Sports fans have no reason to fear the new year blues this coming January as ESPN’s scheduled is packed with the best sporting action from American, European and other premium sports leagues.
Starting with American’s favourite sport, the NFL (National Football League), January is crunch time as the regular season comes to an end. The post-season brings high stakes football with the Wild Card Round, Divisional Round and Conference Finals to follow. Who will win the right to compete for the Vince Lombardi Trophy? The year’s fixtures are expected to start on 3 January on ESPN (Dstv 218). The Wild Card round is expected to start on 9 January with the Divisional Round Schedule anticipated from 16 January and Conference Finals Schedule from 24 January. The Pro Bowl Schedule is likely to commence on 31 January (Dates TBC).
By January 2021, the NBA is expected to be back in full swing. LeBron and the Lakers will be looking to return to the finals and win back to back championships. The rest of the league will be out to beat them and ensure that their respective franchises lift the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy. Matches to be confirmed.
For fans of Dutch football, in January Eredivisie league passes the midpoint of the season, with rounds 16 – 20 set to place. January fixtures include PSV vs AZ Alkmaar on 13th, Twente vs Ajax on 14th, Sparta vs PSV on 17th, Ajax vs Feyenoord on 17th with Ajax vs Willem II on 28th.
Still on football, the Scottish Premiership also continues with live matches set to broadcast in January. Celtic have been the only winners of this Premiership since the era began in 2013. With the addition of Bafana Bafana star Bongani Zungu to Steven Gerrard’s Rangers side, there is hope that the blue side of Glasgow will strongly challenge Celtic’s dominance. Match dates to diarise include Rangers vs Celtic on 2nd, Rangers vs Aberdeen on 9th, Celtic vs Livingston on 16th, Celtic vs St Mirren on 23rd and Hibernian vs Rangers on 27th January 2021.
“ESPN offers viewers unrivalled access to all major American sports, European football and local sports including the West African Football Union (WAFU) Cup of Nations and featured boxing tournaments and events. We are looking forward to providing an action-packed year for sports lovers across the continent in 2021.” said Evert van der Veer, Vice President, Media Networks, The Walt Disney Company Africa.
Together with the live sports programming, viewers will also be able to catch up on the very latest films, series, news, talk shows and highlights from ESPN’s iconic sports documentary and studio programming throughout the month.
See local listings for broadcast or follow @ESPNAfrica on social media.
Note – All fixture dates and times are subject to change.
How to tune in:
ESPN is available on Dstv 218 and Starsat 248
ESPN2 is available on Dstv 219 and Starsat 249