RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Sport without wild springs of optimism is a big waste of time so let's heap all our hopes for 2024 on the joy of Jude Bellingham

Birmingham City hasn't always been the most logical destination for our thoughts when we talk about clever decision making in football. Retiring Jude Bellingham's No 22 shirt three-and-a-half years ago felt rather silly at the time. Jude Bellingham has continued his monumental rise throughout the calendar year With the Euros coming 2024, next year could be a big one for the England and Real Madrid star Your browser does not support iframes. Birmingham City's decision to retire Bellingham's No 22 shirt felt rather silly at the time but looks justified since his astronomical success Bellingham draws many similarities with Wayne Rooney and how he emerged onto the scene Many of those developments will play out for us in highlights packages and glanced headlines, which is perhaps the single shame of this long-distance relationship. VAR has continued to cause controversy in the Premier League throughout the season It would be great to see Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy win a fifth major in 2024 Boxing: Tyson Fury versus Oleksandr Usyk, a functioning approach to doping and accountability around Daniel Kinahan's involvement in the sport.