So much football, so little time. With the 2022 football calendar jam-packed full of great competitions, you’ll need our extensive guide to help navigate your way through the year and to ensure you don’t miss any incredible matches.
March 24 + 29
The first big international clashes you won’t want to miss kick off at the end of March, where we’ll find out if Scotland or Wales can join neighbours England in Qatar for the World Cup.
There are three paths leading to three finals, meaning three teams will be advancing to the group stages out of 12 possible nations.
Path A
Scotland v Ukraine – March 24 (Semi-final 1)
Wales v Austria – March 24 (Semi-final 2)
Winner semi-final 2 v winner semi-final 1 – March 29
Path B
Russia v Poland (Semi-final 3) – March 24
Sweden v Czech Rep (Semi-final 4) – March 24
Winner semi-final 3 v winner semi-final 4 – March 29
Path C
Italy v North Macedonia (Semi-final 5)
Portugal v Turkey (Semi-final 6)
Winner semi-final 5 v winner semi-final 6 – March 29
April 1
Next we find out how the 2022 World Cup group stage will look, so if you’re keen to see who England or any other nation will play in Qatar, don’t miss the draw in Doha.
May
May sees a host of great competitions coming to an end, starting with the FA Cup at Wembley and the close of the Premier League campaign.
FA Cup Final (men’s) – May 14
FA Cup Final (women’s) – May 15
Premier League final day – May 22
Towards the end of May we turn our attention to the finals of European club competitions, starting with the Europa Conference League, then the Europa League and finally the Champions League.
Europa Conference League Final (Tirana, Albania) – May 25
Europa League Final (Gdansk, Poland) – May 26
Champions League Final (Paris, France) – May 28
If you fancy a flutter on Europe’s greatest club competition, Manchester City are the Champions League favourites with bookmakers, although Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Real Madrid are also in contention. Punters can use the best free bet codes online to back the team they fancy to lift the trophy in Paris.
July
Football’s coming home once more in July as England host another major tournament on home soil – the Women’s Euro 2022 finals.
We kick off at Old Trafford for England v Austria, with the Lionesses as hosts and group favourites. Coached by Sarina Weigman – who led the Netherlands to victory at the last Euros – England will be hoping to win their first piece of silverware and are joined in Group A by Norway and Northern Ireland.
Group B begins with serial winners Germany, whose 18-year reign as European champions was ended in 2017 by none other than fellow Group B hopefuls Denmark. They are joined by Spain and Finland.
Group C features current holders and World Cup runners up the Netherlands, who are joined by 1984 winners Sweden along with Russia and Switzerland, although Russia have been suspended until further notice.
Unbeaten in the qualifying stages, France will be looking to exert their dominance in Group D, joined by three teams that failed to pass the group stage last time out – Italy, Belgium and Iceland.
Women’s Euro 2022 – July 6-31
The end of July and start of August sees the return of club football for England’s top four leagues.
August
The 2022/23 campaign will start a little bit earlier this season to account for the winter World Cup.
EFL season starts – Championship, League One and League Two – July 30
Premier League season starts – August 6
Last but by no means least, we look to the pinnacle of international football and the competition that grips fans all over the world every four years – the World Cup.
November + December
The group stage kicks off on November 21st with the official fixtures to be decided at the draw in Doha on April 1st.
World Cup 2022 (Qatar) – November 21 to December 18th