High-profile events to whet the appetite of enthusiasts

The year 2014 promises to be a bumper year for the armchair sports enthusiast or even the more affluent wishing to watch live telecasts, although there would be some sizeable distances involved.

In addition to the regular mix of annual world championships and high-profile races and fixtures, there are several biennial and quadrennial events to whet the appetite, some of which carry added significance due to the venue.

First up is the Winter Olympics to be hosted in the small Black Sea resort town of Sochi in Russia from February 7-23. Having won the bid back in 2007 Russia has invested an estimated $51 billion to turn this summer holiday venue into a winter city by constructing two venues; the shore-lined cluster in the Imeretinskaya Valley and the mountain cluster in Krasnaya Polyana.

Despite its 90-year history the event has struggled to stir the imagination and so has taken drastic steps to re-invent itself by introducing a number of trendier sports, borrowed from the increasingly popular X-Games.

New additions to the Winter Olympics include a ski half-pipe, parallel giant slalom for snowboarders and slope-style events. Women have battled hard for greater inclusion and have been rewarded with ski jumping events and mixed-team cross-country skiing relays.

The build-up to Sochi 2014 has been fraught with construction problems and allegations of corruption, although they will hope they are not beset with a similar incident to Vancouver.

With ski-safety having been in the public eye this week following the serious accident suffered by Formula One legend, Michael Schumacher, no one will need reminding of the tragedy that struck Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, who lost his life on a training run that led to allegations of a poorly-designed Canadian track.

Russians will particularly look towards the ice rink and hope that their hockey team can return to past glories.

The former Soviet Union dominated ice hockey for 40 years from 1952, failing to win the gold medal only when (twice) the Olympics were hosted in the United States. They reached a new low in Vancouver finishing sixth but will hope that reigning NHL MVP, Alex Ovechkin, can reverse their fortunes.

Also, watch out for X-Games icon Shaun White. The ‘Flying Tomato’ has turned his attention to the new slope-style discipline and is expected to compete in multiple events.

Even after these events Sochi will remain on the international sporting radar. The Winter Paralympics follows in March and they will then welcome F1 in October.

The next major event is the FIFA World Cup that Brazil last hosted 64 years ago. The five-time winners are the only country to have qualified for every tournament.

Expectations in the host nation have increased since last summer when they defeated current holders, Spain, in the final of the Confederations Cup. The comprehensive 3-0 victory by the Luiz Felipe Scolari-led Latin Americans made the world sit up and take notice.

Brazil start the tournament in front of 65,000 fans in Sao Paolo on June 12 against a Croatian team that only qualified by beating Iceland in the play-offs. Scolari is expectant that they will start well as European sides will not have acclimatised to the different conditions.

Spain, having won the last three major tournaments, will hope to become the first European nation to lift the trophy in South America although have been handed a tough start with Group B also comprising the Netherlands and Chile.

The final is to be played at the Maracana Stadium in Rio on July 13.

The Commonwealth Games, first contested in 1930, sees 71 teams compete despite there being only 53 members of the Commonwealth of Nations (overseas dependencies and island states compete under their own flag). This has particular added significance given Scotland’s independence referendum on September 18 – expect a strong performance from the hosts to impact on voting!

This Commonwealth event has remained more in touch with amateur sport than its big brother the Olympics, by resisting overtures from the more commercialised professional sports of football, golf and tennis. While many sports are retained, Glasgow will witness teams competing for medals in lawn bowls, netball and rugby 7s.

Typically, the overall medals table is contested between Australia and England with the Antipodean nation leading the head-to-head battle 11-7.

The most eagerly anticipated events will be at the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome where cycling’s best will do battle while Hampden Park will be transformed into an athletics arena which will see the fastest athletes on earth compete, including Usain Bolt.

Glasgow, hosting the Games for the first time from July 23-August 3 will aim to put on a show for the 4,500 athletes competing over 17 sports. Scotland has previously hosted two of the 19 earlier Games although both of these were in Edinburgh.

Last, but certainly not least, is the Ryder Cup held between September 23-28, carrying extra significance this year as the event returns for the first time to its origins. While it was the Americans who first formally lifted the trophy provided by Samuel Ryder in 1927 in Massachusetts, it was a friendly match held at Gleneagles in 1921 that is believed by many to be the true origin of the competition.

It is the first time since 1973 that the ‘home of golf’ has hosted the Ryder Cup and only the second time in its history.

Europe will start the event as favourites despite their players likely to concede position on the overall global rankings. The US retains captain, Tom Watson, despite their devastating loss in 2012 at Medinah, Illinois. Entering the final day with a four-point lead the Americans lost heavily in the singles and will be desperate to atone against Paul McGinley’s side.

Other events to watch out for are the World Youth Games to be held in China between August 16-28 and the World Short Course Championships (swimming) to be hosted by Qatar in December.

Doha again opens the MotoGP season on March 23, by which time the F1 bandwagon will have already been through Bahrain twice! The final race of the season in Abu Dhabi will hold special significance given the double points to be awarded.

The World T20’s commence in Bangladesh on March 16, a venue that is likely to favour the Asian cricketing nations. Andy Murray will also be defending his Wimbledon title from June 23 while the Tour de France starts in Yorkshire on July 5.

If there is a single day to ink into the diary then turn to May 24. Cardiff will host the final of the Heineken Cup in what looks likely to be a last hurrah for the competition in its current format on the same day that Europe’s best football teams will head to Lisbon for the Champions League Final.

Behind the scenes in the sports world one underlying theme that is likely to stay with us all year is the use of performance enhancing drugs. Two of the major events have been beset with problems already as the laboratories used for testing in both Moscow and Rio have had their accreditation to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) suspended.

However, it is not just football and athletics (and cycling) that will be in the spotlight with both tennis and golf falling under greater scrutiny.

On a more positive note, the president of WADA, Sir Craig Reedie, is hopeful that a new £6 million fund provided by the International Olympic Committee will help them develop new tests using hair samples. This less-invasive test is believed to provide a greater deterrent as traces last longer leading to enhanced detection.