NAIJA NEWS
The year 2023 has been very eventful in the world of sports as there were so many major sports headlines that kept the world of football talking in most parts of the world.
In this article, Naija News will take you through some of the major sports headlines across the world in the outgoing year.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Move to Al Nassr: The Portuguese superstar’s transfer to the Saudi Arabian club in January 2023 sent shockwaves through the football world. He made the move about two months after Manchester United terminated his contract over his controversial interview with British Media personality, Piers Morgan.
2. Messi Leaves PSG For Inter Miami: Lionel Messi’s arrival at Inter Miami, owned by David Beckham, instantly elevated Major League Soccer’s profile and attracted international attention. It symbolized the growing ambition of MLS and Messi’s desire for a new challenge in his career.
3. Spain wins the Women’s World Cup: Despite a sexism storm and a kissing scandal, Spain’s historic victory shattered attendance and viewership records, highlighting the rising popularity of women’s football.
4. Manchester City’s Treble Triumph: The English giants finally conquered the Champions League, achieving the prestigious treble alongside their domestic dominance.
5. Rugby World Cup: South Africa’s fourth title win cemented their position as the most successful team in the tournament’s history.
6. Formula One and MotoGP Champions Defend Crowns: Max Verstappen and Francesco Bagnaia successfully retained their championship titles in Formula One and MotoGP, respectively.
7. Coco Gauff’s U.S. Open Victory: The young American tennis star announced her arrival on the big stage with a thrilling win at the U.S. Open.
8. Australia wins the Cricket World Cup: After a heartbreaking loss in the 2019 final, Australia redeemed themselves by clinching the coveted Cricket World Cup title in India. The dominant performance throughout the tournament solidified their position as one of the cricketing giants.
9. Napoli Ends 33-Year Serie A Drought: The Italian club’s historic league triumph marked a major upset and a significant shift in Italian football.
10. LeBron James Ends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA Record: LeBron James overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time greatest scorer, breaking a record that many in the basketball community believed would never be broken after 39 years.
11. Draymond Green’s Indefinite Suspension: Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green‘s on-court altercation with Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic resulted in an indefinite suspension, casting a shadow over his NBA season.
12. Novak Djokovic’s three Majors: Djokovic continued his march towards tennis history, securing three Grand Slams despite a Wimbledon defeat to rising star Carlos Alcaraz.
13. Manchester United’s Champions League exit: Their disappointing performance sparked criticism and doubts about their future.
14. Lionel Messi Wins 2023 Ballon d’Or: The 36-year-old Argentine football great defeated Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to win his record 8th Ballon d’Or in Paris, becoming the first player to win it while playing for a club (Inter Miami) outside Europe.
15. Barcelona’s Corruption Scandal: The Spanish giants were accused of paying around €7.3 million to the former vice-president of the referees’ committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, to influence refereeing decisions in their favour.
16. Paul Pogba’s Doping scandal: The Manchester United midfielder is set to face a doping hearing in January 2024 after traces of a banned substance were found in his system.
17. Kylian Mbappé’s Contract Saga: The PSG star’s future remains uncertain, with Real Madrid still keen on signing him despite his contract extension in 2022. This interest and Mbappe’s decision not to extend his contract with PSG kept the world talking for months before all parties decided to move on from the saga.
18. Neymar, Ngolo Kante, Karim Benzema, and other European stars move to Saudi Arabia: the Middle Eastern country took the world by storm by signing some of the biggest names in football.
19. Morocco to host 2030 World Cup: on Wednesday, October 4, the world football governing body announced that Portugal, Spain, and Morocco will share hosting responsibilities for the 2030 World Cup. This happened one week after the North African country was chosen to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
20. Nigeria Dominate 2023 CAF Awards: After 24 years of failing to win the African Player of the Year, Victor Osimhen was named the best player on the continent by CAF on December 11, weeks after finishing 8th at the 2023 Ballon d’Or.
Asisat Oshoala won the Women’s category of the award for the 6th time in her career. Chiamaka Nnadozie won best goalkeeper and the Super Falcons won the best women’s national team.
