A couple of weeks ago, we rounded up 2022 in women’s sport by looking at some of the top moments of the year. Now, it’s time to look ahead at what this year will have to offer.
Despite the next Olympic Games being another year away, we have some big tournaments lined up this year. Many of them will have Olympic qualification spots at stake, providing all of us fans with even more competitive and exciting events to watch.
- Cricket — 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, 10-26 February in South Africa. Australia are the reigning world champions in this shortened format of cricket and have already won five world titles. They are currently sitting on top of the world rankings, with England a close second. Will Australia be able to clinch their sixth World Cup down in South Africa?
- Rugby — TikTok Women’s Six Nations 2023, 25 March - 29 April. This will mark the second year that the women’s tournament has its own title sponsor and separate playing window from the men’s tournament, with the sport and its fan base growing rapidly in recent years. The Red Roses have won four consecutive Six Nations titles and will be looking to win a fifth. However, all the participating nations now have contracts in place for their women’s squads. Can this help them creep closer to the number one ranked team in the world, the Red Roses? This year’s Six Nations will be one to watch.
- Ice Hockey — 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 5-16 April in Brampton, Canada. The tournament follows up the recently concluded U18 World Championship, where Canada took home the gold in an impressive display to beat Sweden 10-0 in the final. Reigning Olympic champions Canada will look to complete the double by winning the senior women’s World Championship, too, which will be played on home soil.
- Olympic Qualifiers (26 Sports) — 2023 European Games, 21 June - 2 July in Poland. In the European Games, European athletes across 26 sports will compete to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Among the newcomers in this year’s edition is rugby 7s, where one men’s and one women’s team will gain direct qualification to Paris!
- Football — 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, 20 July - 20 August in Australia and New Zealand. After their impressive win in the 2022 Euros, England will be the ones to watch in this year’s World Cup. Will they be able to maintain their top form from their first ever European Championship title, or will the reigning world champions, USA, climb back to the top after being knocked out in the semi-final in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics?
- Netball — Netball World Cup 2023, 28 July - 6 August in Cape Town, South Africa. The netball tournament in the 2022 Commonwealth Games provided the fans with some surprises. Jamaica’s Sunshine girls put in a huge shift at the tournament and beat the number one ranked team in the world, Australia, in the group stages. Australia managed to bounce back to win the whole tournament, but it showed how great the standard of competition was in the tournament.
- Field Hockey — 2023 Women’s EuroHockey Championship, 18-26 August in Germany. The European champions will be crowned as 8 nations compete in Germany this summer. The Netherlands are the reigning champions, with an impressive 11 titles in total, but all teams will be looking to make their mark as Olympic qualification is on the line for the winning team
- Athletics — World Athletics Championships, 19-27 August in Budapest, Hungary. Athletes from over 200 countries will compete in 49 events, of which there are 24 women’s events and one mixed relay event. The championships will be the largest sports event ever held in Hungary. What event are you looking forward to the most?
- Handball — 2023 World Women’s Handball Championship, 30 November - 17 December in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. This jointly hosted tournament also has direct Olympic qualification at stake for one team. Norway are the reigning World and European champions and have therefore already qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics, along with the hosts France, but will still be aiming for the top of the podium again. This fast-paced sport is still very small in the UK but is highly popular across large parts of Europe. Did you know that Team GB formed a national handball team to take up the host nation place in the 2012 Summer Olympics?
- Floorball — Women’s World Floorball Championship, 2-10 December in Singapore. Few nations have been able to challenge the reigning world champions Sweden in recent years, who are aiming towards a ninth consecutive title!
