Major Events
Events > Major Sporting Events
Major International Sports Events
Here is a list of the major international sports events in which teams from different countries battle it out, both for individual sports and multi-sport events. In these events countries of the world are brought together in competition - in some of these most countries of the world are represented, in others only a select few. For some of these events there is more information available, follow the links. If you know of others that should be listed here, let me know.
| Baseball | ||
| World Baseball Classic | The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament for national baseball teams from around the world, sanctioned by the IBAF and includes Major League Baseball players playing for their home country. It is held every four years (next in 2013). This event was (sort of) preceded by the baseball World Cup. | |
| Baseball World Series | The so-called World Series is only played by teams of the USA, though elite players from around the world play in the US, and the World Series would be considered a major event for baseball fans all around the world. | |
| Basketball | NBA Finals | National Basketball Association Finals held in June each year. |
| Cricket | ICC World Cup | An international one-day cricket tournament contested by all Test-playing nations plus some qualifiers. |
| World Twenty20 | World Cup of the twenty over game | |
| Cycling | UCI World Championships (Track Cycling and Road) | Winners of this event are considered the World Cycling Champion for which they receive the right to wear the Rainbow Jersey for a full year in the respective discipline they are world champion |
| Tour de France | ||
| Golf | Ryder Cup | Annual tournament between teams from USA v Europe. The event is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the US and Europe (usually UK) |
| US PGA | ||
| Masters | ||
| US Open | ||
| Hockey (Ice) | Stanley Cup | finals of North American league (NHL) in June each year |
| Football (American) | Super Bowl | The Championship game of the National Football League (NFL) |
| Football (soccer) | FIFA World Cup | Held every 4 years. The next World Cup is to be held in South Africa in 2010. |
| Asian Cup | ||
| Motorsports | F1 Grand Prix | a series of events held around the world, such as the British, Monaco and Italian Grand Prix. |
| Netball | World Championships | |
| Rowing | World Championships | |
| Rugby | Rugby World Cup | an international rugby union competition played every four years |
| Swimming | FINA World Championships | The world championships for aquatic sports (diving, swimming-50m, open water swimming, water polo, synchronized swimming), held every 2 years. |
| Tennis | part of the Grand Slam | |
| US Open | ||
| Australian Open | ||
| French Open | ||
| Davis Cup | An annual international team tennis competition for men. | |
| Hopman Cup | annual international mixed team tennis competition played in Perth, Australia | |
| Federation Cup | annual international team tennis competition for women |
International Multi-Sport Events
These are just some of the major international sporting events from around the world. See our full list of world multi-sport events.
| event | notes |
|---|---|
| Summer Olympics | The world's premier multi-sport and multi-country sporting competition, held every four years. |
| Winter Olympics | the winter sports version of the Olympic Games, held every four years, two years after the Summer Olympics. |
| Paralympic Games | A major event for athletes with disabilities, now run in conjunction with the Summer Olympic Games, every four years. |
| Commonwealth Games | the next being held in Glasgow, in 2014. It is held every four years. |
| Asian Games | The Asian Games, officially known as Asiad, is a multi-sport event along the lines of the Olympics, though only for Asian countries. They were first held in 1951. |
| Gay Games | The Gay Games, held every 4 years, is open to all who wish to participate, without regard to sexual orientation. |
| Military World Games | For military athletes from over 100 countries. |
| European Games | A mulitsport event along the lines of the Summer Olympic Games, though limited to athletes from European nations. The inaugural European Games are scheduled to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2015. |
| Youth Olympics | The Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event, held every four years for athletes aged 14 to 18. |
Related Pages
- full list of major international mulit-sport events.
- Olympic Games
- Calendar of Sporting Events
- List of top 100 sporting events you must see.
- Sports Videos tagged as 'Major Events'
- read the major events entries on the sporting blog