Olympics, Nadal and Mourinho: Major sports events in 2024

The world of sports experienced another busy year in 2024, including notable victories, famous deaths, big names’ retirements and big sporting events such as the 2024 European football championship (EURO 2024) and the Paris Olympics, as well as the effect of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on sports.

The following is a round-up of the year’s major sports developments.

On Jan. 7, German football legend Franz Beckenbauer, one of the notable football players of Bayern Munich, died at the age of 78.

Former England and Lazio head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson died at the age of 76 on Aug. 26. The Swedish national was battling terminal cancer.

In September, former Italy forward Salvatore “Toto” Schillaci, who was the 1990 FIFA World Cup top scorer, and NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo passed away.

Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen spent a stellar season in Germany as the club won their first-ever Bundesliga title in April. Additionally, Leverkusen became the first German Bundesliga team to have gone unbeaten during a whole season.

Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 to win the 2024 UEFA Champions League title on June 1 in the London final.

A couple days after their Champions League success, Real Madrid signed French football superstar Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer. The France captain left Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for the Spanish club, which was the move of the year in football.

Turkish football giants Fenerbahce hired world-famous head coach Jose Mourinho to cause a sensation in June.

On June 17, the Boston Celtics won the 2024 NBA championship, the Eastern Conference franchise’s first title since 2008.

The summer of 2024 also saw the European football championship, largely known as the UEFA EURO 2024, and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Former champions Spain beat England 2-1 to secure the EURO 2024 title in the Berlin final in July.

Following the EURO 2024, the Paris 2024 Olympics kicked off on July 26. On Aug. 10, a star-studded Team USA won the Olympic men’s basketball gold medal after beating hosts France 98-87 in the final.

Nigerian football star Victor Osimhen joined Turkish powerhouse Galatasaray on loan from Italian club Napoli on Sept. 4 to thrill the world of football as the football season in Europe had already started.

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal, who won 22 Grand Slam titles in his illustrious career, retired from the game in November. Nadal was dealing with injury issues in recent years.

On Oct. 8, 2010 FIFA World Cup world champion and Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta retired from football.

HERE ARE THE MAJOR SPORTS EVENTS IN 2024

JANUARY

Jan. 2:

– Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal returns to the court with his first win in 349 days. Nadal suffered from a serious hip injury that resulted in an 11-month absence.

Jan. 3:

– Algerian footballer Youcef Atal is handed an eight-month suspended jail sentence for a social media post in support of people in the Gaza Strip following an Israeli attack. He is also fined €45,000 (nearly $49,000) by a French criminal court for “provoking hatred on grounds of religion.”

Atal apologizes, but his club Nice suspends the player.

Jan. 5:

– Former South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius is released on parole 11 years after he shot dead his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Jan. 6:

– Mario Zagallo, Brazil’s four-time FIFA World Cup winner, dies at the age of 92.

Jan. 7:

– German football legend Franz Beckenbauer, one of the notable football players of Bayern Munich, dies at the age of 78. He helped West Germany win the 1974 FIFA World Cup.

Jan. 10:

– Former France basketball player Emilie Gomis is forced to abandon her Paris 2024 Olympics role as an ambassador over criticizing Israel for its war on Gaza.

Jan. 14:

– Israeli football player Sagiv Jehezkel is excluded from the squad of Turkish club Antalyaspor after a message of solidarity with Israel by raising his bandaged hand in a league match where he scored against Trabzonspor.

Jan. 15:

– Lionel Messi is named FIFA Best Men’s Footballer of 2023. Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati wins FIFA Best Women’s Footballer of 2023 award.

– Israel’s Sagiv Jehezkel is arrested for sharing a message of solidarity with his nation in a Turkish football league match. A Turkish court releases him on the same day. Jehezkel returns to Israel.

– Spanish bike rider Carles Falcon dies at the age of 45, eight days after a crash during the Dakar Rally.

Jan. 19:

– Spain’s Carlos Sainz wins 2024 Dakar Rally in car category while Ricky Brabec from US secures the Dakar Rally’s motorcycle title.

Jan. 25:

– Former AC Milan star Andriy Shevchenko elected as president of the Ukrainian Football Association.

Jan. 26:

– Dallas Mavericks’ Slovenian All-Star guard Luka Doncic scores 73 points against the Atlanta Hawks, tying for fourth-most points scored in a single NBA game.

Jan. 27:

– Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka wins Australian Open women’s singles title. The Belarusian second seed beats China’s Zheng Qinwen in the Melbourne final.

Jan. 28:

– Jannik Sinner wins Australian Open men’s singles, his 1st Grand Slam title. Sinner, the world No. 4, beats Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev.

Jan. 29:

– The Court of Arbitration for Sport hands a four-year ban to Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva for anti-doping rule violation.

Jan. 31:

– Spain’s Marc Gasol, 2019 NBA champion with the Toronto Raptors, retires from basketball.

– The 2024 Argentina Moto GP is canceled due to the economic crisis in the country.

FEBRUARY

Feb. 1:

– Seven-time Formula 1 champion Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton will join Scuderia Ferrari in 2025, the Italian racing team confirms.

– Spanish basketball fans protest against Israel during Baskonia vs. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv game in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Fans display Palestinian flags, ‘Free Palestine’ banner, shout anti-Israel slogans.

Feb. 2:

– NBA champion Michael Jordan’s collection of sneakers sold for a record $8 million at a Sotheby’s auction. The amount is the highest for game-worn sneakers sold off at an auction in history.

Feb. 8:

– UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says he will step down in 2027.

Feb. 10:

– Qatar win 2023 AFC Asian Cup after beating Jordan 3-1 in final.

– South Africa finish third in Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), beating Democratic Republic of Congo 6-5 on penalties.

Feb. 11:

– Ivory Coast win 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after beating Nigeria 2-1. Ivory Coast clinch their third AFCON trophy after 1992 and 2015.

– Kenya’s world marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach Gervais Hakizimana are killed in a road accident. Kiptum was 24.

– Defending champions the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime at Super Bowl LVIII to win their third title in five years.

Feb. 13:

– The English Premier League approves British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of 25% of Manchester United.

Feb. 14:

– Dutch football player Quincy Promes is sentenced to six years in prison for drug trafficking.

– Kenyan athlete Sarah Chepchirchir is banned for eight years after being found to have violated anti-doping standards.

Feb. 15:

– Kenyan athletics legend Henry Rono, who broke four world records in a span of only 81 days in 1978, dies at the age of 72.

Feb. 20:

– Andreas Brehme, a German world champion footballer, dies at age 63.

– Coco Gauff, former US Open women’s champion, calls for an end to fighting in Gaza.

Feb. 23:

– The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismisses Russia’s appeal against its suspension by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Feb. 28:

– Spain win inaugural UEFA Women’s Nations League title after beating France 2-0 in Seville.

Feb. 29:

– Juventus’ world-famous French midfielder Paul Pogba handed four-year ban by Italy’s anti-doping court for failing a drug test.

MARCH

March 2:

– Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen wins season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

March 3:

– US basketball superstar LeBron James becomes first player to reach 40,000 career points in NBA after scoring 26 points as his Los Angeles Lakers lost 124-114 to the Denver Nuggets.

March 5:

– The Court of Arbitration for Sport reduces former Grand Slam women’s champion Simona Halep’s four-year doping ban to nine months.

March 7:

– Monaco point guard Mike James becomes the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s all-time leading scorer with 4,464 points.

March 12:

– Saudi football club Al-Hilal breaks the world record for the most consecutive wins in football history after beating rivals Al-Ittihad in the Asian Champions League. Jorge Jesus’ men defeat Al-Ittihad 2-0 to surpass Wales club The New Saints in the 2016-17 season with 28 wins.

March 15:

– Real Madrid lodges complaint with Spanish prosecutors after their Brazilian star Vinicius Junior is targeted with alleged racist chants by Atletico Madrid and Barcelona fans.

March 18:

– Laura Kenny, Great Britain’s most decorated female Olympian, retires from cycling ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

March 19:

– Formula 1 icon Lewis Hamilton calls for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

– The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirms Russian and Belarusian athletes competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics will not be able to take part in the Summer Games’ opening ceremony.

March 20:

– The Barcelona court that convicted Dani Alves to four and a half years behind bars for sexual assault rules that he can be released on bail as the Brazilian football player appeals the sentence. Former Sevilla, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain full-back Alves is granted €1 million ($1.08 million) bail.

March 21:

– Olympique Lyon midfielder Mahamadou Diawara leaves France’s under-19 squad after French Football Federation (FFF) forbids the country’s Muslim players to fast during Ramadan when they train with the national team.

– Former Brazil football star Robinho is sentenced to nine years in prison in his home country after being convicted of gang rape in Italy.

March 25:

– Flamengo’s Brazilian footballer Gabriel Barbosa is suspended for two years for attempted fraud during a 2023 doping test.

March 26:

– A court in China’s Hubei province sentences former head of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) Chen Xuyuan, 67, to life imprisonment for accepting bribes worth over 81 million yuan ($11 million).

– Willy Sagnol’s Georgia qualify for the UEFA EURO 2024 finals, their first-ever major football tournament in history.

March 30:

– In the German Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund stun Bayern Munich 2-0 to take their first Der Klassiker win in Munich in 10 years.

APRIL

April 1:

– Formula One owner Liberty Media agrees to buy MotoGP from Spain-based owners Dorna in a deal valued at $4.5 billion.

April 2:

– After 16 seasons, two-time NBA winner Rajon Rondo retires.

April 4:

– Saudi capital Riyadh will host the women’s tennis finals for the next three years, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) confirms. Riyadh will organize WTA Finals from 2024-2026 with record $15.25 million in prize money.

April 7:

– English Premier League club Liverpool hosts a holy Ramadan fast-breaking event at their stadium Anfield.

April 11:

– Former NFL star O.J. Simpson dies of cancer at 76.

April 14:

– Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen win their first-ever German Bundesliga title after 5-0 victory against Werder Bremen.

– Turkish basketball club Fenerbahce Alagoz Holding defend their FIBA EuroLeague Women crown with a 106-73 win against French opponents Villeneuve d’Ascq LM.

April 16:

– The Paris 2024 Torch begins its journey to France after a traditional ceremony in Olympia, Greece, the place where the ancient Olympic Games began.

– Boston Celtics forward Blake Griffin retires from basketball at the age of 35.

April 17:

– Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter, 24, is banned from NBA for violating the league’s rules on gambling, including bets against his own team.

April 18:

– The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) urges FIFA to expel the Israel Football Association (IFA) from the Zurich-based organization because of that country’s human rights violations in the Gaza Strip.

April 20:

– Sweden’s Armand Duplantis breaks the pole vault world record at Diamond League competition in Xiamen, China as the world and Olympic champion clears 6.24 meters.

– Former women’s tennis world No. 1 and Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza retires.

April 21:

– Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-2 in the Spanish La Liga El Clasico.

April 22:

– Inter Milan win the Italian Serie A title after defeating archrivals AC Milan 2-1 with five games to spare.

April 23:

– Philadelphia 76ers All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey wins the NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Award.

April 25:

– Golden State Warriors’ All-Star point guard Stephen Curry named 2023-24 NBA Clutch Player of the Year.

April 27:

– Turkish boxer Buse Naz Cakiroglu becomes European champion for the third time in a row. She defeats Anastasia Kool from Russia to win the gold medal in the Women’s Boxing Championships’ 52 kg final in Belgrade.

April 28:

– Dutch cyclist Frank van den Broek of the Dsm-Firmenich PostNL wins the 59th Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye.

– Manchester City secure their fifth consecutive English Premier League win after they beat Nottingham Forest 2-0.

– Paris Saint-Germain are crowned French champions for the third year in a row after nearest opponents Monaco are beaten 3-2 by Olympique Lyon.

– Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault is named the 2023-24 NBA Coach of the Year.

MAY

May 3:

– Real Madrid secure the Spanish La Liga title after Barcelona were handed a 4-2 loss at Girona.

May 5:

– PSV Eindhoven beat Sparta Rotterdam 4-2 to be the Dutch champions.

May 6:

– Sporting Lisbon win their 20th Portuguese title, their first since 2021.

May 8:

– Minnesota Timberwolves’ French center Rudy Gobert is named the 2023-24 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

May 9:

– Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic wins his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in four years, having previously been named MVP in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns.

May 12:

– Al Hilal win the Saudi Pro League title.

May 16:

– Celtic secure the Scottish Premiership title for a third successive season by hammering Kilmarnock 5-0.

May 17:

– The Palestinian Football Association calls for the immediate suspension of Israel from the world governing body for football.

May 19:

– Manchester City beat West Ham United 3-1 to win the English Premier League for the fourth time in a row.

May 22:

– Atalanta beat Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 to win the 2024 UEFA Europa League as the Italian football club clinch their 1st-ever European trophy.

May 25:

– Manchester United beat archrivals Manchester City 2-1 to win the English FA Cup.

May 26:

– German Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen win German Cup to make double in the same season.

– Egypt’s Al Ahly secure African Champions League title.

– Galatasaray win their 24th Turkish Super Lig title.

May 27:

– Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens beat Real Madrid 95-80 to win the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title, their first since 2011.

May 29:

– Olympiacos beat Fiorentina 1-0 to win the UEFA Europa Conference League.

JUNE

June 1:

– Real Madrid win the 2024 UEFA Champions League trophy, beating Germany’s Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the final.

June 2:

– Famous Portuguese head coach Jose Mourinho is hired by Turkish football club Fenerbahce.

June 3:

– Real Madrid sign French football superstar Kylian Mbappe on free transfer.

– Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior wins Champions League player of the season award.

June 8:

– Iga Swiatek wins the French Open women’s singles title by beating Jasmine Paolini.

June 9:

– Carlos Alcaraz secures the French Open men’s singles title, beating Alexander Zverev.

June 14:

– Germany, the UEFA EURO 2024 hosts, beat Scotland 5-1 in the European Football Championship’s opener in Munich.

June 15:

– Former Arsenal and Everton forward Kevin Campbell dies at 54 after an illness.

June 30:

– England move to EURO 2024 quarterfinals after beating Slovakia 2-1 in extra time.

JULY

July 1:

– Spain secure EURO 2024 quarterfinals spot with 4-1 win against Georgia.

– France beat Belgium 1-0 to book their place at the EURO 2024 quarterfinals.

July 2:

– Portugal beat Slovenia 3-0 on penalties to face France in EURO 2024 quarterfinals.

– Netherlands beat Romania 3-0 to reach EURO 2024 quarterfinals.

July 3:

– Türkiye beat Austria 2-1 to reach EURO 2024 quarterfinals.

– UEFA investigates Turkish defender Merih Demiral’s nationalist Grey Wolves salute.

July 5:

– Turkish defender Merih Demiral suspended for two matches for a grey wolf sign during EURO 2024 match.

– Spain advance to EURO 2024 semifinal after beating hosts Germany 2-1 in extra time.

July 6:

– France move to EURO 2024 semifinals after beating Portugal on penalties.

– England beat Switzerland 5-3 (1-1) on penalties to reach the semifinals of EURO 2024.

July 7:

– Netherlands beat Türkiye 2-1 to advance to EURO 2024 semifinals.

July 9:

– Spain advance to the EURO 2024 final with a 2-1 victory over France.

July 10:

– England defeat the Netherlands 2-1 to face Spain in EURO 2024 final.

July 13:

– Anwar El Ghazi wins lawsuit against German club Mainz for terminating contract after he supported Palestine.

– Czech tennis player Barbora Krejcikova claims her first Wimbledon women’s singles title.

July 14:

– Spain beat England 2-1 to win the EURO 2024 title in Berlin.

– Irish athletes in Dublin show solidarity with Palestinians and protest against Israel for its onslaught against the Gaza Strip.

– Carlos Alcaraz beats Novak Djokovic to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title.

– Argentina win the 2024 Copa America, defeating Colombia 1-0 in extra time.

July 16:

– Germany’s veteran forward Thomas Muller retires from international football.

July 19:

– FIFA puts off decision on Palestinian proposal to suspend Israel from international football.

July 21:

– Tadej Pogacar wins Tour de France 2024.

July 25:

– NBA signs new 11-year media rights deals with Walt Disney, NBC and Amazon.

July 26:

– French athlete to swap hijab for cap to avoid ban from Olympics opening ceremony.

July 29:

– Australian boxer Tina Rahimi releases a statement opposing France’s ban on the hijab, or Muslim headscarf, for French athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

July 30:

– Turkish athlete Yusuf Dikec and Sevval Ilayda Tarhan bagged the silver medal in the 10 meters air pistol mixed team competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Yusuf Dikec’s pose during shooting became a global meme.

July 31:

– France’s Cassandre Beaugrand wins historic Olympic gold at the Paris 2024 women’s triathlon.

AUGUST

Aug. 1:

– Italy’s Angela Carini abandoned an Olympic women’s 66kg boxing match against Algerian athlete Imane Khelif, who failed a gender test last year.

Aug. 2:

– Algerian Olympic Committee condemns slander against boxer Imane Khelif in Paris Olympics.

Aug. 3:

– Joshua Cheptegei for Uganda wins gold in men’s 10,000m in record Olympic time.

– Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen wins women’s Olympic gold at Paris 2024.

Aug. 4:

– Protesters in Paris show solidarity with Palestine during Olympic cycling competition.

– Serbian tennis superstar Novak Djokovic wins his first Olympic gold in Paris.

Aug. 5:

– US sprinter Noah Lyles wins Olympic men’s 100-meter gold at Paris 2024.

– Alice D’Amato becomes Italy’s 1st ever Olympic champion in women’s gymnastics.

Aug. 6:

– Armand Duplantis breaks Olympic record to grab the gold, bests his record in men’s pole vault.

Aug. 7:

– USA’s Gabrielle Thomas wins gold medal in women’s 200m final.

– Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez Nunez wins record five Olympic golds in a row.

Aug. 8:

– Dutch swimmer Sharon van Rouwendaal clinches women’s marathon gold at Paris 2024.

– Portuguese defender Pepe, a former Real Madrid player, retires from football at the age of 41.

– Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem breaks the Olympic record with a 92.97m throw in the javelin final.

Aug. 10:

– Algeria’s Imane Khelif wins gold in women’s boxing at Paris Olympics amid gender debate.

– France defeat Poland in straight sets to win the gold medal in Paris 2024 men’s volleyball.

– Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola takes marathon gold in Olympic record.

– Team USA win Olympic men’s basketball gold, beating hosts France 98-87.

Aug. 11:

– USA win 8th straight Olympic women’s basketball gold medal.

Aug. 14:

– Real Madrid win the UEFA Super Cup, beating Italy’s Atalanta 2-0.

Aug. 19:

– Turkish chess prodigy Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus becomes youngest player to earn grandmaster title.

Aug. 21:

– Manchester City star Phil Foden wins the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Men’s Player of the Year award.

Aug. 24:

– Dutch football player Anwar El Ghazi says he will donate $560,000 of his Mainz payout to Gaza children.

Aug. 25:

– German football head coach Christoph Daum dies from lung cancer at the age of 70.

Aug. 26:

– Former England and Lazio head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson dies at the age of 76. The Swedish national was battling terminal cancer.

– New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth’s match-worn baseball jersey sold for $24 million.

Aug. 31:

– FIFA unveils ‘No Racism’ gesture to combat abuse during matches.

– Former Cardiff City and Leeds United defender Sol Bamba from Ivory Coast dies at the age of 39.

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 4:

– American center Kyle Hines, four-time EuroLeague champion, announces his retirement at the age of 38 after a 16-year basketball career.

Sept. 5:

– US women’s football star Alex Morgan, who plays for San Diego Wave FC, announces her retirement.

Sept. 6:

– Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first football player to score 900 career goals.

Sept. 7:

– Aryna Sabalenka wins the US Open women’s title after defeating Jessica Pegula in straight sets.

Sept. 8:

– Jannik Sinner wins the US Open men’s title after beating Taylor Fritz in straight sets. The 23-year-old lifted his second Grand Slam after the 2024 Australian Open title.

Sept. 11:

– Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino is appointed as the head coach of the US Men’s National Football Team.

Sept. 13:

– Portuguese football icon Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first individual to amass 1 billion social media followers.

Sept. 18:

– Former Italy forward Salvatore “Toto” Schillaci, the 1990 FIFA World Cup top scorer, dies at 59.

Sept. 25:

– 2018 World Cup winner French defender Raphael Varane retires from football at age 31.

Sept. 26:

– Former NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Derrick Rose retires from the game after 16 years.

Sept. 30:

– NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo dies at age 58 due to brain cancer.

OCTOBER

Oct. 7:

– Dutch football legend Johan Neeskens dies at the age of 73.

Oct. 8:

– Former world champion and Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta from Spain retires from professional football.

Oct. 9:

– Nima Rinji Sherpa, an18-year-old Nepali climber, makes history in mountaineering, becoming the world’s youngest climber to ascend all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters (26,247 feet).

Oct. 10:

– Panathinaikos and Greece defender George Baldock dies at the age of 31.

– Rafael Nadal, who won 22 Grand Slam titles, says he will retire at the end of this season.

Oct. 11:

– German footballer Lukas Podolski retires from professional football at the age of 39 with a friendly match at his boyhood club Cologne.

Oct. 14:

– Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich breaks the World Record at the Chicago Marathon, finishing in two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds.

Oct. 16:

– German football coach Thomas Tuchel becomes the third non-British manager of the England national football team after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italy’s Fabio Capello.

Oct. 19:

– ROKiT BMW’s Turkish motorcycle racer Toprak Razgatlioglu secures the World Superbike Championship in Spain.

– Turkish ultra-marathon swimmer Bengisu Avci crosses the Molokai Channel, an Oceans Seven challenge.

Oct. 23:

– US basketball superstar LeBron James and his 20-year-old son Bronny become the first father and son duo to play together in an NBA game when the Los Angeles Lakers won their season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-103.

Oct: 25:

– Former Morocco and Olympique Marseille player Abdelaziz Barrada dies at 35.

– The French football league’s appeals commission upholds its earlier decision that Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) must pay €55 million ($59.5 million) to their former star Kylian Mbappe.

Oct. 28:

– Manchester United announces the departure of Erik ten Hag as first team manager, ending his tenure after 30 months.

Oct. 29:

– Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder Rodri receives the 2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) award.

– Barcelona’s Spanish player Aitana Bonmati wins the 2024 Women’s Ballon d’Or, which is her second in a row.

NOVEMBER

Nov. 1:

– Portuguese Ruben Amorim is appointed as the head coach of Manchester United.

Nov. 8:

– Chelsea achieve the biggest win ever recorded in the history of the UEFA Conference League after beating Armenian side Noah 8-0.

Nov. 11:

– Bafetimbi Gomis, former France striker, retires from football at the age of 39.

Nov. 14:

– Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn to come out of retirement to ski for the US Ski Team in the 2024-25 season.

Nov. 16:

– Jake Paul, a YouTuber and boxer, defeats legendary boxer Mike Tyson by unanimous decision in a professional heavyweight bout.

Nov. 17:

– Jorge Martin of Spain clinches his maiden MotoGP World Championship by securing third place in the Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona.

Nov. 20:

– Tennis legend Rafael Nadal makes the final appearance of his professional career, bowing out with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Botic van de Zandschulp in the Davis Cup quarterfinals.

Nov. 21:

– During a football match between France and Israel at Stade de France on Nov. 14, French journalist Emmanuel Hoarau defies a ban by raising the Palestinian flag.

Nov. 22:

– Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, whose contract was due to expire at the end of the 2024-25 season, signs a two-year extension.

Nov. 24:

– Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen secures the 2024 Formula 1 world title in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, his fourth consecutive championship.

Nov. 27:

– Kenan Yildiz, Juventus’ Turkish winger, wins the Golden Boy Web award.

Nov. 30:

– English Premier League team Leicester City appoint Dutch coach Ruud Van Nistelrooy for manager role.

DECEMBER

Dec. 1:

– Italian Serie A match between Fiorentina and Inter Milan is suspended as Italian midfielder Edoardo Bove collapses during the game.

Dec. 2:

– Dutch middle-distance runner Sifan Hassan is named the Women’s World Athlete of the Year and sprinter Letsile Tebogo of Botswana wins Men’s World Athlete of the Year award.

Dec. 3:

– Neale Fraser, a legendary Australian tennis player who won 19 Grand Slam titles across singles and doubles, dies at 91.

Dec. 4:

– Violence and a stampede at a football stadium in southeastern Guinea leave 135 people dead and 50 missing.

– Former Japan and Galatasaray midfielder Junichi Inamoto decides to hang up his cleats, bowing out of professional football at age 45.

Dec. 7:

– West Ham United’s Michail Antonio has severe car accident but survives. He undergoes surgery on broken leg.

Dec. 8:

– Former Portugal and Manchester United winger Luis Nani retires at the age of 38, drawing the curtain on an illustrious 19-year playing career.

Dec. 11:

– Saudi Arabia named FIFA World Cup 2034 host, while Morocco, Portugal and Spain named joint hosts of 2030 FIFA World Cup.

Dec. 12:

– Sweden closes sexual harassment probe against Real Madrid’s French star Kylian Mbappe, citing insufficient evidence.

Dec. 13:

– Former Chinese men’s football head coach Li Tie is sentenced to 20 years in prison for bribery.

Dec. 14:

– Gukesh Dommaraju, an Indian 18-year-old player, becomes the youngest World Chess Champion after defeating former Chinese world champion Ding Liren.

Dec. 16:

– Rapid Vienna striker Guido Burgstaller sustains a serious head injury after being attacked by an unidentified man in central Vienna.

Dec. 17:

– Nigeria and Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman wins the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Men’s Player of the Year award.

– Latvian basketball star Janis Timma dies by suicide at the age of 32 in central Moscow.

– Chelsea’s Ukrainian player Mykhailo Mudryk tests positive for a banned substance.

– Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior wins the 2024 Best FIFA Men’s Player award.

Dec. 18:

– Real Madrid beat Pachuca 3-0 to win FIFA Intercontinental Cup

Dec. 20:

– Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James breaks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s long-standing NBA record for most minutes played in regular season history.

Dec. 21:

– Turkish judoka Emre Yazgan killed in avalanche at a Türkiye ski resort.

Dec. 26:

– Olympic swimming champion Leon Marchand named European Sportsperson of Year

Dec. 27:

– Brazilian midfielder Oscar returns to Sao Paulo after 14 years on 3-year deal