Sport: February kicks off with a huge weekend of action

Get ready for an awesome few days of sport because the first weekend in February is going to be a big one!

From football action in the FA Cup and the AFCON final, to Six Nations rugby, netball and the Winter Olympics, there's going to be plenty of action to enjoy.

And as always Newsround's got you covered, so read through this guide to see what to expect.

Football

The FA Cup, the oldest club cup knockout competition in the world continues, with Manchester United v Middlesbrough on Friday 4 February.

Big matches on Saturday 5 February include Kidderminster Harriers, who are in the National League North - the sixth tier of English football- facing Premier League West Ham United.

Meanwhile on Sunday 6 February, cup holders Leicester City face their midlands rivals Nottingham Forrest.

Also on Sunday, the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) comes to an end, and the winner of the tournament will be decided at the final in Cameroon.

Find our more about Afcon here.

Netball

The Netball Superleague returns on February 5 and will start with the traditional weekend of action.

The 2021 champions Loughborough Lightning will start the 2022 season against London Pulse at Birmingham's Resorts World Arena.

This season, teams will have fans back at venues for the first time since disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Check out: England's netball team make history in New Zealand

Six Nations

The Six Nations is one of the biggest and most exciting rugby tournaments and it starts on Saturday 5 February.

Scotland will host England at Murrayfield on the opening Saturday, but before that Wales will begin the 2022 tournament against Ireland in Dublin.

Wales won the Six Nations last March, but were denied the Grand Slam (meaning they won all five matches they played), when France beat them in overtime in Paris.

France will begin their campaign against Italy on Sunday 6 February.

All you need to now about The Six Nations here.

Winter Olympics

The Beijing Winter Olympics are scheduled to start from Friday 4 February with the opening ceremony scheduled for midday.

But there will be some action for Great Britain in the curling earlier in the day, as Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat face Australia in mixed doubles at 05:30 in the morning UK time.

On day one of the Games on Saturday 5 February, Britain's Katie Ormerod is in action in the snowboarding.

After a serious injury, Ormerod came back to become the first Briton to win a World Cup snowboard title in March 2020.

Meanwhile brothers Farrell and Niall Treacy could end up facing each other in qualifying for the short track speed skating event.

All you need to know about Beijing Winter Olympics!