2010 sport calendar
The year ahead is packed with major events, including the Fifa World Cup in South Africa. Here's a look at things you can't afford to miss.
January
1-17: Auto - Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile
2-08: Tennis - Hopman Cup in Perth
3-07: Cricket - Australia v Pakistan at Sydney, 2nd Test
3-07: Cricket - South Africa v England at Cape Town, 3rd Test
4: Cricket - Bangladesh v Sri Lanka at Dhaka, ODI
5: Cricket - India v Sri Lanka at Dhaka, ODI
7: Cricket - Bangladesh v India at Dhaka, ODI
8: Cricket - Bangladesh v Sri Lanka at Dhaka, ODI
9-10: NFL - Wild Card playoffs
10: Cricket - India v Sri Lanka at Dhaka, ODI
10-17: Snooker - The Masters at Wembley Arena
10-31: Football - African Nations Cup in Angola
11: Cricket - Bangladesh v India at Dhaka, ODI
13: Cricket - Tri-Nation Tournament final at Dhaka, ODI
14-18: Cricket - Australia v Pakistan at Hobart, 3rd Test
14-18: Cricket - South Africa v England at Johannesburg, 4th Test
17-21: Cricket - Bangladesh v India at Chittagong, 1st Test
17-24: Cycling - Tour Down Under in Australia; Tour of Qatar
18-31: Tennis - ATP and WTA at Australian Open in Melbourne
21-24: Golf - Abu Dhabi Championship
22: Athletics - Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon
22: Cricket - Australia v Pakistan at Brisbane, 1st ODI
24: Cricket - Australia v Pakistan at Sydney, 2nd ODI
24-28: Cricket - Bangladesh v India at Dhaka, 2nd Test
26: Cricket - Australia v Pakistan at Adelaide, 3rd ODI
28-31: Golf - Qatar Masters, Doha
29: Cricket - Australia v Pakistan at Perth, 4th ODI
29: Athletics - Millrose Indoor Games in New York
31: Cricket - Australia v Pakistan at Perth, 5th ODI
31: Athletics - Osaka Marathon
February
3: Cricket - New Zealand v Bangladesh at Hamilton, T20I
3-7: Golf - Dubai Desert Classic
5: Cricket - New Zealand v Bangladesh at Napier, 1st ODI
5: Cricket - Australia v Pakistan at Melbourne, T20I
5-6: Rugby - World Sevens Circuit at Wellington
6: Rugby - Six Nations - Ireland v Italy and England v Wales
6-7: Tennis - Fed Cup 1st rd
7: Football - Draw for group stages of Euro 2012 at Warsaw
7: Cricket - Australia v West Indies at Melbourne, 1st ODI
7: Rugby: Six Nations - Scotland v France
7: NFL - Super Bowl, Miami
8: Cricket - New Zealand v Bangladesh at Dunedin, 2nd ODI
9: Cricket - Australia v West Indies at Adelaide, 2nd ODI
9-13: Cricket - World Twenty20 Qualifiers, Dubai and Abu Dhabi
11: Cricket - New Zealand v Bangladesh at Christchurch, 3rd ODI
12: Cricket - Australia v West Indies at Sydney, 3rd ODI
12-14: Auto - Rally of Sweden
12-28: Winter Olympics in Vancouver
13: Rugby - Six Nations - Wales v Scotland and France v Ireland
14-27: Tennis - WTA and ATP at Dubai
14: Cricket - Australia v West Indies at Brisbane, 4th ODI
14: Rugby - Six Nations - Italy v England
14: Basketball - NBA All-Star game
15-19: Cricket - New Zealand v Bangladesh at Hamilton, Only Test
16-17: Football - Champions League last 16, first leg
19: Cricket - Australia v West Indies at Melbourne, 5th ODI
21: Cricket - Australia v West Indies at Hobart, 1st T20I
23: Cricket - Australia v West Indies at Sydney, 2nd T20I
26: Cricket - New Zealand v Australia at Wellington, 1st T20I
26: Rugby - Six Nations - Wales v France and Italy v Scotland
27: Rugby - Six Nations - England v Ireland
28: Athletics - Tokyo marathon
28: Cricket - Bangladesh v England at Dhaka, 1st ODI
28: Cricket - New Zealand v Australia at Christchurch, 2nd T20I
28: Cricket - West Indies v Zimbabwe at Port of Spain, Only T20I
28-13: Field Hockey - Men's World Cup in New Delhi
March
02: Cricket - Bangladesh v England at Dhaka, 2nd ODI
03: Cricket - New Zealand v Australia at Napier, 1st ODI
04: Cricket - West Indies v Zimbabwe at Providence, 1st ODI
05: Cricket - Bangladesh v England at Chittagong, 3rd ODI
05-07: Auto - Rally of Mexico
05-07: Tennis - ATP at Davis Cup 1st rd
06: Cricket - New Zealand v Australia at Auckland, 2nd ODI
06: Cricket - West Indies v Zimbabwe at Providence, 2nd ODI
09: Cricket - New Zealand v Australia at Hamilton, 3rd ODI
09-14: Badminton - All England championships in Birmingham - Super Series
10: Cricket - West Indies v Zimbabwe at Kingstown, 3rd ODI
11: Cricket - New Zealand v Australia at Auckland, 4th ODI
12: Cricket - West Indies v Zimbabwe at Kingstown, 4th ODI
12-14: Athletics - World Indoors Championships in Doha
12-16: Cricket - Bangladesh v England at Chittagong, 1st Test
12-21: Winter Paralympics in Vancouver
13: Cricket - New Zealand v Australia at Wellington, 5th ODI
13: Rugby - Six Nations - Ireland v Wales and Scotland v England
14: Cricket - West Indies v Zimbabwe at Kingstown, 5th ODI
14: Rugby - Six Nations - France v Italy
14: F1 - Bahrain Grand Prix (GP)
16-20: Racing - Cheltenham Festival
19-21: Rugby - World Sevens circuit at Adelaide
19-23: Cricket - New Zealand v Australia at Wellington, 1st Test
20: Rugby - Six Nations - Wales v Italy, Ireland v Italy and France v England
20-24: Cricket - Bangladesh v England at Dhaka, 2nd Test
27: Racing - Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse
27-28: Rugby - World Sevens Circuit at Hong Kong
27-31: Cricket - New Zealand v Australia at Hamilton, 2nd Test
28: F1 - Australian GP
April
2-4: Auto - Rally of Jordan
4: F1 - Malaysian Grand Prix
4: Baseball - Major League Opening Day
8-11: Golf The Masters, Augusta
10: Racing - Grand National at Aintree
11: Atletics - Paris, Rotterdam and Milan Marathons
11: Ice Hockey - NHL regular season ends
12-18: Badminton - Asian Championships in New Delhi
13: Hockey - NHL playoffs begin
13-03: Snooker - World Championships at Sheffield
16-18: Auto - Rally of Turkey
18: F1 - Chinese Grand Prix
18: Athletics - Nagano Marathon
19: Athletics - Boston Marathon
23-24: Racing - Gold Cup meeting
25: Athletics - London Marathon
25: Moto - Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi
30-16: Cricket - World Twenty20 Championships in West Indies
May
1: Racing - Kentucky Derby
2: MotoGP - Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez
6-9: Golf - The Players Championship, Ponte Vedra Beach
7-9: Auto - Rally of New Zealand
7-23: Ice Hockey - World Championships at Mannheim and Cologne, Germany
8: Athletics - Osaka Grand Prix
9: Football - English Premier League season final day
9: F1 - Spanish Grand Prix
9-16: Badminton - Thomas and Uber Cup in Kuala Lumpur
12: Football - Europa League final in Hamburg
14: Athletics - Diamond League in Doha
15: Football - English FA Cup final
15: Racing - Preakness Stakes
19: Cricket - West Indies v South Africa at Port of Spain, Only T20I
22: Cricket - West Indies v South Africa at Port of Spain, 1st ODI
22: Football - Champions League final in Madrid
22: Rugby - European Cup final in Paris
22-23: Rugby - World Sevens Circuit at Twickenham
22-23: Racing - Irish 1000/2000 Guineas, The Curragh
23: F1 - Monaco Grand Prix
23-06: Tennis - French Open
24: Cricket - West Indies v South Africa at Port of Spain, 2nd ODI
27: Cricket - West Indies v South Africa at Roseau, 3rd ODI
27-31: Cricket - Enland v Bangladesh at Lord's, 1st Test
28-30: Auto - Rally of Portugal
29-30: Rugby - World Sevens Circuit final at Edinburgh
30: F1 - Turkish Grand Prix
30: Cricket - West Indies v South Africa at Roseau, 4th ODI
30: Auto - Indianapolis 500
June
2: Cricket - West Indies v South Africa at Kingston, 5th ODI
3: Basketball - NBA playoffs begin
4-5: Racing - Derby Meeting, Epsom
4-8: Cricket - England v Bangladesh at Manchester, 2nd Test
5: Rugby - Australia v Fiji in Canberra
5: Racing - Belmont Stakes
6: MotoGP - Italian Grand Prix at Mugello
10-14: Cricket - West Indies v South Africa at Kingston, 1st Test
11-July 11: Football World Cup in South Africa
12: Rugby - Australia v England in Perth and New Zealand v Ireland in New Plymouth
12-13: Auto - Le Mans 24 hours Endurance Race
13: F1 - Canadian Grand Prix
15-19: Racing - Royal Ascot
17: Cricket - Ireland v Australia at Dublin, Only ODI
18-22: Cricket - West Indies v South Africa at Basseterre, 2nd Test
19: Cricket - Scotland v England at Edinburgh, Only ODI
19: Rugby - Australia v England at Sydney and New Zealand v Wales at Dunedin
20: MotoGP - British Grand Prix at Silverstonea
21-04: Tennis - Wimbledon
22: Cricket - England v Australia at Southampton, 1st ODI
24: Cricket - England v Australia at Cardiff, 2nd ODI
26: Rugby: Australia v Ireland at Brisbane, New Zealand v Wales at Hamilton, Argentina v France at Buenos Aires
26-30: Cricket - West Indies v South Africa at Bridgetown, 3rd Test
27: Cricket - England v Australia at Manchester, 3rd ODI
30: Cricket - England v Australia at The Oval, 4th ODI
July
3: Cricket - England v Australia at Lord's, 5th ODI
3-25: Cycling - Tour de France
4: MotoGP - Catalan Grand Prix at Barcelona
4-8: Taekwondo - World Championships in Cheongju, South Korea
5: Cricket - Australia v Pakistan at Birmingham, 1st T20I
6: Cricket - Australia v Pakistan at Birmingham, 2nd T20I
8: Cricket - England v Bangladesh at Nottingham, 1st ODI
9-11: Tennis - Davis Cup quarterfinals
9-11: Auto - Rally of Bulgaria
10: Cricket - England v Bangladesh at Bristol, 2nd ODI
10: Rugby - Tri-Nations - New Zealand v South Africa at Auckland
11: F1 - British Grand Prix
12: Cricket - England v Bangladesh at Birmingham, 3rd ODI
13-17: Cricket - Australia v Pakistan at Lord's, 1st Test
15-18: Golf - British Open, St Andrews
17: Rugby - Tri-Nations - New Zealand v South Africa at Wellington
21-25: Cricket - Australia v Pakistan at Leeds, 2nd Test
23-25: Racing - King George meeting, Ascot
24: Rugby - Tri-Nations - Australia v South Africa at Brisbane
25: F1 - German Grand Prix
27-31: Racing - Glorious Goodwood
29-02: Cricket - England v Pakistan at Nottingham, 1st Test
30-01: Auto - Rally of Finland
31: Rugby - Tri-Nations - Australia v New Zealand at Melbourne
31-08: Field Hockey - Men's Champions Trophy
August
1: F1 - Hungarian Grand Prix
6-10: Cricket - England v Pakistan at Birmingham, 2nd Test
7: Rugby - Tri-Nations - New Zealand v Australia at Christchurch
14-26: Youth Olympics at Singapore
18-22: Cricket - England v Pakistan at The Oval, 3rd Test
20-22: Auto - Rally of Germany
23-29: Badminton - World Championships in Paris
26-30: Cricket - England v Pakistan at Lord's, 4th Test
28-12: Basketball - World Championships in Turkey
28-19: Cycling - Tour of Spain
29: Auto - Belgian Grand Prix
29: Moto - Indianapolis Grand Prix
30-12: Tennis - US Open
30-12: Field Hockey - Women's World Cup in Rosario, Argentina
September
4: Football - Start of Euro 2012 qualifiers
4-5: Athletics - IAAF Continental Cup, Split
5: Cricket - England v Pakistan at Cardiff, 1st T20I
5-12: Squash - Women's World Open Championships in Holland
6-12: Wrestling - World Championships in Moscow
7: Cricket - England v Pakistan at Cardiff, 2nd T20I
9-13: Judo - World Championships in Tokyo
10: Cricket - England v Pakistan at Chester-le-Street, 1st ODI
11: Rugby - Tri-Nations - Australia v New Zealand at Sydney
12: Cricket - England v Pakistan at Leeds, 2nd ODI
12: F1 - Italian Grand Prix
14-15: Football - Champions League first round of games
16: Football - Europa League - first round
17: Cricket - England v Pakistan at The Oval, 3rd ODI
17-19: Tennis - Davis Cup semifinals/playoffs
18-30: Weightlifting - World Championships at Antalya, Turkey
19: MotoGP - Hungarian Grand Prix at Balatonring
22: Cricket - England v Pakistan at Southampton, 5th ODI
23-03: Basketball - Womens World Championships at Czech Republic
24-10: Volleyball - Men's World Championships in Italy
25-10: World Equestrian Games in Kentucky
26: F1 - Singapore Grand Prix
October
1-3: Golf - Ryder Cup in Newport, Wales
1-3: Auto - Rally of France
3: F1 - Japanese Grand Prix
3: Racing - Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe, Paris
3-14: Commonwealth Games in New Delhi
10: MotoGP - Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang
10: Athletics - Chicago Marathon
10: Swimming World Cup in Dubai
16: Swimming - World Cup in Singapore
17: MotoGP - Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island
17-24: Gymnastics - World Championships at Rotterdam
20: Cricket - England v Pakistan at Lord's, 4th ODI
20: Swimming - World Cup in Tokyo
22-24: Auto - Rally of Spain
23: Swimming - World Cup in Sharjah
31: MotoGP - Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril
November
2: Swimming - World Cup in Moscow
2: Racing - Melbourne Cup, Melbourne, Victoria.
4-13: Fencing - World Championships in Paris
5-6: Racing - Breeders Cup meeting, Churchill Downs, Kentucky.
6: Swimming - World Cup in Stockholm
6-7: Tennis - Fed Cup final
7: F1 - Brazilian Grand Prix
7: MotoGP - Valencia Grand Prix
7: Athletics - New York Marathon
12-14: Auto - Rally of Britain
12-27: Asian Games at Guangzhou, China
14: F1 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
21-28: Tennis - ATP at Tour Finals in London
25-28: Golf - Dubai World Championships
25-29: Cricket - Australia v England at Brisbane, 1st Test
December
2-5: Golf - OneAsia Tour at Australian Open
3-5: Tennis - Davis Cup Final
3-7: Cricket - Australia v England at Adelaide, 2nd Test
8-18: Football - World Club Championships in UAE
15-19: Swimming - World short-course championships in Dubai
16-20: Cricket - Australia v England at Perth, 3rd Test
26: Racing - King George XI Meeting, Kempton
26-30: Cricket - Australia v England at Melbourne, 4th Test
Cycling
January 17-24: Tour Down Under in Australia; Tour of Qatar
July 3-25: Tour de France
Golf
January 21-24: Golf - Bob Hope Classic, La Quinta, Abu Dhabi Championship
28-31: Qatar Masters, Doha
November 25-28: Dubai World Championships
Tennis
March 5-7: ATP at Davis Cup 1st rd
May 23-June 6: French Open
June 21-July 4: Wimbledon
July 9-11: Davis Cup quarterfinals
August 30-September 12: US Open
November 6-7: Fed Cup final
21-28: ATP at Tour Finals in London
Football
June 11-July 11. World Cup, South Africa. The hosts open the first soccer World Cup to be staged in Africa against Mexico at Johannesburg's Soccer City. European champions Spain have the strongest squad while five-time winners Brazil demonstrated their liking for local conditions by winning the Confederations Cup for a record third time last year.
Basketball
February 14: NBA All-Star game
June 3: NBA playoffs begin
August 28-12: World Championships in Turkey
September 23-03: Women's World Championships at the Czech Republic
American Football
February 7: Super Bowl XLIV Miami
Cricket
January 13: Tri-Nation Tournament final at Dhaka, ODI
February 9-13: World Twenty20 Qualifiers, Dubai and Abu Dhabi
April 30-May 16: Twenty20 World Cup cricket, West Indies. Pakistan, the team condemned to play all their fixtures abroad in the foreseeable future because of security fears at home, defend the title they had won at Lord's last year.
Athletics
March 12-14: World Indoor Championship, Doha
April 25: London Marathon
May 14: Diamond League, Doha
June 19-20: European Team Championships, Bergen
July 27-August 1: European Championships, Barcelona
August 14-26: Youth Olympic Games, Singapore
September 4-5: IAAF Continental Cup, Split
October 3-14: Commonwealth Games, New Delhi
October 16: World Half Marathon Championships, Nanning
December 12: European Cross-Country Championships, Albufeira
Swiming
October 10: Swimming World Cup in Dubai
16: World Cup in Singapore
20: World Cup in Tokyo
23: World Cup in Sharjah
November 2: World Cup in Moscow
6: World Cup in Stockholm
December 15-19: World short-course championships in Dubai
Boxing
March 13: Las Vegas. A row over doping allegations and drug-testing threatens to derail the eagerly-anticipated WBO welterweight boxing title bout between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Filipino Pacquiao has won seven titles in seven weight divisions while American Mayweather is unbeaten in 40 fights. The bout, if it does go ahead, is forecast to be among the most lucrative ever.
Ice Hockey
March 21: Elite League regular season ends
April 3-4: Elite League playoffs
April 11: NHL regular season ends
May 7-23: World Championships
September 4-5: Elite League season begins
Winter Olympics
February 12-14: Vancouver. American Alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn, overall women's World Cup winner for the past two seasons, is battling injuries before the Winter Games.
Auto
January 1-17: Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile
February 12-14: Rally of Sweden
March 5-7: Auto - Rally of Mexico
28: Australian Grand Prix
April 2-4: Rally of Jordan
16-18: Rally of Turkey
May 30: Indianapolis 500
Dates to watch out for
Jan 21-25: Abu Dhabi Golf Chanpionships
Jan 22: Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon
Jan 28-March 4: Dubai International Racing Carnival
Feb 3-7: Dubai Desert Classic
Feb 14-27: Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
March 27: Dubai World Cup
Nov 14: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
