For the love of sport this February

general07 February 2024 09:14| © SuperSport

Afcon © Getty Images

It’s the month of love, and if you love sport, we have everything you need! You can watch the Six Nations battle it out; see the exciting climax of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon); enjoy FA Cup, Premier League, and DStv Premiership action; hang on to every ball of the SA20 final and the U19 World Cup final; and relish even more entertainment with riveting tennis and golf tournaments, all on SuperSport, your World of Champions.

For confirmed TV times and channels, please check out the TV guide closer to the times, but for now here are some of the highlights to look forward to in February.

All times mentioned are CAT (GMT +2)

––- RUGBY ––-

This February you can enjoy watching the six giants of Northern hemisphere rugby clash for the sterling silver Championship Trophy. Or sit back and enjoy some exciting United Rugby Championship action.

17 February Lions v Bulls, URC at 3pm

––- FOOTBALL ––-

Sunday 11 February

The curtains comes down on what has been a really entertaining Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Ivory Coast. The focus has been on the field of player with the so-called minnows coming to the party to prove their worth.

13, 14 February

The DStv Premiership returns with a full programme following a month-long break as a result of the Africa Cup of Nations. Five matches on Tuesday and three on Wednesday as Sundowns continue their title chase. All matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport and our streaming platforms.

17 February Sundowns v Orlando Pirates at 8pm

Sundowns’ title race will be put to the test against Orlando Pirates

28 February Cape Town City v SuperSport United at 7:30pm

What a way to end the month – two sides that will still have some title ambitions, should the defending champions falter. A realistic goal for the two would be qualification for the African club competition as the race heads into the final straight.

13, 14 February Uefa Champions League (all kick-off times 10pm CAT and live on SS)

It’s the business end of the Uefa Champions League as we head into the knockout rounds. Manchester City face familiar opponents, Diego Simeone and Simone Inzaghi put friendship aside, Real Sociedad plot Paris downfall while Napoli face Barcelona.

Tuesday 13 February

Copenhagen (DEN) v Man City (ENG)

Leipzig (GER) v Real Madrid (ESP)

Wednesday 14 February

Lazio (ITA) v Bayern (GER)

Paris (FRA) v Real Sociedad (ESP)

There will be two more round of matches before the end of February with Inter Milan playing Atletico Madrid and PSV against Dortmund (20 February), then FC Porto against Arsenal and Napoli against Barcelona (21 February).

Premier League

The title race continues with some mouth-watering clashes in February.

• 11 February Aston Villa v Man United at 6:30pm

• 17 February Man City v Chelsea at 7:30pm

• 24 February Arsenal v Newcastle United at 10pm

––- TENNIS ––-

MUBADALA ABU DHABI OPEN – 3-11 February

Twenty-eight of the world’s top seeded players, including Ons Jabeur, Emma Raducanu, and Elena Rybakina are confirmed to attend the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open 2024.

The second edition of this action-packed event will serve up world-class tennis action and entertainment in Zayed Sports City’s International Tennis Centre.

QATAR TOTALENERGIES OPEN – 11-17 February

Eleven Grand Slam winners, led by World No 1 and two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek, are on the initial entry list for the 2024 Qatar TotalEnergies Open.

Three of those have also claimed the title in Doha previously: Swiatek, Victoria Azarenka (2012-13), and Aryna Sabalenka (2020). Karolina Pliskova (2017) and Elise Mertens (2019) take the total of former winners to five.

Naomi Osaka, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Marketa Vondrousova, Jelena Ostapenko, Barbora Krejcikova, Sofia Kenin, and Sloane Stephens round out the cohort of major champions. Former World No 1 Osaka is the last direct acceptance to the main draw, using her special ranking of No 46 as she continues her return from maternity leave.

DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS – 18-24 February

World No 1 Iga Swiatek and No 2 Aryna Sabalenka top the full entry list for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which is set to feature the entire Top 10 on the Hologic WTA Tour.

In all, 18 of the Top 20 have entered Dubai, with the lone holdouts being Petra Kvitova (maternity leave) and Madison Keys (ongoing shoulder injury).

ABN AMRO OPEN – 12-18 February

The field presented for the 51st ABN AMRO Open is a field to dream of. No less than six players from the Pepperstone ATP Rankings top 10 will be present.

It is not a foregone conclusion that Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune, Hubert Hurkacz, and Alex De Minaur will be the only ones battling for the title.

There are many more contenders for the title.

In addition to the six world top players, 'old acquaintances' such as Grigor Dimitrov (tenth participation) and Felix-Auger Aliassime (winner in 2022) are also on the list. Just like Milos Raonic and Alexander Bublik, players who always bring something extra to the court.

DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS – 26-02 March

Reigning champion Daniil Medvedev and 2022 winner Andrey Rublev will both be competing at the emirate’s annual ATP 500 event.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray, who won the tournament in 2017, will make his eighth appearance at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium

––- GOLF ––-

PHOENIX OPEN – 08-11 February

Former WM Phoenix Open champion Rickie Fowler, six-time PGA TOUR winner Tony Finau and World No 20 Sahith Theegala have committed to play in the 2024 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.

COMMERCIAL BANK QATAR MASTERS – 08-12 February

LAS VEGAS – 08-10 February

THE GENESIS INVITATIONAL – 15 -19 February

NELSON MANDELA BAY CHAMPIONSHIP – 22-26 February

LPGA HONDA THAILAND – 22-26 February

––- MMA ––-

UFC - 18 February

Still in the headline position for the winter card is a featherweight title fight between champ Alexander Volkanovski and challenger Ilia Topuria.

––- CRICKET: ––-

New Zealand v South Africa: 2 tests
Australia v South Africa Women: 3 ODIs & Only test

India v England Series

New Zealand v Australia