We are only two days away from the beginning of the new year. This is a time to look ahead and prepare for everything yet to come! When it comes to soccer that means looking to all the different competitions that will play out in the new year. 2024 is yet another year that will be crazy and congested with the world’s game. Let’s look at all the important soccer dates, and competitions to come.
2024’s Hectic Soccer Schedule
In the world of soccer, there is no downtime. There are always club games, and when there are breaks from that then it’s time for international games to be played. The world soccer calendar for 2024 begins in the first weeks of January and ends in early December. Here’s a look at all of the important dates in 2024!
- African Cup of Nations: Jan. 13 – Feb. 11
- Concacaf Champions Cup: Feb. 6 – June 2
- UEFA Champions League Knockout Rounds: Feb. 14 – June 1
- Women’s Concacaf Gold Cup: Feb. 20 – March 10
- MLS Regular Season: Feb. 21 – Oct. 19
- US Open Cup: March 19 – Sept. 25
- Concacaf Nations League Semifinal & Final: March 21 & March 23
- SheBelieves Cup: April 6 – April 9
- Last Games of Top European Leagues: May 4 – May 26
- UEFA European Championship: June 14 – July 14
- Copa America: June 20 – July 14
- Leagues Cup: July 26 – Aug. 25
- Summer Olympics Soccer Tournaments: July 24 – Aug. 10
- MLS Cup Playoffs: Oct. – Dec. 7
There are 14 different competitions/tournaments that we at PSN will be covering this coming year! It ranges from our normal Union and MLS coverage to US Soccer teams and the tournaments they’ll play in. We also will be covering the end of the European club season by writing some “roundup” articles highlighting the highs and lows of the second half of the action across the pond. There will also be some major international tournaments this coming year that will put the world’s eyes on players from around the world!
Let’s take a look at it all a bit closer.
Domestic League and Cup competitions kickoff
In just eight weeks MLS will kick off once again! The competition will run from the end of February to mid-October. Playoffs will then take over at the end of October running to the MLS Cup Final which is set to take place December 7th.
Of course, there will be other competitions throughout the year as well. The Leagues Cup will return in the summer causing the league to go on a month break. MLS teams may also play in the historic US Open Cup throughout the season. MLS is trying to pull their teams out due to self-inflicted schedule congestion, but US Soccer wants its top league to compete in the competition.
The domestic season is set to be exciting yet again, and so will the conclusion of the European season.
European Club Play enters its Second Half
The European soccer (or should I say Football) season is in full swing. As the calendar moves to 2024 the seasons across the pond move to their second half. The top leagues in England, Germany, Italy, Spain, and France all have title races where the difference between the top clubs is between one and five points!
We will begin to cover these races and some other fun matches that will occur in the UEFA Champions League! The end of the European season’s occurs between May 4th-26th, and the Champions League Final will be played on June 1st!
It will be a fun time checking in on the second half of the European seasons! On top of all of those games, and the domestic games, there will be international tournaments of consequence!
6 major International Tournaments
In 2024 there will be six major tournaments across the Men’s and Women’s international games that PSN will be covering! The first is the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) This Men’s tournament will crown the champions of Africa in January and February! Just following that tournament will be the first-ever Women’s Concacaf Gold Cup. This will be an early test of the year for the USA! The USWNT plays in a second tournament in April, the annual SheBelieves Cup. This will be another test for the team to show what they can do against three other top nations!
The summer will be dominated by international tournaments. Kicking off right around the same time will be the UEFA European Championships and the Copa America. Who will become the champions of Europe, and will we see a non-Conmebol team win the Copa America in the expanded field? The end of the summer brings the Olympic soccer tournaments. For the first time in a long time, both the men’s and women’s teams from the USA will be competing!
There will be so so so much soccer in 2024. If you need to get your fix of what happened, come back to Philly Sports Network for all of the coverage!
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Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union, AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, Pro Sports Images Ltd/DPPI/Icon Sportswire, & AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino
