The year will be rich in innovations
2024 promises to be rich in significant events and exciting tournaments in sports. The Olympics and the Euro, several championship fights in boxing, including the first in history – in Kyiv, an updated format of European cup tournaments in football and planned innovations in Formula 1. We talk about the main “new products” of the new year.
Champion boxing fight in Kyiv
For the first time, the capital of Ukraine will host a championship fight in boxing. Yes, not yet according to one of the four main versions – WBA/WBC/WBO/IBF, however, as they say, the hardest part is the beginning. Plus, given the current realities and the large-scale war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine, this is truly an achievement.
On December 20, Ukrainian welterweight boxer, representing the promotion company Sparta Boxing Promotions, Aram Faniyan, in a duel with Mexican Francisco Mercado, will challenge the world champion title according to the World Boxing Federation (WBF). Although this organization is not as popular as the four main ones in professional boxing, the WBF champions at one time were Holyfield, Botha, Roy Jones, and Tarver.
The boxing evening itself will be of a charitable nature. The undercard program includes 6 professional pairs with the participation of Nazri Ragimov, Taras Bondarchuk, Alexander Ivkov, Vladislav Tantsura, Ali Dagli and others. The free broadcast will take place on the MEGOGO platform.
Well, let us remind you that the event at the Sports Palace will be the first in the country’s main sports arena in the last five years. The last large-scale boxing evening at the Sports Palace took place at the end of 2018.
The Ukrainian national football team will play at the Olympics for the first time
Yes, finally the blue-yellows will play at the main sports forum of the four-year anniversary. This became possible thanks to the outstanding performance of the Ukrainian youth team at Euro 2023, where Ruslan Rotan’s team made it to the top four.
It is the current coach of Alexandria who will take the Ukrainian Olympic team, not to be confused with the youth team, to the Games in Paris. Let us remind you that three players of any age can play in its composition, the rest must be no older than 23 years old. The 2024 Games football tournament itself will be held in seven French cities: Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice, Lyon, Nantes and Saint-Etienne.
New format of European cups in football
Perhaps this is the main reform in football so far. European cup football tournaments will no longer have the classic format of groups of four teams. From the new season, European Cups will be held according to the Swiss system in one common League with 36 teams. Each will play eight matches at this stage (four at home, four away). Based on the results of the group tournament, the first eight teams will advance to the 1/8 finals. Teams from ninth to 24th places inclusive will advance to the play-off round, in which eight more participants in the 1/8 finals will be determined. Teams from 25th to 36th places in the standings will not qualify from the group.
As for the opponents in the group stage, the teams will be divided into four “baskets” of nine teams each. Each team will play with two representatives from each basket, including their own. Teams from the same country will not play each other in the group stage. The winner of the Europa League will receive a ticket to the Champions League for the next season, and the winner of the Conference League will receive a ticket to the Europa League. Teams from the Champions League do not advance to the Europa League following the group stage.
New format for awarding ranking points in tennis
According to the new rules, the number of points awarded will be increased for performances/results at the Grand Slam, ATP 500 and 250 Masters tournaments, and will be reduced at the Challengers.
Grand Slam finalists will receive 100 points (previously 1200 will now be 1300), semifinalists – 80, quarterfinalists – 40, players who made it to the 1/8 finals – 20. For the final at the Masters, a tennis player will receive 650 points (previously 600), semifinalists – 400 (previously 360). At the same time, for the Challenger 125 semi-final the player will receive 35 points (from 45). Points for victories in tournaments will not change: Grand Slam – 2000, Masters – 1000, ATP Final Tournament – 1500.
Possible innovations in Formula 1
We say possible, since the proposals of the Formula 1 Commission must be approved by the FIA Sports Advisory Commission.
The main proposals concerned the sprint. First of all, the qualification of this type of discipline will be moved to Friday so that the sprint itself will take place on Saturday, and then the main qualification. A proposal has been made to introduce a reversible grid, but its implementation is only possible if points for sprint races are not taken into account in the overall standings.
Teams will receive additional capabilities for extreme conditions, in particular, to enhance the cooling of cockpits. Thermal covers for tires will remain at least until the end of the 2025 season.
Source: Sportarena
I am Mary James, a passionate journalist and content creator who enjoys writing about the world of sports. I specialize in covering racing-related news for athletistic, one of the top websites dedicated to this topic. With my expertise in motorsports, I have been able to write compelling stories that captivate readers all over the world.
