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Major sports events in January 2026

By Klimentijs Konevs | Published: January 2, 2025

Right after the New Year celebrations, the sports world quickly comes back to life. January packs in a surprisingly busy lineup across football, tennis, motorsport, and winter sports. Here's a full look at the biggest sporting events taking place this January.

Pic about Sports events in January 2026

Dakar Rally

The Dakar Rally 2026 will run from 3 to 17 January, marking the seventh edition of the event in Saudi Arabia. This year's route is taking competitors from Yanbu along the Red Sea into the north, across rugged desert terrain toward Al-Ula and Hail, before pushing through the Empty Quarter and looping back to Yanbu for the finale.

With long stages, heavy sand and fewer moves between bivouacs, teams will need a mix of toughness and smart planning to make it through the rally. As always, unpredictable conditions and daily surprises are expected.

NFL playoffs

The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a yearly knockout competition used to decide the league champion. Taking place after the regular season, the tournament spans four rounds. Beginning with the 2020 season, seven teams from each of the NFL's two conferences earn playoff spots based on their regular-season win records. This time, the Super Bowl will take place on February 8 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

The Los Angeles Rams are the top favourites at 5.50, even though they couldn't earn a top-seed spot in the NFC. The Philadelphia Eagles, who knocked out the Rams last season, are the defending champions. They can be had at 10.00, but Nick Sirianni's team really lacked consistency during the current campaign.

2026 Masters

The Masters is an elite invitational snooker event that has taken place annually since 1975. It is the second-oldest professional snooker tournament, surpassed only by the World Championship. Alongside the UK Championship and the World Championship, it forms part of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown series. This year, it is played from 11 to 18 January.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is the most decorated competitor in the tournament's history, with eight Masters titles to his name, and he holds the distinction of being both the youngest and the oldest winner of the event. However, he is only fourth in the list of the favourites at 8.50, while Judd Trump is the man to beat at 5.00, according to the bookies.

Australian Open

The 2026 Australian Open takes place from January 18 to February 1 in Melbourne. It will be the first Grand Slam event of the new season. As always, the world's top players, including defending champion Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic, will be there to make an early statement in the new year.

The tournament is played on hard courts and in extreme summer heat, as January is usually the hottest month of the year in Australia. Bookmakers currently list Sinner as the favourite to win at 1.90, followed by Alcaraz at 2.50 and Djokovic at 10.00. Aryna Sabalenka is the top contender in the women's tournament at 3.00.

ISU European Figure Skating Championships

The 2026 ISU European Figure Skating Championships will take place from 13 to 18 January in Sheffield, England. The event brings together Europe's top skaters across all four disciplines.

Last year's event in Tallinn crowned Lukas Britschgi (men's singles), Niina Petrõkina (women's singles), Minerva Fabienne Hase & Nikita Volodin (pairs), and Charlène Guignard & Marco Fabbri (ice dance) as champions. All of them return this year, ready to defend their titles against a strong field of contenders.

2026 EHF European Men’s Handball Championship

The EHF European Championship runs from 15 January to 1 February 2026, co-hosted by Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Matches will be played across four venues in Herning, Bærum, Malmö and Kristianstad, with the final at Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning.

A total of 24 national teams will take part, including the traditional powerhouses such as France, Sweden, Denmark and Romania. France may have edged Denmark to win the continental title in 2024, but things look different this time. After dominating the 2025 World Championship, Denmark come in as the bookmakers' top pick. They look very strong to make another deep run here.

UEFA Futsal EURO

The tournament kicks off on 21 January and runs until 7 February. Belarus' qualification led UEFA to add a third host nation, Slovenia. That means this will be the first UEFA Futsal Euro ever staged across three countries: Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia. Matches will be held in Riga, Kaunas and Ljubljana.

Across 16 participating countries, we'll see three debuts this year. Latvia and Lithuania will make their debuts as co-hosts, while Armenia qualify for the first time. Such powerhouses as Portugal, Spain, and Italy are also returning to compete. Portugal are the back-to-back champions and will be aiming for a third straight title.

UFC 324

UFC 324 takes place on 24 January 2026 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It will be the first UFC event broadcasted on Paramount+ under the promotion's new media deal. The card is stacked, with Justin Gaethje fighting Paddy Pimblett for an interim lightweight title.

As the co-main event, the legend Amanda Nunes will be returning to compete for the bantamweight belt against Kayla Harrison. Also, Sean O'Malley is set to fight Song Yadong. Big names like Derrick Lewis and Nikita Krylov are also scheduled to compete.

UEFA Champions League

The UCL league phase will have two crucial rounds in January, which will shape the knockout picture. The final round on 28 January promises peak drama. All 18 games kick off simultaneously to keep teams completely unaware of other results as they fight for qualification.

With no live table advantages or scoreboard watching, clubs must push for points without knowing exactly what they need to progress. This will be a fun evening for football fans. Prepare as many screens as you have, because you will not want to miss any action. Arsenal are the team to beat at 4.50, as they haven't lost a single point in the first six games.

WWE Royal Rumble

The 2026 Royal Rumble takes place on 31 January in Riyadh, bringing one of WWE's biggest annual events outside North America for the first time. The show will feature several high-profile matches across the card. However, the main attraction is the massive 30-man Royal Rumble match, where superstars like to make surprise appearances or comebacks.

The winner of the match will receive a world championship match at WrestleMania 42. Early odds point to two clear favourites at 2.75: Roman Reigns, seeking another historic run, and Bron Breakker, whose fast rise has made him an obvious contender.

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Klimentijs Konevs

Klimentijs Konevs

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Klimentijs Konevs

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For more than a decade now, I've been enjoying the world of MMA and boxing. And any match is always a little more interesting to watch if you have a bet placed. That's why I analysing teams, its formations and strategies, following fighters and its techniques, comparing the mental and physical preparation before every fight, watching behind-the-scenes videos of training sessions to accurately weigh the chances of winning.