Ernie Els

Australian Open

January 19 to February 1
Melbourne, Australia
The Australian Open is the rst of the four
grand slams on the 2015 ATP World
Tour. The West Indies tour of South
Africa continues until January 28,
with three T20s and ve ODIs
still to be played

AB de Villiers

The Proteas will be looking to take their

performance one step further by
securing a spot in the nal this time
around, having made it through to the
knockout stages in all previous editions
(except in 2003) since 1992. The
Proteas are in Pool B alongside India,
Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe,
Ireland and the United Arab Emirates

COBUS PRINSLOO, Graphics24