SPORTS EVENTS FOR JULY
But the main thing is that the European season resumes. Back in early June, the draw for the Intertoto Cup matches took place, which is a supplement to the UEFA Cup. It usually features teams that, for a number of reasons, ended up outside the European cup zone in their championships, but are eager to prove themselves on the international stage. The matches of this tournament, three winners of which will be able to join the fight for the UEFA Cup in the autumn, are already in full swing. In June, the first round meetings concluded. The next month is scheduled for the games of the second (July 2-4 and 9-10) and third (July 16-17 and 23) rounds, as well as the first semifinal matches (July 27). The decisive events - the return semifinals and finals will take place in August.
But the Intertoto Cup is interesting to most football fans only because it is the first in the series of events of the new season. Even a month of pause for a fan is a lot. And naturally, when the opportunity to satisfy hunger arises, he immediately pounces on the first thing that comes along. In this case, the Intertoto Cup. But gradually this tournament fades into the background, and the leading roles are taken by those who are supposed to occupy them - the Champions League and the UEFA Cup.
On Friday, June 24, the draw for the first and second qualifying rounds of the Champions League, as well as the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup, took place in Nyon. As a rule, they feature representatives of not the strongest European championships, but representatives of the so-called middle teams are also encountered. And this year, a significant event will take place. English Liverpool, which won the Champions League in May, took only fifth place in the national championship and did not earn a ticket to the strongest European cup tournament. But the current title holder received the opportunity to defend it. True, for this Liverpool will have to start their performance in the Champions League-05/06 from the first qualifying round and accelerate their preparation for the season. After all, the first matches of this stage are scheduled for July 12-13, the return matches for the 19-20th. A week's pause is also expected between the meetings of the first and second qualifications. Already on July 26-27, the next round of qualifying for the group tournament will begin (after it there will be another one - the third). Starting from the second qualifying round, a representative of Ukraine - the national vice-champion, Kyiv Dynamo - will also join the fight. The champion of Ukraine - Shakhtar Donetsk - will start from the third qualification.
But there will be no representatives of Ukraine in the July matches of the UEFA Cup (on the 14th and 28th). Our clubs - Donetsk Metallurg and Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro - will begin the fight for the right to reach the group stage from the second qualification, the matches of which will take place in August. The Donetsk and Dnipro teams will learn their opponents on July 29, after the next draw in Nyon. Bookmakers can also make their predictions - on the same day it will become known who Shakhtar and Dynamo will meet in the third qualification of the Champions League.
AUSTRIA
At the country's famous sports center, Kitzbühel, on July 25, a men's tennis tournament with a prize fund of €646.250 will start. This is the largest amount for July tennis tournaments (except Wimbledon).
ENGLAND
The English Open tennis championship started back on June 20. But such a large-scale event cannot fit into one week, so the names of the winners will be determined only in the first days of July.
Even against the background of Wimbledon, the next stage of the Formula-1 World Championship, which will take place on July 8-10 at the Silverstone circuit, should not be lost. On Sunday, July 10, all three places on the podium will be occupied.
England and horse racing are almost synonyms. It is not surprising that the World Equestrian Championship will take place precisely in Great Britain (Cotton Hall). The competition, which will almost certainly be watched by the Queen of England Elizabeth II, will begin on July 14 and end on the 17th.
On July 22, the Super Grand Prix in athletics will take place in London.
HUNGARY
In Budapest on July 25, a women's tennis tournament with a small prize fund will begin. And on the last day of July, the 31st, the next stage of the Formula-1 World Championship will take place there at the Hungaroring circuit. Free practice and qualifying will take place on July 29 and 30, respectively.
GERMANY
Very interesting competitions will take place in the German city of Duisburg. These are the World Games for non-Olympic sports, already the seventh in number. The non-Olympians will start on July 14 and finish on the 24th.
On the same day, the winner of the next stage of the Formula-1 World Championship will be determined. In Hockenheim, on July 22-23, free practice and qualifying sessions will take place, and on the 24th the race itself will take place.
SPAIN
The Super Grand Prix in athletics will take place in Madrid. Representatives of the "Queen of Sports" will fit into one day - July 16.
ITALY
On July 8, the "Golden League" athletics competition will take place in Rome. Italy will be popular in July among female tennis players. Two tennis tournaments will be held in Modena (starting July 11) and Palermo (from the 18th).
CANADA
Montreal will host the World Water Polo Championship from July 13 to 16. And the next day, the World Aquatics Championship will start in the same city. The tournament will finish only on the 31st.
NORWAY
Athletes will also visit the capital of this country, Oslo, in July. Here on July 29, the "Golden League" competition will take place.
RUSSIA
The football championship in this country does not stop even in summer. With the Russian ability to look after lawns, summer is the most fertile time for playing football. The fields are smooth and green, a real paradise for technical players. Only the heat... And yet even high temperatures are unlikely to stop true fans from appreciating the intensity of passions in the match between two traditional rivals - Moscow clubs CSKA and Dynamo, who will face off on July 2 in the 14th round. On the same day, Premier League matches will be held in Samara, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Yaroslavl, Ramenskoye and Tomsk. The next day, Lokomotiv will play Terek in Moscow.
In the next round of the Russian championship, the central match will again be held in Moscow: on July 9, Spartak and Lokomotiv will meet. The next day, another curious match will take place (Dynamo - Krylia Sovetov). In addition, on July 9, matches of the Russian top league will be held in Moscow, Kazan, Perm, Rostov, Vladikavkaz and on the field of Grozny's Terek.
And on July 17 (16th round), Dynamo will host Zenit in Moscow, and this match should be considered the most interesting. The day before, Moskva and Spartak will meet, and on the 17th, games will take place in Kazan, Perm, Rostov, Vladikavkaz, Tomsk and on the field of Terek. In addition, on July 20, CSKA will play Torpedo in a postponed match of the 6th round. And on July 23-24, the matches of the 17th round will take place, among which one can single out meetings of Moscow teams: Moskva - Lokomotiv and Torpedo - Dynamo. And finally, in the last July round, a super match will take place. On July 30, Lokomotiv will host CSKA. Against this background, the matches of all other teams simply pale.
The Russian capital will host the Boxing World Cup this year. The forum of the best boxers (amateurs) will begin on July 11 and end on the 17th.
The volleyball Final Four in the European League will take place in Kazan from July 23 to 24.
SINGAPORE
In this city-state on July 6, the 117th session of the International Olympic Committee will be held, at which the city that will host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be determined. As we have already reported, the candidates include London, Madrid, Moscow, New York and Paris. Also at the IOC Assembly, a vote will be taken on sports. It will be decided which of the 28 sports will be excluded from the Summer Olympic Games program and which one will replace it.
USA
A number of tennis tournaments of not the highest level will take place in the United States in July. The women will gather on July 18 in Cincinnati, and on the 25th in Stanford. The men's meeting points are Newport (from July 4), Indianapolis (18th) and Los Angeles (25th).
FRANCE
Undoubtedly, the most important sporting event in France in July is the legendary cycling competition - the super multi-stage race called the Tour de France. It is enough to cite a few figures to understand how significant this event is. In 2004, 15 million spectators watched the twists and turns of the race live, one third of whom were representatives of the fair sex. Almost 76% of French residents have at least once watched a television broadcast of this event, which was closely followed by 78 channels that sent the "picture" to 170 countries. 350 million pages were viewed on the Internet, 17% more than in 2003. About 25,000 police officers and gendarmes kept order.
How large-scale the race will be this year is hard to say. But for us personally, it will be interesting primarily because one of the Tour de France favorites is the Ukrainian cyclist Yaroslav Popovych. In winter, he left his previous team and signed a contract with the legendary American "stable" - "U.S. Postal", which after a change of title sponsor began to be called "Discovery Channel". Moreover, the Ukrainian, who has proven himself from the best side with an excellent performance at the Giro d'Italia in 2003, is regarded as the main striking force. Previously, this role belonged to the legendary American Lance Armstrong, for whom the whole team worked. Now even Armstrong agrees to work for Popovych and help him win his first serious title. After all, it is no secret that real fame comes to a cyclist only after winning the Tour de France.
The first stage - a warm-up - will take place on July 2 (19 km). Then the race, which will start in Western France, will go through Tours, Blois, Troyes, Nancy - to the eastern part of the country. There the Tour de France will briefly (for two stages) visit Germany (Karlsruhe and Pforzheim), and then return to its homeland. After arriving in Mulhouse (July 10), the cyclists will have a day of rest, during which they will be transported by plane to the foothills of the Alps - to Grenoble. Then difficult mountain stages will begin, a journey to the Mediterranean coast with a stop in Montpellier, and then a forced march to the Pyrenees. The next rest day is in Pau in southwestern France (July 18), after which the cycling group will go to the interior regions of the country - to Saint-Étienne, where arrival is scheduled for July 23. On the same day, the Tour de France participants will be transported by high-speed train to the vicinity of Paris, and on July 24 the race will end with a 144-kilometer stage, whose finish, by tradition, will take place on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. In total, the cyclists will have to cover 3,607 km of the most diverse roads in France. Shall we support Popovych?
However, behind the twists and turns of the Tour de France, we should not forget that there are other competitions that will also take place in France. Thus, on July 1, athletics competitions from the Golden League series will be held in Paris, where spectators will be able to see a whole host of stars of the "Queen of Sports".
And on July 3, at the Magny-Cours circuit, the next round of the Formula 1 World Championship will take place. On July 1-2, the drivers and their teams will do preparatory work in the form of test runs and qualifying, and on the third, the fight for first place and championship points in this year's title race will unfold. Will Ferrari, led by Michael Schumacher, be able to take revenge for the defeats of the first part of the season? Do Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen agree to such a turn of events?
SWITZERLAND
The Super Grand Prix athletics competition will take place in Lausanne on July 5. And a men's tennis tournament will begin in Gstaad the day before.
SWEDEN
With a two-day gap, two significant sporting events will take place. First, on July 26, a leg of the Super Grand Prix athletics series will be held in Stockholm. Then on July 29, the European Team Chess Championship will start in Gothenburg and will end only in August.