Sport Throughout the Year

How are things after the Olympics? Is it finally holiday time for you? 

Ah! That’s a question we’re often asked since the Paralympics ended on 8 September 2024—as if sport just stops for four years once the Games are over! But my answer is always the same: competitions such as the Champions League and national football leagues carry on as usual. All those Olympic sports once concentrated in Paris have now spread across the globe.

In 2025, for example, we’re covering the World Athletics Championships (with the indoor edition in China in March, and the outdoor event in Tokyo in September), the World Swimming Championships in Singapore (July–August), and the Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta in October. Let’s not forget the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States this July, taking place right after the Nations League Final Four. We also closely followed the March election of Kirsty Coventry as the new president of the International Olympic Committee.

In short, sport never stops! We’re already looking ahead to 2026, with two major global events: the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina and the expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup, taking place across the US, Canada and Mexico—adding a fascinating geopolitical layer.

What is AFP’s greatest strength when it comes to sports coverage, across all formats?

Undoubtedly, our global network of over 200 bureaux producing content in every format. In text alone, we have more than 150 sports journalists reporting in six languages, covering events from Invercargill in southern New Zealand to Vancouver in western Canada.

We don’t just report scores—we tell the human and societal stories behind the games. Video is playing an increasingly central role in our sports journalism. And we can take immense pride in our photographers, who, amid fierce competition, delivered some of the most iconic images of the 2024 Games—such as Jérôme Brouillet’s photograph of Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina riding high above the waves, or Jeff Pachoud’s shot of a BMX cyclist seemingly ‘scaling’ the Obelisk at Place de la Concorde.

Sport is, by nature, emotionally charged—every match and every event contains its own drama, triumphs and heartbreaks. This year promises no shortage of high-stakes competitions.

But above all, sport plays out on the field—but echoes far beyond it. Since Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, we’ve entered a new geopolitical era. Sport now intersects with many of the challenges shaping the global landscape.

How will the newly elected IOC president position themselves in relation to Trump? What role will Russia play in future Olympic Games? Will the Israel-Hamas conflict continue to impact international sport? These are not just sporting questions—they’re global ones. And covering them is what makes our work as sports journalists more demanding, but also more thrilling than ever.