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Soccer, or futból to most of the planet, is the world’s most popular sport, and this weekend marks a special moment for the fans as the sport’s global calendar makes a strong kick off to 2024. The Asian Cup and the African Cup of Nations are processing through the crucial group stages of their respective tournaments, while the U.S. men’s national team (USMNT) is gearing up for a friendly match against Slovenia this Saturday in San Antonio, Texas.
For years, soccer’s popularity has lagged in the U.S. behind other pro sport leagues such as the NFL and the NBA, according to Statista. But more people are watching the global sport, according to research from For Soccer, and with the U.S. co-hosting the 2026 World Cup, it’s going to be on our screens more than ever over the next two years.
But ahead of the biggest soccer festival in the world in 2026, soccer from Asia to Africa and Europe to America will dominate our lives (and screens) for the next two years, especially in 2024.
Here are the soccer tournaments and games you need to watch this year.
AFC Asian Cup (January 12 – February 10)
The Asian Football Confederation’s AFC Asian Cup determines the men’s continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest continental soccer tournament, after CONMEBOL’s Copa América, and like most other continental tournaments, it takes place every four years.
The 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup was originally scheduled to be held in China in July 2023, but the country withdrew from hosting amid the COVID-19 pandemic. When Qatar was designated as the new host for the tournament, the hosts moved the tournament from July to January 2024 because of high summer temperatures in the region.
The winning country takes home $5 million in prize money.
Where to watch the AFC Asian Cup: CBS Sports is the rights-holder for this year’s Asian Cup in the United States. CBS Sports streaming platform Paramount + will stream the tournament, including the 33 group-stage matches.
2023 Africa Cup of Nations (January 13 – February 11)
Established in 1957, the AFCON has maintained a biennial schedule since 1968. In 2013, the competition shifted to odd-numbered years to avoid overlapping with the FIFA World Cup.
The 34th edition of the tournament was planned to be held during the summer of 2023 in the Northern Hemisphere to minimize scheduling conflicts with European club teams and competitions. Still, CAF postponed the tournament to January 2024, citing concerns about adverse summer weather conditions in the host country.
The eventual champions will take home $7 million and the runner-up $4 million.
Where to watch the African Cup of Nations: BeIN Sports is the sole broadcaster of AFCON in the United States, but you can also watch the tournament on FuboTV and Sling TV streaming platforms.
2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers (March – September)
The road to the 2026 World Cup will continue throughout 2024, starting with qualifying matches for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF in March, followed by Africa (CAF) in June, and South America (CONMEBOL) and Oceania (OFC) in September and Europe’s UEFA next year.
Co-hosts of the 2026 edition all received automatic qualification, leaving three direct slots and a possible two (via playoffs) up for grabs for CONCACAF.
It is not yet clear what the prize purse will look like in 2026, but the 2022 edition paid out $440 million in prize money.
Where to watch 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers: CBS Sports owns the English-language broadcast rights to all CONCACAF qualifying games in the U.S., and Telemundo acquired the same rights in Spanish.
2024 UEFA Europa League (Final on May 22)
UEFA’s second-best club competition kicked off its 53rd edition in September 2023, and the final will take place on May 22 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Compared to the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League offers a smaller prize purse for the winner. The winners receive $4.4. million (€4 million), in addition to the $5 million (€4.6 million) both teams receive for reaching the final. Champions League winners take home $26 million (€23.5 million).
According to UEFA, a team that wins every game, including group stage matches, could be in line for $25 million (€22.9 million). In comparison, 2023-24 Champions League winners could be paid a maximum of $93 million (€85 million), depending on the campaign they have during the competition from start to finish.
Where to watch the UEFA Europa League: The tournament is broadcast on Paramount+ in the U.S.
2024 FA Cup (Final on May 25)
The world’s oldest soccer competition is playing its 143rd tournament this year. Since its inception, the FA Cup has been an integral part of the English soccer pyramid, allowing lower-league teams to compete with those on top. The prize purses—$2.4 million (£2 million) for the winner, and $1.2 million (£1 million) for the runner up—is insignificant for wealthy Premier League Clubs, but it could make a big difference for lower-league clubs.
However, no lower-league club has won the FA Cup in over 40 years. In 2023, Manchester City won their seventh FA Cup, defeating rivals Manchester United.
The FA Cup Final was hosted at the original Wembley Stadium from 1923 until 2000. Since 2007, the new Wembley Stadium has been the designated host of the final.
Where to watch the FA Cup: ESPN has the exclusive rights to stream all 79 FA Cup matches in the U.S. for the 2023 season, starting from the first round proper in November to the final. This means that ESPN+ is the only place to watch FA Cup matches in the U.S. this season.
2024 UEFA Europa Conference League (Final on May 29)
The UEFA Europa Conference League is Europe’s tertiary club soccer competition organized by UEFA. In its third season, the tournament offers $5.4 million (€5 million) to the winner and $3.3 million (€3 million) to the runner-up. The winner also secures a spot in the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League group stage if they have not qualified already.
Where to watch the UEFA Conference League: Like all UEFA tournaments, Paramount+ is this tournament’s exclusive streaming home in the U.S.
2024 UEFA Champions League (Final on June 1)
The Champions League features Europe’s best soccer teams—and this year’s tournament, the 69th edition, has a prize purse of a whopping $2.2 billion. Last year’s champions, Manchester City, picked up around $86.4 million (€80 million) in prize money during the tournament.
But this year’s prize purse is nothing compared to next year’s revamped tournament. First of all, the 2024-25 tournament will expand to 36 teams, up from 32, with eight matches played against two teams from four different pots. The top eight ranked teams will advance to the regular UCL round of 16. Positions nine to 24 go into a two-legged play-off to reach the round of 16. UEFA expects to receive a higher commercial revenue of $4.72 billion (€4.4 billion), and each team is set to earn an extra $39 million (€35 million) for participating.
Where to watch the UEFA Champions League: Paramount+ and CBS Sports is the exclusive English-language home in the U.S. of the UEFA Champions League through 2024
UEFA European Championship 2024 (June 1 – July 14 )
UEFA’s international men’s soccer competition will feature 24 teams from Europe, and the federation confirmed that the prize purse for this year’s competition is $360 million (€331 million), which will be distributed among the 24 participating teams. The champions can win up to $31 million (€28.25 million) home if they win all three of their group matches.
Like the World Cup, this summer’s competition is happening only three years after the last one, since the 2020 Euros was postponed a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Germany is hosting the tournament for the third time this year, and Italy is the defending champions.
Where to watch the UEFA European Championship: The tournament will be broadcast on the Fox Family of networks.
2024 Copa América (June 20 – July 14)
The oldest soccer competition in the world, organized by CONMEBOL, will take place in the U.S. this summer, featuring 16 teams—10 from the South American Confederation and six from CONCACAF as guests, including the hosts.
Since 2019, Copa America has been reorganized to take place every four years, aligned with UEFA’s Euros. Based on the rotation of host countries, Ecuador was supposed to host the tournament this year, but the South American nation turned down this opportunity, citing economic and security concerns, as well as a lack of viable stadiums.
The total prize purse for this year’s Copa America is expected to be $23 million and the winning team is expected to get a total of $10 million.
Where to watch Copa América: The tournament will be broadcast live on the Fox Sports network; TUDN will carry Spanish-language coverage in the U.S.
Olympic Games in Paris (July 24 – August 10)
Some of the top players from men’s and women’s national teams will meet again in Paris, this time competing for an Olympic gold medal from July 24 to Aug. 10.
In addition to the host city, soccer matches will be played in other French cities, including Bordeaux, Marseille, Nantes, Nice and Saint-Étienne.
On the women’s side, France, the U.S., Canada, Brazil and Colombia have confirmed their qualification for Paris; the last seven spots are still up for grabs.
In the men’s tournament, a total of 15 teams are scheduled to compete, in addition to the host, France. The U.S., Dominican Republic, Spain, Israel, Ukraine, Morocco, Egypt, Mali and New Zealand have already qualified for the Olympics. The men’s Olympic tournament is largely comprised of players age 23 and under.
Two-time defending champions Brazil and Lionel Messi’s Argentina will find out whether they participate at the end of this month when CONMEBOL nations compete in Venezuela for the Olympic qualifiers.
Where to watch the Olympic Games: NBC and Peacock will broadcast Olympic events.
Leagues Cup (July 26- August 25)
Last but not least, the second edition of the Leagues Cup, the international club soccer tournament organized by the MLS and Liga MX clubs, is scheduled to take place from July 26 to Aug. 25. MLS clubs will take a break from their regular season to participate in the tournament, with all matches played in the U.S. and Canada.
The prize money for last year’s tournament was $40 million. This year’s prize purse has yet to be announced, but the top three teams will qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup as they did last year.
Where to watch the Leagues Cup: Fans in over 100 countries and regions will be able to watch Leagues Cup on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.