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This year has been a thrilling one for sports, but as we reflect on 2025, it’s hard not to be excited about what’s in store for 2026.
It could very well be the greatest year in sports in recent memory.
The stage isn’t just set for some electric games, tournaments and leagues in the United States, but more importantly, the world stage will be set in multiple events.
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The FIFA World Cup Trophy is seen at the United States Capitol ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw. This happened in Washington, District of Columbia, on Dec. 3, 2025. (Michael Regan – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
After all, it’s not always the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics happen at the same time.
Let’s take a look at what’s in store in the world sports in 2026:
College Football Playoff (Jan. 1-19)
First on the docket is the CFP, which continued with Ohio State and Miami playing each other on New Year’s Eve, while three more games will be played on New Year’s Day to see who moves on toward the national championship.
It’s No. 4 Texas Tech hosting No. 5 Oregon at noon, followed by No. 1 Indiana against No. 9 Alabama, who beat No. 8 Oklahoma to move on. Finally, No. 3 Georgia will play against No. 6 Ole Miss.
These games will determine who will play in the CFP semifinals, the first of which is played on Jan. 8 and the other on Jan. 9.
Then, the national championship game will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
NFL Playoffs (Jan. 10-Jan. 25)
There are still two playoff spots to be determined — the AFC North and NFC South will have its winners this weekend — but most of the teams are set to see who will be vying for this year’s Vince Lombardi Trophy.
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye passes the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
This year’s NFL Playoffs are expected to be wild, as there hasn’t been clear-cut favorites like past seasons. For one, the Kansas City Chiefs won’t be playing in the AFC Wild Card Round, let alone the AFC Championship Game for the fourth straight season. A roller coaster year ended with Patrick Mahomes tearing his ACL in a game that knocked them out of the playoffs.
But the Detroit Lions are eliminated from playoff contention, as are the Washington Commanders, who made a trip to the NFC Championship Game last season.
But there are thrilling matchups ahead with the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots vying for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, while the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers will determine who gets the first-round bye as the No. 1 seed in the NFC during their Week 18 finale.
When those division titles are secured, the NFL Playoffs will begin with the Wild Card Round on Jan. 10-12. Then, Jan. 17-18 will be the Divisional Round, followed by the Conference Championship Games on Jan. 25.
It’s truly anyone’s year in the NFL, making this must-watch football leading up to our next event.
Super Bowl LX (Feb. 8)
The Super Bowl has landed back in the Bay Area, with Levi’s Stadium and Santa Clara, California, playing host to the league’s 60th Super Bowl to determine the world champion of the gridiron.
The last time the Super Bowl was in the area was a memorable Super Bowl 50, where Peyton Manning and the Broncos defeated Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. Manning retired after securing that second ring of his career, but it was Von Miller in his prime receiving the Super Bowl MVP Award in the end.
Time will tell who will be featured in this bout, but it’s bound to be an electric matchup.
Grammy Award-winning Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny will also be performing this year’s halftime show.
Winter Olympic Games (Feb. 6-22)
Veronica Gianmoena of Team CS Carabinieri competes during the Italian National Championship Open – Ski Jumping at Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium on Dec. 23, 2025, in Predazzo, Italy. (Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)
While many eyes here in the States will be focused on the Super Bowl that weekend, it will be hard not to be excited for what’s happening over in Italy, as the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina get underway with opening ceremonies on Feb. 6.
From figure skating, to ski jumping, to a highly anticipated ice hockey slate for both men and women, this year’s Winter Games will be highly competitive as always.
For men’s ice hockey, the rivalry between the United States and Canada heightened with the 4 Nations Face-off earlier this year, where Team Canada defeated the USA in Boston in overtime fashion. Matthew Tkachuk, Auston Matthews and other Team USA stars will be gunning for some revenge along with a gold medal.
On the women’s side, they also want some revenge after losing to Canada in the Gold Medal game in Beijing in 2022.
Other Team USA stars to watch are Mikaela Shiffrin (Alpine Skiing), Chloe Kim (Snowboarding), figure skating prodigy Ilia Malinin, and speed skater Jordan Stolz, among many others.
Daytona 500 (Feb. 15)
Once again, a classic American event will take place while the Winter Games are still ongoing.
It’s “The Great American Race,” as the Daytona 500 will kick off the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, as it does every year at Daytona International Speedway down in Florida.
Can William Byron make it three years in a row that he crosses the finish line as winner? Byron capitalized in 2025 by avoiding a late-race crash and edged out Tyler Reddick and Jimmie Johnson for the victory.
World Baseball Classic (March 5-17)
Kyle Schwarber of Team USA reacts after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning against Team Japan during the World Baseball Classic Championship at loanDepot park on March 21, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Only a couple of weeks after the Winter Games wrap up, we’ll see some of the world’s best players on the diamond going head-to-head to be crowned the true world champions of baseball.
The WBC is back and it’s set to feature some great players, including a stellar Team USA squad that isn’t fully ironed out. But the Stars and Stripes already have some of MLB’s best locked in, including 2025’s Cy Young Award winners Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal.
Fresh off another MVP Award, Aaron Judge will be in the outfield, while players like Kyle Schwarber, Cal Raleigh, Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow-Armstrong and more will represent the United States.
But no one can overlook 2023’s winner, Team Japan, as they’ve won the event three times. Superstar Shohei Ohtani says he intends to play, while Japanese stars Hiromi Ito, Kaima Tair, Taisei Ota and more have joined up. The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico squads always pose a threat as well.
NCAA March Madness (March 15-April 6)
We’re only in March with all these wonderful sporting events going on, but everyone knows this month belongs to college basketball, specifically the tournament that determines the national champion for both men’s and women’s.
Selection Sunday for the men’s tournament will be on March 15, 2026, followed by the First Four from March 17-18. After the first and second rounds from March 19-22, the Sweet 16 will be playing on March 26-27, followed by the Elite Eight from March 28-29.
The Final Four will be April 4 and 6, the latter of which being the national title game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
For the women’s tournament, the Final Four will be played on April 3 and 5 at Mortage Matchup Center in Phoenix.
Masters Tournament (April 9-12)
Right after March Madness comes the first major golf tournament of the year in beautiful Augusta, Georgia.
The Masters features the best golfers in the world vying for the coveted green jacket, which Rory McIlroy finally secured last year to notch the career Grand Slam.
Can he retain it, or will he be placing it on another competitor? Also, will we see Tiger Woods back on the hallowed fairways come April?
Scottie Scheffler places the green jacket on Rory McIlroy during the green jacket ceremony during the final round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 13, 2025. (Kyle Terada-Imagn Images)
NFL Draft (April 23-25)
One of the most important offseason events in the States, the NFL Draft will be held in Pittsburgh after a successful event in Green Bay this past year.
Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore are expected to be the top two quarterback prospects, while the likes of Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, Arvell Reese, and Caleb Downs, USC’s Makai Lemon, and Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love are suspected first-round talents.
Of course, every NFL fan knows a complete draft class is what makes teams better by the year, and all three days are bound to feature blockbuster trades, shocking selections and storylines that will carry into NFL training camp in the summer.
Kentucky Derby (May 2)
Always the first of the Triple Crown horse races, the annual Kentucky Derby kicks off the month of May.
It will be followed by the Preakness Stakes on May 16 and finishing up with the Belmont Stakes on June 6.
The horses to watch this year for a potential Triple Crown victory is Ted Coffey, the colt from Aaron and Marie Jones.
PGA Championship (May 14-17)
Can Scottie Scheffler once again be crowned the PGA Championship winner to add to his list of major titles?
He was the winner at Quail Hollow in 2025, but this year’s tournament will be held at the storied Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Penn. — one of the hardest golf courses on the PGA Tour.
FIFA World Cup (June 11-July 19)
The FIFA World Cup Trophy is seen on stage at the Kennedy Center ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw. This happened in Washington, District of Columbia, on Dec. 3, 2025. (Michael Regan – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
One of the biggest events of the year will be held right here in the States as well as Mexico and Canada — the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Millions are expected to be tuned in to see who will hoist the trophy as the best soccer team in the world, which will be determined at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 19.
The World Cup will hold matches across 11 U.S. cities: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle.
The United States was selected for Group D in the tournament, and their first match will be held on June 12 against Paraguay. Group D still needs one more team, while Australia was also selected.
The reigning champions are Argentina, who defeated France and gave soccer superstar Lionel Messi his long-awaited World Cup win. He is expected to return for Argentina, as is Cristiano Ronaldo for Team Portugal.
UFC White House (June 14)
The first-of-its-kind event will be produced by Dana White’s company, as the mixed martial arts promotion will take place on the South Lawn of the White House to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States.
Not only will the White House be a part of this monumental occasion, but the Lincoln Memorial is the expected site of weigh-ins for the fight card, which is expected to be the best one in UFC history.
Fighters have yet to be announced, but White confirmed in August 2025 that plans for the event had been finalized.
U.S. Open Golf (June 18-21)
J.J. Spaun gave us a 2025 U.S. Open to remember at Oakmont, burying a birdie putt over 60 feet to secure his first career major.
This year, the tournament heads to the iconic Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Long Island. It’s the sixth time Shinnecock will play host to the tournament, which is in its 126th iteration.
Wimbledon (June 29-July 12)
Italy’s Jannik Sinner celebrates with the trophy after beating Carlos Alcaraz of Spain to win the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
While the World Cup is going on, so is one of the biggest Grand Slams in the tennis world.
With the Australian Open (Jan. 18-Feb. 1) and the French Open (May 24-June 7) already complete, the All England Club is the next site for the penultimate Grand Slam of the year.
Last year, it was Iga Świątek putting on a perfect performance over American Amanda Anisimova as she captured the women’s singles victory, 6-0, 6-0.
It was more of a fight in the men’s singles finish, as Jannik Sinner overcame a first-set loss to Carlos Alcaraz and took the next three sets to secure the win. Those two should be among the favorites to win it all this time.
U.S. Open Tennis (Aug. 31-Sept. 13)
Sticking with tennis, the best in the world head back to Flushing, Queens and Arthur Ashe Stadium for this year’s U.S. Open.
Carlos Alcaraz won it for the men’s singles tournament, while Aryna Sabalenka took home the trophy over Anisimova.
2026 College Football Season Opener (Sept. 5)
It’s time for the charcoal grills to get fired up at tailgates and every student and fan to converge on their favorite stadium with the start of the college football season.
2026 NFL Season Opener (Sept. 10)
After training camp battles and preseason storylines come to a close, the start of the new NFL season will feature some of the best in the game as well as new faces in the 2026 rookie class hoping to make their mark.
Will the Chiefs have a revenge tour with Patrick Mahomes hopefully back on the field in the red and yellow in time for opening kickoff? Can another team emerge in either conference as the squad to beat in Super Bowl LXI? Lots to unpack come this time next year.
World Series (Oct. 23)
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani celebrates his win against the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 17, 2025. (Brynn Anderson/AP Photo)
With the MLB Postseason (Sept. 29) figuring out which two teams won their respective pennants, it’s time to determine who will be crowned world champions.
The Fall Classic will kick off at the end of October, and only time will tell if it needs to move to November in the seven-game, winner-takes-all series.
Thanksgiving Day Football (Nov. 26)
As we’re midway through the NFL season, the classic Thanksgiving games across the league will be held during the holiday.
While the NFL schedule will come out in the spring of 2026, we do know that teams like the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys will be featured in the noon and 4:30 p.m. slots, respectively, as they do every year.
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Who will their opponents be? It’s usually divisional games, meaning the Lions will face either the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings or Chicago Bears, while the Cowboys will go head-to-head with the Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles or New York Giants.
2026 College Football Playoff (TBD)
Finally, we wrap up what will be the CFP for the 2026-27 season, though dates, times and teams are not yet determined.
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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
