In the latest update from the Sports world, as South Africa beat Australia in the World Test Championship Final in Cricket, it just adds another feather to the already long list of remarkable events in Sports this year. The year 2025 is now resoundingly being called the ‘Year that Ended all Droughts’ in Sports.
Any Sports fan will know the tendency of a team to face a trophy drought for years on end. Teams with all the talent, all the quality, and all the potential in the world to win a Championship find themselves evading the trophy every single time by some measure or other. This makes the trophy for them much more coveted.
As Sports rivalries and sports fandom have been built around the world, almost every single championship has seen one or the other team facing a trophy drought over the years. This year, miraculously, saw the victory of so many of those teams that were almost destined to never win a major trophy. The interesting part is, the year 2025 only reached June, and we already have multiple examples making the list.
Here are some of the finest examples from the list of teams that ended a trophy drought and brought smiles to the faces of their fans:
Examples
1. South Africa (Cricket)
South Africa may have won the Rugby World Cup four times, but when it comes to Cricket, their luck hasn’t been nearly as strong. The South African cricket team, aka The Proteas, had won the ICC Knockout Cup in 1998, the only ICC Trophy they had won to date. However, this year, in 2025, South Africa beat Australia in the World Test Championship Finals and ended their 27-year-long wait for an ICC Trophy.
Not only did South Africa win the title, but they also won it coming from behind in the match. Australia had a lead of 74 runs before starting their second innings. South Africa bowled Australia out for 207, and then chased a relatively high score of 282 with 5 wickets in hand. It was a win for the ages for South Africa.
There were hundreds of South African fans enjoying this glorious moment with tears of joy in their eyes. The win was further pronounced by the fact that it was played at Lord’s, the Mecca of cricket. Their fans will enjoy this moment forever.
2. Royal Challengers Bengaluru or RCB (Cricket – IPL)
Staying with cricket, Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their first-ever IPL title this year. The win brought an end to the 18-year wait for the franchise and all its fans. Despite never winning the IPL Trophy, RCB remained a very popular franchise in the tournament. They are often considered part of the Big 3 in IPL alongside Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
A large part of their popularity is due to the presence of Virat Kohli, the only constant in the franchise, who is by far the most popular sportsman in cricket. RCB beat Punjab Kings by 6 runs in the end to lift the IPL Trophy. RCB posted a healthy score of 190/9 in their 20 overs, and Punjab Kings could only manage 184/7 in their 20 overs.
3. Crystal Palace (Football – FA Cup)
Moving on from Cricket, we go to Football now, which had a fascinating year too. RCB’s 18-year wait and South Africa’s 27-year wait might be long enough, but it’s not anywhere close to a 119-year wait. That is how long Crystal Palace and its fans have had to wait before their team won the FA Cup.
Up against Manchester City, the firm favorites of the tournament, in the final, Crystal Palace won the match 1-0. Their striker, Eberechi Eze, scored the goal at 16 minutes, and Crystal Palace won the FA Cup after 199 years under their manager, Oliver Glasner.
4. Bologna FC (Football – Coppa Italia)
Sticking to football, which saw too many trophy droughts ending this year, Bologna FC too was part of that list. Bologna, which has been part of the Italian domestic football for 115 years now, hadn’t won the Coppa Italia in more than 50 years.
After 51 years, Bologna FC won the Coppa Italia, that too beating the Italian giants AC Milan in the final. The score was 1-0, and Dan Ndoye of Bologna scored the decisive goal.
5. Tottenham Hotspur (Football – Europa League)
Staying with football, Tottenham Hotspur won a major title too, which is big news for their fans. It was a mini drought compared to the other footballing droughts, but a 17-year wait is also long enough when you have the potential of Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham Hotspur, or ‘The Spurs’ as they as colloquially called, beat legacy team Manchester United in the final.
Going by the usual trend, Spurs too won by a margin of 1-0 over Man Utd. It was Brennan Johnson who scored the decisive goal.
6. Paris Saint-Germain FC (Football – UEFA CL T20)
Continuing the trend of drought-breaking in football, Paris Saint-Germain, or PSG, won possibly the biggest thing in club football. PSG won the UEFA Champions League this year, and that too in the most dominating manner. PSG faced the Italian giants Inter Milan in the final, and barely showed any regard from the moment the game began.
The French behemoth won the final 5-0 and turned the biggest game in club football into a procession in the end. Desire Doue scored 2 goals, who was ably supported with single goals by Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Senny Mayulu. It is their first-ever UEFA CL win, and it ended a never-ending drought.
7. Hobart Hurricanes (Cricket – Big Bash League)
After all the footballing mentions, we get back to cricket for one final time. This time, going into the land Down Under, a long drought ended there too, when the Hobart Hurricanes won the Big Bash League this season. Just like RCB, Hobart Hurricanes also won the BBL, grabbing their first-ever title. Batting first, the Sydney Thunder had put up a decent score of 182/7 in their 20 overs.
The Hurricanes chased it down in just 14.1 overs and with 7 wickets in hand. Thanks to Mitchell Owen’s 108 off 42 balls, the Hurricanes made this steep run chase into a walk in the park. The Hobart Hurricanes had been the runners-up of the BBL twice before – In 2013-14, when Perth Scorchers beat them by 39 runs, and in 2017-18, when Adelaide Strikers beat them by 25 runs.
Some of the other teams that have ended a long trophy drought are Toluca, who ended a 15-year drought after winning the Mexican title, VFB Stuttgart, who won the DFB Pokal Final, thus marking a trophy win of any kind since the 2006-07 season, and Newcastle United won the Carabao Cup, thus ending a 70-year domestic title drought.
Among individual players, Rory McIlroy and Madison Keys also won the Masters and the Australian Open for the first time in their careers. While McIlroy had to wait 11 years for his next trophy, having won 4 Majors by the age of 25, Keys won her first ever Grand Slam singles, when she defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the AO.
With 6 more months to go in 2025, who knows what other droughts might get broken or sporting firsts might be achieved this year. But for now, this has truly been a remarkable year for all the fans of various sports teams who have been thirsty for a win for so many years.
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