We already know who sport’s biggest winners will be in 2025 – the lawyers as disputes rage over financial rules, the future of competitions and safety.

And a seventh consecutive year begins with the most complex and protracted legal saga in English football history rumbling on – but with the expectation of a verdict in the Premier League versus Manchester City.

There is anticipation it could be delivered by February.

Private hearings into alleged misdemeanours to comply with financial regulations were concluded by a commission in early December after spreading over 12 weeks.

The club will be hoping their expensively assembled squad of lawyers was more effective than their expensively assembled squad of players over the same period as Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions experienced an uncharacteristic fall from grace on the pitch.

The verdicts on 130 charges could determine if City even play in the Premier League next season if a points deduction sees them relegated.

But we have already seen a taste of what is to come – when even findings set out in a lengthy legal document can be contested, especially if all the charges are not proven.

Both sides were left claiming victory at the outcome of a smaller challenge brought by City against the league last year into the rules determining how much clubs can earn from companies linked to their ownership.

And it is who owns City that means any hefty punishment could create ripples beyond the pitch with the club controlled by United Arab Emirates (UAE) vice president Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan.

Just before Christmas, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was in Abu Dhabi searching for investment into Britain.

That required glad-handing Sheikh Mansour and Khaldoon al Mubarak, the chief executive of state-run investment fund Mubadala who is also chairman of City.

We already know from internal government correspondence the City case, sparked by leaks published in 2018, is being discussed within the Foreign Office.

How will the UAE react to any punishment seen as humiliating? Although City, as they deny wrongdoing, insist they are not an Abu Dhabi-run operation.

But at the heart of this case are sponsorships linked to Emirati entities and whether income was artificially inflated.

Rival fans – as well as their clubs – will be as keen to see a verdict showing everyone has to abide by rules or face consequences.

It is a defining moment in the history of the Premier League.

And with questions over the ability of the league to govern its clubs, 2025 is set to be the year parliament approves an independent regulator for men’s football that the Premier League has resisted.

Club World Cup

It does seem unlikely the Premier League campaign will end in an unprecedented fifth successive title for Guardiola’s side, with or without being docked points.

What is certain is City’s season will end in the United States in the competition causing ruptures across football.

City will join Chelsea as England’s representatives – as recent Champions League winners – at a newly inflated Club World Cup.

Summers will no longer just be about national team competitions with FIFA launching a Super League in a different guise to give Gianni Infantino a bigger involvement in the club game’s wealth and status.

This is so closely associated with the FIFA president that he put his name on the trophy. Twice.

But with 32 clubs involved for more than a month in the US, the players’ unions are unhappy about the additional workload on athletes.

And the Premier League is among the domestic competitions in a complaint to the European Commission over the expanded international calendar, claiming FIFA is abusing a dominant position.

The plans for legal action were first revealed by Sky News at the turn of 2024 and set the tone for the year, putting fixture congestion and welfare at the top of the agenda.

A sign of how bitter the divide is between the stars and those running the game is that we understand global players’ union FIFPRO was not invited to the FIFA Best awards in December. And FIFA cut ties with them over producing a team of the year.

There is no timeframe for a verdict in the competition law complaint.

Stars hint at striking, although boycotting some FIFA promotional work around the Club World Cup seems more likely.

FIFA had to sign a £1bn global streaming deal with DAZN after TV channels in major markets were unwilling to spend heavily on rights to the event without clear wide appeal yet.

Trump and sport

The Club World Cup across June and July will be a major platform not just for FIFA and the US but particularly for newly re-elected Donald Trump.

Mr Infantino has dished out the sycophancy craved by the incoming 47th president who returned the favour by lavishing praise on the football boss via a video message at the tournament draw recently.

But Mr Trump’s sporting focus is far wider.

Shortly after being re-elected there was a trip to see mixed martial arts – a sport whose fans and competitors were mobilised by the MAGA movement – and the focus was on him attending with WWE boss Dana White.

There, too, was Yasir Al-Rumayyan, known in England as chairman of Newcastle United. His overarching role is that of governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Through that he also chairs the LIV Golf rebel series bankrolled by Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund to entice talent from the established tours.

It has been 18 months since a peace pact framework was agreed with LIV along with the PGA and European tours, but talks have dragged on.

Mr Trump has promised to solve the men’s golf split by striking a deal in 15 minutes on his return to power – with his courses staging events.

LIV golfers have been cleared to compete at the Ryder Cup being staged in Bethpage State Park in September.

Athletics overhaul

The US will also stage three of the four events in the new Grand Slam Track series being launched in athletics by Olympic legend Michael Johnson.

But this is not akin to golf’s rebel breakaway with World Athletics President Seb Coe embracing them as collaborators rather than competitors to add lustre to the sport between Olympics and world championships, as football dominates the sporting landscape.

Around £10m in prize money is on offer, although men’s 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles has resisted signing up while it lacks notable broadcasting agreements.

The start-up series will have legs in Jamaica, Florida, Pennsylvania and California from April to June.

Olympic election

Athletics could be in need of a new leader if Lord Coe is elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in March.

There are seven candidates and the former British Olympic champion is the best known globally although not in favour with the current Olympic establishment having broken rank by awarding prize money for Olympic medals.

He has also adopted a firmer position than the IOC on banning transgender women from women’s events.

As well as being an IOC election battleground, gender eligibility issues are set to challenge sport’s leaders throughout 2025 while trying to balance fairness, safety and inclusivity.

The return of Russia to the Olympic fold – and their teams to international football competitions – will be on the agenda if Mr Trump delivers on another peace pledge by ending Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.

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Rugby turmoil

The safety of anyone playing rugby will be in the legal spotlight as a High Court action brought by former players continues.

The case remains in its early stages as the shape of future hearings is determined. All while the players with long-term brain injuries struggle with the toll on their health potentially caused by the sport.

It comes while England’s Rugby Football Union enters the new year with a growing rebellion against chief executive Bill Sweeney over pay and performance with victories in only four of the 10 men’s tests in 2024.

England will host the Women’s World Cup across August and September with the Red Roses in a strong position to collect the trophy for the first time since 2014.

England football

The major football tournament in 2025 sees Sarina Wiegman’s England try to defend their European Championship title after winning on home soil in 2022 at a capacity Wembley.

Switzerland will be using much smaller stadiums this time, denying players the chance to appear in front of vast crowds that have been the hallmark of recent Euros and World Cups.

It is a challenging opening for the Lionesses with matches against France and the Netherlands, who Wiegman won the trophy with in 2017.

The group concludes against Wales, who hope to use the platform of a first major women’s tournament appearance to grow the women’s game domestically.

For England’s men, World Cup qualifying is first on the agenda for Thomas Tuchel in March.

As the first FA coaching import from Germany, there are doubters to win over. How will Gareth Southgate’s successor cope with fan and media scrutiny?

He starts with questions still over his rapid downfall and departure from Chelsea, a year after winning the 2021 Champions League, but with a trophy-winning pedigree craved by the Three Lions.

Cricket

It’s an Ashes year with the women’s team touring Australia in the coming weeks before the men head there in November.

But the financial future of the domestic game could be shaped by the conclusion of the sale of stakes in the eight Hundred franchises.

Global investment could be key to the sustainability of counties and provide cash for grassroots cricket.

Formula 1

It’s all change in motorsport with Lewis Hamilton beginning his new chapter at Ferrari.

While six of his seven F1 titles were won at Mercedes, the last came in 2020. And he will be turning 40 on Tuesday.

After frustrating times on the track, the hope is a move to the most glamorous team, historically at least, can finally deliver an eighth championship to claim the record outright that is currently shared with Michael Schumacher.

But the manufacturers will be juggling how much to focus on this year’s competitiveness or developing for 2026 when new regulations apply to cars’ power and aerodynamics.