YEARENDER – Sport: Colossal World Cup towers over all in packed 2026 calendar

BERLIN — The largest soccer World Cup in history, co-hosted by Mexico, Canada, and the United States, is expected to overshadow all other events on a packed 2026 global sports calendar.

The year begins with a winter sports showcase in February and March as the Milano Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Games put the spotlight on Italy, a nation with a rich winter sports tradition.

American skiing star Lindsey Vonn’s successful return has added momentum to the buildup. At 41, she became the oldest winner of a World Cup race earlier in December, providing a timely boost ahead of the Olympic Games scheduled for February 6–22. The Paralympic Games will follow from March 6–15.

The men’s T20 Cricket World Cup in India and Sri Lanka will run almost simultaneously with the Winter Games, but attention is expected to quickly return to soccer and the World Cup playoffs in March.

Those playoffs will determine the final six qualifiers for the June 11–July 19 tournament, which will feature 48 teams for the first time, up from 32. A total of 104 matches will be played, culminating in the final in New Jersey.

Several nations are still battling for qualification, including four-time world champions Italy, who missed the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, as well as Ukraine, Sweden, Bolivia, Wales, Iraq, and Jamaica.

Huge Demand for Tickets

World governing body FIFA said last week it received more than five million ticket requests within the first 24 hours of the latest sales phase, despite criticism from fan groups over high prices. Fans from more than 200 countries and territories applied for tickets through FIFA.com.

In the first quarter of 2026, the International Olympic Committee is also expected to announce a decision on the eligibility of transgender athletes in international competitions, with the IOC aiming to establish a universal rule to protect the female category.

Following the Champions League final in Budapest on May 30, global attention will fully shift to the World Cup as national teams enter their pre-tournament training camps.

For the following six to eight weeks, other major sports — from Formula One to the Jannik Sinner–Carlos Alcaraz Grand Slam tennis rivalry and the Tour de France — are expected to struggle for attention as the World Cup dominates sports and political headlines. U.S. President Donald Trump has emerged as a strong supporter of the tournament.

Four days after the World Cup final, the Commonwealth Games will begin in Glasgow on July 23. The scaled-down event has faced repeated challenges in recent years, raising questions about its future relevance.

Glasgow stepped in as host on short notice after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew from the event in 2023.

The sports calendar concludes in September with the inaugural edition of athletics’ Ultimate Championships, a three-day event in Budapest.

Marketed as a “best of the best” competition with minimal qualifying rounds, organizers hope the new format will provide athletics with a major global event held annually. -Reporting by Karolos GrohmannEditing by Toby Davis/Reuters