At a time when people crave the tradition of sporting events, the world of sport is sadly just as uncertain as the day-to-day one we live in.
However, there will be an action-packed summer of sport, we're just not sure how it will shape up.
There is a sizeable asterisk looming over the sporting calendar this summer, as the Covid-19 situation can change things at short notice, but we do have a rough outline of how it will look.
Highlights will include the GAA Championships, Euro 2020 and the Lions tour.
Here, we take a look a head to a summer of sport (hopefully with fans present).
Masters — April 8th-11th
The 2021 Masters Tournament runs April 8th-11th at Augusta National Golf Club. Dustin Johnson will be defending the green jacket after his win in 2020.
Grand National — April 10th
The annual Aintree event will be as popular as ever with punters, especially after the Irish success at the Cheltenham Festival.
US PGA Championship — May 17th-23rd
Another one of the big ones on the golf calendar takes place The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort.
French Open — May 23rd
This year's tournament at Roland Garros in Paris is due to start this year on May 23rd but the tennis major could be delayed for a second year on the trot due to the Covid-19 criss in France.
League Cup final — April 25th
The EFL Cup final has been delayed form its usual February date in the hope of having supporters present. Jose Mourinho and Tottenham will attempt to deny Manchester City a fourth League Cup victory on the trot.
The return of fans will be tested at the home of English football with up to 4,000 spectators expected.
FA Cup final — May 15th
The showpiece in the English football calendar takes place on May 15th at Wembley. There are expected to be 21,000 fans in attendance for the FA Cup final.
Euro 2020 – June 11th to July 11th
As things stand, Euro 2020 is still due to be staged across 12 cities, including Dublin.
However, UEFA insist host cities will have to have at least some fans present, so it looks unlikely that games in the Aviva Stadium will go ahead.
As the Irish Examiner reports, the 51,000-capacity national stadium is scheduled to stage three groups matches and a last-16 tie from June 14 but the cautious approach taken by the State around easing lockdown restrictions has raised doubts about that plan.
FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill has admitted Dublin would only be retained by UEFA if health authorities permitted spectators back into stadia.
The semi-finals and final are due to take place at Wembley so there will be fans at these games, it remains to be seen how many.
Copa America — June 11th to July 11th
The Copa America takes place at the same time as Euro 2020, it was also delayed from last year.
US Open — June 17th to June 20th
The 2021 United States Open Championship will be the 121st US Open, it is scheduled to be played June 17th–20th at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California.
UFC 264: Conor McGregor v Dustin Poirier — July 10th
Conor McGregor will be looking for revenge after he suffered the first knockout of his career against Dustin Poirier in January. Their trilogy bout will headline UFC 264 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Tokyo Olympic Games — July 23rd to August 8th
The Tokyo Summer Olympic Gameswill be held from July 23rd to August 8th, 2021. In bad news for Irish fans, it has been confirmed that overseas fans will not be permitted to attend the Games.
British & Irish Lions Tour 2021 – July 3rd to August 7th
The British & Irish Lions are scheduled to play a three-match test series against South Africa. Unlike previous series, where the Lions played seven additional games against local teams, in 2021 there will only be five additional games, making a total of eight.
GAA Season
The format of the 2021 GAA season is set to be announced soon.
President Larry McCarthy and director general Tom Ryan have promised an intercounty calendar will be released soon.
So what could it look like?
There will be a four-week pre-season so the earliest the National League could commence would be mid-May.
Counties will return first, but club matches could be played after the National League in July and August before a later intercounty championship season. This could be the best possibility for fans being present at the All-Irelands.
