2026 promises to be another thrilling year in the world of sport, with plenty of drama expected and World Cups in football and cricket. From title races in the Premier League, Formula 1, darts and NFL, here’s a taste of what’s to come in the year ahead…
Arsenal to end 22-year Premier League drought?
Mikel Arteta has led Arsenal to three consecutive runner-up finishes in the Premier League but now faces the challenge of turning a strong start to this year’s campaign into a first title since 2003-04.
Summer signings included Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Martin Zubimendi have added depth to an already strong squad, while Declan Rice continues to play an integral role since joining the club in 2023.
Defending champions Liverpool have been a shadow of last season’s title-winning side, although Manchester City have started to show signs of consistency seen in previous runs to the top spot.
If Arteta’s Arsenal can stay above City, they will be firm favourites for Premier League glory.
60 years of hurt to end in North America?
Thomas Tuchel has been tasked with leading England to their first World Cup victory since their 1966 success, having seen his side breeze through qualification with a 100 per cent record and without conceding a goal.
England have reached the quarter-finals or better in each of their last four major tournaments, including runner-up finishes in the last two European Championship, leaving them again among the favourites to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy.
An expanded 48-team tournament will provide an extra round to negotiate, but the strength in depth at Tuchel’s disposal and the past experience most of his core squad has in major tournaments can serve as two big advantages.
Can Littler continue darting dominance?
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Two years on from Luke Littler’s World Darts Championship debut, Sky Sports News explores the impact the new number one has had on the game in this new documentary.
Luke Littler completing his goal of winning every PDC ranked TV tournament during his career is a realistic possibility in 2026, with ‘The Nuke’ closing in on ticking off every potential accolade there is to win off his darting CV.
Littler is one of only five players to have lifted the World Darts Championship, World Matchplay and Premier League in his career, while the teenage sensation won the UK Open, World Grand Prix and Players Championship Finals titles during an extraordinary 2025.
He now just needs to win the World Masters in January and European Championship in the autumn to have won every PDC TV major, which is remarkable when you consider he doesn’t even turn 19 until January 21.
Losses to Luke Humphries in the Premier League final, Michael van Gerwen in the World Series of Darts Finals and Gian van Veen in the World Youth Championship semi-final over the past 12 months will fuel Littler, who keeps looking to create more darting history.
Norris defends crown as Formula 1 fires up engines
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Lando Norris celebrates becoming World Champion with tears, doughnuts and hugs!
The start of any Formula 1 season is something to savour, but when it’s time to go, go, go in 2026 – we have a new team joining us in Cadillac and a British champion defending his crown in Lando Norris.
Not just that, but there’s a whole raft of regulation changes that means things could look very different to the last few years and it could be very exciting to see who embraces the change best. Can Max Verstappen climb back to the summit of the sport? Or can Oscar Piastri get the better of his team-mate this time?
So much British interest too! Adrian Newey is in charge at Aston Martin, there’s another Brit on the grid in Arvid Lindblad, Lewis Hamilton will attempt to resurrect his career at Ferrari after failing to finish on the podium last season and George Russell will believe that he can potentially challenge if Mercedes can get their package right.
As the great Murray Walker used to say, anything can happen in Formula 1 – and it usually does!
From Ashes woe to World Cup glory for England men?
England headed to Australia with their best hopes of an away Ashes win in a generation, yet they lost the series in 11 days of cricket amid a sea of rash strokes, some wayward bowling and a streamlined preparation that was panned by pundits.
The T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka across February and March gives the side a chance to bounce back, albeit in a different format, and you sense if it goes wrong, it could be curtains for coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key with pressure already on them after the Ashes defeat.
England’s fall from grace in white-ball cricket has been well-documented – they held both World Cup titles simultaneously after their T20 triumph in 2022 before fading.
But that drop-off has largely come in ODIs, with the team making the T20 World Cup semi-finals in 2024 and slamming 300 in a bonkers game at home to South Africa during the 2025 summer.
With Harry Brook, Jos Buttler and Phil Salt among the hard hitters, plus the skills of seamer Jofra Archer and spinner Adil Rashid with the ball, England should prove a force to be reckoned with.
Can McIlroy build on Masters? Will Scheffler join Grand Slam club?
Rory McIlroy became the first player since Tiger Woods to complete the career Grand Slam by winning The Masters last April, but Scottie Scheffler can join golf’s most exclusive club by winning the US Open this summer.
Scheffler just needs to win at Shinnecock Hills – where the final round takes place on his 30th birthday – to have won all four majors and complete golfing greatness, having already outshone McIlroy to dominate the top of the men’s game in recent seasons.
McIlroy himself is just one major away from matching Sir Nick Faldo’s record of six major wins and one Race to Dubai from equalling Colin Montgomerie’s tally of Order of Merit titles on the DP World Tour. He remains the man most likely to challenge Scheffler’s stint as world No 1.
Home success for England at Women’s T20 World Cup?
England have not won the Women’s T20 World Cup since the inaugural edition in 2009 – but that was also the last time they hosted the event so perhaps history will repeat itself?
Charlotte Edwards was captain when England lifted the trophy at Lord’s 17 years ago and is now head coach, with the team displaying signs of improvement since she took over from Jon Lewis following a 16-0 Ashes whitewash and back-to-back disappointing T20 World Cup exits.
The 50-over World Cup in the autumn of 2025 saw a group-stage win over eventual champions India as England triumphed under pressure, a trait that often eluded them pre-Edwards.
A semi-final thumping by South Africa showed there is still work to do and they will need to be at their best to topple an ever-improving India, benchmark side Australia and others this summer.
Most wide-open NFL playoffs in a generation
Jalen Hurts celebrates with the Lombardi Trophy
After 10 consecutive postseason appearances, nine straight AFC West division titles, seven straight AFC Championship Game appearances and a trip to five of the last six Super Bowls, the Kansas City Chiefs will not feature in the NFL playoffs on the road to Super Bowl LX. Andy Reid’s dynasty team have won three titles since 2019 but miss out after a disappointing 2025 campaign. The door is wide open in the AFC.
It would beckon as a golden opportunity for Josh Allen’s nearly-men Buffalo Bills to end their agonising wait to reach a Super Bowl after seeing their familiar foes eliminated. But they aren’t alone, with Bo Nix’s Denver Broncos, Drake Maye’s New England Patriots and Trevor Lawrence’s Jacksonville Jaguars all springing into surprise contention at the top of the seedings.
Elsewhere in the NFC, the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles may have punched their ticket back to the playoffs but have flattered to deceive behind one of the worst offenses in football 11 months since dominating the Chiefs in New Orleans. The NFC West boasts three Championship-calibre teams in Sam Darnold’s Seattle Seahawks, Brock Purdy’s San Francisco 49ers and Matthew Stafford’s Los Angeles Rams, while Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson have ignited a fresh chapter for the Chicago Bears as one of the most dangerous teams in football.
There is a Lombardi Trophy up for grabs.
Alcaraz and Sinner vie for calendar slam as rivalry develops
Since the big four era ended, men’s tennis had been devoid of an extremely dominant rivalry. But it was not long before Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz stepped up to the challenge.
In 2025, just one other player, Alexander Zverev, made it to a Grand Slam final due to this pair dominating the season.
Winning two Slams apiece in 2025 will have left both players desperate to gain the edge over the other in a rivalry that has reignited men’s tennis, with both eyeing a calendar Grand Slam.
Starting with the Australian Open in January, world No 1 Alcaraz will look to start his year on a strong note after being knocked out in the quarter-finals in Melbourne by Novak Djokovic in 2025.
Sinner, meanwhile, will be aiming to become just the second man to win the Australian Open three years running, joining Djokovic, who has achieved a trio of triumphs twice.
Can England reach Grand Slam decider before Springboks acid test?
If 2025 saw England flip the narrative under Steve Borthwick with victory over the All Blacks and an 11‑game winning streak, then 2026 will be the year in which those foundations are tested to see whether they are sound.
The first measure of England’s progress comes in the Six Nations, where home fixtures against Wales and Ireland, along with trips to Scotland and Italy in their first four matches, leave one obvious objective: setting up a round‑five Grand Slam decider against defending champions France.
There would be no shame in losing to France, but England must arrive at that game with the prospect of securing a first Grand Slam in a decade still alive. Achieve that, and it would extend their winning run to 16 games – just two shy of the record 18 set under Borthwick’s predecessor Eddie Jones between October 2015 and March 2017.
The inaugural Nations Championship offers an additional measure of progress, beginning with rugby’s acid test: South Africa, in South Africa. The Springboks remain the sport’s dominant force, but with the 2027 Rugby World Cup a year away, England have an opportunity to lay down a marker – though that is easier said than done.
Can Team Europe claim Solheim Cup glory?
If the 2026 Solheim Cup – live on Sky Sports – matches anywhere near the drama of recent contests held on European soil, then expect another tight contest in the Netherlands.
Anna Nordqvist has been tasked with regaining the trophy for Team Europe at Bernardus Golf this September, having featured as a player during their 2024 loss to Team USA, with the Swede having a host of star names at her disposal.
European stalwart Charley Hull will play a key role and Lottie Woad is set to make her rookie appearance having excelled during her maiden season as a professional, while Maja Stark, Celine Boutier and Linn Grant are all likely to return.
Team Europe snatched a one-point win on home soil in 2019 and a dramatic tie to retain the trophy during the 2023 edition in Spain, so expect another close event when Team USA attempt a historic title defence.
A total reset for F1?
The big change in F1 will be a complete overhaul of the technical regulations that sees major changes to the power unit, chassis and aerodynamic rules. The cars will be very different, to say the least.
New car design rules almost certainly lead to a shake-up to the pecking order and Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle has described the new regulations as the “biggest changes ever” in the sport.
The teams have been working on their 2026 cars for over a year already because the regulations are scheduled to be in place for five seasons. Being quick from this year will set you up to be competitive for the seasons to come.
Mercedes’ dominance in 2014, for example, lasted until 2016 before they were finally caught by Ferrari and Red Bull.
There will be no more DRS, instead we will “Overtake Mode” where the drivers can use more power on designated straights if they are within one second of another car, while we will also see “Active Aero” which means the front and rear wings will be moving before and after corners.
It’s expected the cars will be able to follow each other more closely, so there will be more overtaking opportunities.
Can Draper take seat at Grand Slam table?
Britain’s tennis star has been struck by a string of injuries not just in 2025 but for years it seems, and yet again he has had to withdraw from the Australian Open due to an arm injury sustained in August.
Despite these setbacks, the British No 1 made an impact on the global stage and enters 2026 10th in the world, his highest-ever year-end ATP ranking.
Having reached his first Grand Slam semi-final in 2024, and two round-of-16s in 2025, Draper will be hopeful of going even further this season, with his favourite tournament, Wimbledon, an obvious goal.
Rising challengers aim to dethrone OKC Thunder
Defending NBA champions the Oklahoma City Thunder have a cheat code to the league for the next few years.
As well as boasting the current league MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – who is also very much in the running once again this year – they are stashed full of draft picks to ensure they can continue to evolve the roster even as other teams improve year-on-year.
But they will have to do so, because Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs are rising as a force in the West and the rivalry between both sides is developing into a heated one.
Although the Thunder have the upper hand in recent clashes, the French phenom is putting it all together in his third year in the league and is now surrounded by sparky guards with De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, his successor as rookie of the year, working in tandem around him.
The Spurs believe they have the potential to challenge for the NBA crown, and with the New York Knicks looking to live up to their potential and the Detroit Pistons rising as a force in the East, the potential for a changing of the guard is certainly there.
Can England crack Commonwealth Games netball code?
In 2022, England had just their second chance to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games on home soil.
The first opportunity, in Manchester in 2002, saw them narrowly lose the bronze‑medal match to Jamaica. The second, in Birmingham in 2022, ended in another painful defeat in the third‑place match, this time to New Zealand.
Their misfortune seems to cross borders, too: in 2014, the Vitality Roses lost to Jamaica yet again in another bronze‑medal match. However, the 2018 Commonwealth champions head into this year on a high after sweeping a two‑game series against Jamaica.
England face South Africa in January, a side that is helping shift the conversation around netball’s top teams from a top four to a top five.
The Roses’ depth in squad selection sets them up well for a potential redemption arc. Three players from the 2018-winning side remain in contention for Commonwealth selection: Helen Housby, Natalie Metcalf, and Beth Cobden.
They are joined by a host of talented players who impressed in the international series against New Zealand and Jamaica. Recent debutant Jaz Brown particularly stood out and is a powerful force in defence.
