January:
In January, the year started with India playing against England in the men’s International T20 series, and India were the winners of the series by 4-1. The games which were in India saw the home side dominate and earn a big series win on home soil. The two nations then played each other in One Day Internationals, which took place in February.
February:
The 2025 Darts Premier League began on 6 February, with world champion Luke Littler in action in Belfast. The opening night saw Chris Dobey face Luke Humphries in the final, and Luke ‘cool hand’ Humphries secured opening night success, winning by six legs to one.
The Men’s Six Nations was in full swing in February, with England playing three matches during the month. The Three Lions picked up three wins against Ireland, France and Scotland. The month started with England suffering defeat, but they bounced back with back-to-back wins against France and Scotland.
France won the tournament in March, but their only defeat was at the hands of the Three Lions.
March:
The Formula One season got underway in Australia, where Lando Norris took first place in the opening race of the season. The McLaren driver won by 0.895 seconds, with the defending world champion Max Verstappen finishing second.
In the UEFA Champions League, Arsenal won 9-3 on aggregate against PSV Eindhoven, making a huge statement in the competition’s round of 16. The Gunners set up a quarter-final clash in April against the defending champions, Real Madrid.
Newcastle United won their first piece of silverware in 56 years in March, as they won 2-1 against Liverpool. Dan Burn and Alexander Isak were on the scoresheet for the Magpies, who lifted silverware for the first time since 1969. The celebrations which commenced saw the Toon’s iconic black and white cover London in jubilant scenes, followed by an open-top bus parade in the Northeast.
April:
Vaibhav Suryavanshi made his IPL debut on 19 April for the Rajasthan Royals. He made history on his first appearance in the IPL, as he became the youngest person to play in the league. His debut came against the Lucknow Super Giants, where he famously hit his first ball for six. He scored 32 runs from 20 balls for his side.
Liverpool were crowned Premier League champions on 27 April, after coming from behind to thump Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 at Anfield. Dominic Solanke, formerly of Liverpool, gave Spurs a 1-0 lead, but Luis Díaz brought his side level less than five minutes later. Arne Slot’s side then cruised themselves to a 5-1 win, seeing them secure first place in the table.
May:
Bradford City entered the final matchday of the League Two season inside the automatic play-off spots, eyeing up a return to League One for the first time in six years. With 90 minutes played, Bradford City’s automatic promotion hopes were slowly slipping away, as the play-offs looked like they were destined for the Bantams.
But in the 96th minute, chaos descended on Valley Parade. A shot from George Lapslie was redirected goal-bound by Antoni Sarcevic, who scored the winning goal in the game and secured Bradford City’s promotion back to the third tier of English football in the most dramatic way possible.
Virat Kohli confirmed his retirement from Test cricket in May, following on from his T20 Internationals retirement a year earlier. He spent 14 years playing Test cricket and featured in 123 matches for India.
June:
The FIFA Club World Cup in the USA began in June, which was the first time the tournament had been hosted as an end-of-season competition for teams competing in England and Europe. The Premier League representatives in the competition were Manchester City and Chelsea. The Blues ended up lifting the trophy in July, as Enzo Maresca’s men won 3-0 against the European Champions Paris Saint-Germain. Cole Palmer stole the headlines of the match by scoring a brace in the opening 30 minutes of the final and assisting his side’s third goal, which was played at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
July:
Former Liverpool and Portuguese international footballer Diogo Jota sadly passed away back in July. Aged only 28, the forward died in a car crash along with his brother when they were driving in Spain. The entire world was shocked by the passing of the duo, leading to tributes about the pair from people around the globe. Liverpool decided to retire the number 20 shirt in honour of their former player.
Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk defended his World Heavyweight Titles by defeating Daniel Dubois. The defending champion won both fights against Tyson Fury back in 2024, setting him up for a title bout against Dubois. The British boxer went into the fight off the back of a win against Anthony Joshua, but Dubois had lost his previous battle against Usyk.
This time around, there was no change in the holder of the World Heavyweight Titles, as Ukraine’s 38-year-old won in round five against his opponent.
August:
Morecambe FC, who play in the National League, appointed Ashvir Singh Johal as their new manager, making him the first British Asian to be confirmed as a manager across England’s top five divisions. Aged just 30 at the time of his appointment, Johal stepped through the doors at Morecambe following the club’s avoidance of liquidation, helping the club prepare for their National League campaign this season.
September:
Liverpool confirmed the signing of Alexander Isak from Newcastle United. The £125 million transfer fee is a British record fee for a signing. The Reds completed the deal for the striker on 1 September.
India were crowned the winners of the Asia Cup T20, defeating Pakistan in the final by five wickets. India won all seven games that they played in the 2025 tournament, which included a group stage win against the eventual runners-up of the competition.
October:
On 2 October, Lionel Messi confirmed on social media that he would be visiting India in December, where he would visit Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi. The visit would be Messi’s second to the country in just 14 years. His first visit was with Argentina for a friendly match back in 2011. The tour was given the name the ‘GOAT Tour’.
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Jannick Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz found themselves facing each other in a final once again, as they took each other on in the Six Kings Stam Exhibition final, which was being played in Saudi Arabia. The world number one and world number two have dominated tennis during 2025, with the pair playing each other in five finals across four months.
Italy’s Sinner, ranked second in the world, was victorious in the final, beating world number one Alcaraz by two sets to none.
November:
The 2025 Ashes began on 21 November in Australia, as the hosts looked to retain The Ashes. Optus Stadium in Perth was the venue for the opening game of the series, which was a disappointing one for England. The Aussies kick-started the series in a great way, winning match one comfortably, by eight wickets. This was the first win of the series for Australia, who had won The Ashes before Christmas. Winning three from three matches gave the Aussie fans an early Christmas present. England have not won The Ashes series in 10 years, with their last win coming in 2015.
December:
Lionel Messi visited India in December, where he went to Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi. Fans in their thousands visited different stadiums to catch a glimpse of one of the greatest footballers of all time. Along with Messi, there were his teammates Luis Suarez, formerly of Liverpool and Barcelona, and Rodrigo de Paul. De Paul was one of the players who featured in Argentina’s World Cup triumph in Qatar, back in 2022.
Messi visited multiple stadiums where he took to the field to showcase his footballing skills to the crowd. He also participated in different football activities, such as passing and shooting with fans, alongside meeting celebrities from India.
In Formula One, the final race of the season saw Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri all in the running to win the World Drivers’ Championship. While Verstappen was hunting down his fifth Drivers’ Championship in a row, Norris and Piastri were looking to be the drivers to break the run.
On lap 58, there was a new World Champion crowned, as Lando Norris crossed the line in third, which was enough to see him crowned champion of the world. A one-point difference between him and Verstappen saw him crowned as the world number one for 2025.
