Sports calendars no longer work in neat seasons. They spill from one to the next. One competition bleeds into another, storylines overlap, and before one trophy is lifted the next draw is already being streamed on a grainy YouTube feed. For fans, that’s the joy of it. There is always something coming, always something looming, always a reason to check the calendar twice.
Welcome to 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣ 😍😍
— 365Scores (@365Scores) January 1, 2026
A year of Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup and MANY MORE events! Here’s our year-long Sports Calendar 🗓️
Make sure to follow everything you like on our app 📲 pic.twitter.com/TIPrCNu8yp
This sports calendar shapes the year to come!
January: No easing into it
The sports calendar begins at full speed. College football owns the opening stretch, the NHL drops the puck outdoors, and European football immediately reaches for silverware.
Then, on 12 January, the Australian Open begins. It is the sporting equivalent of throwing open the curtains. Three weeks of tennis played in searing heat, where fitness is as important as form and where early-round matches already feel consequential.
As the first Grand Slam of the year, it sets the tone. New coaching partnerships are tested, emerging players announce themselves, and the established names begin the long process of defending their place in the hierarchy. It is also, crucially, on at the wrong hours for much of the world, which only adds to its pull.
January events
- 1: College Football Playoff Quarter Finals
- 2: NHL Winter Classic
- 7: Supercopa de España Semi-Finals
- 8: College Football Playoff Semi-Finals, French Super Cup
- 10: FA Cup Third Round
- 11: Supercopa de España Final
- 12: Australian Open begins
- 14: Copa del Rey Round of 16
- 15: European Men’s Handball Championship begins
- 16: UEFA Conference League Knockout Draw
- 17: Manchester Derby
- 18: AFCON Final
- 19: College Football National Championship
- 30: Champions League & Europa League Knockout Draws
February: Spectacle season
February is sport at its most maximalist.
The Winter Olympics, beginning on 6 February, dominate the month. They are uniquely disruptive. Fans who normally ignore half the disciplines suddenly develop strong opinions on judging, equipment choices, and marginal gains. Careers peak here. Entire four-year cycles are built around a handful of runs, races, or routines.
At the same time, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup gets underway on 7 February, turning cricket into a nightly sprint. The format leaves no margin for error. One bad over can undo years of preparation, while one extraordinary innings can carry a team deep into the tournament.
Then there is basketball. NBA All-Star Weekend, running 14–16 February, is less about competition and more about status. It’s a snapshot of the league’s present and its future, held in a city designed for spectacle. The game itself is loose, but the implications linger. Who belongs on this stage, and who is knocking on the door?
February events
- 3: DFB-Pokal Quarter-Finals
- 4: Coppa Italia Quarter-Finals, Coupe de France Round of 16
- 5: Six Nations Rugby begins
- 6: Winter Olympics begin
- 7: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup begins
- 8: Le Classique, Superbowl
- 11: Copa del Rey Semi-Finals, First Leg
- 14: NBA All-Star Weekend begins
- 15: Derby d’Italia, NBA All-Star Game
- 17: Champions League Knockout Phase begins
- 19: Europa League & Conference League Knockout Phase begins
- 20: MLB Spring Training begins
- 21: MLS Season begins
- 22: Olympic Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game
- 24: Champions League Knockout Phase continues
- 26: Europa League & Conference League Knockout Phase continues
- 27: UEFA Full Bracket Draws
March: Pressure, everywhere
March is where consequences arrive.
The March Madness First Four, tipping off on 17 March, is the gateway to one of sport’s most unforgiving tournaments. Single elimination strips teams down to their nerve endings. A missed rotation, a rushed shot, a foul at the wrong moment, and it’s over. This is where legends are occasionally born and favourites quietly disappear.
Around it, European football reaches the business end of its knockout rounds, while baseball returns on 25 March, offering the comforting promise of routine after months of chaos.
March events
- 3: Coppa Italia Semi-Finals
- 4: Coupe de France Quarter-Finals
- 5: World Baseball Classic begins
- 7: FA Cup Fifth Round
- 8: Derby della Madonnina
- 10: Champions League Round of 16
- 12: Europa League & Conference League Round of 16
- 17: March Madness First Four begins
- 19: Europa League & Conference League Second Legs
- 22: Carabao Cup Final
- 23: FIFA International Break
- 25: MLB Season begins
- 26–31: World Cup Qualifier Playoffs
- 27: Finalissima, Argentina vs Spain
April and May: Finals everywhere
Spring becomes a blur of knockout football.
Domestic cups resolve themselves, semi-finals stack on top of each other, and by 30 May, everything funnels into one night: the Champions League Final. This is club football’s ultimate compression chamber. A season’s worth of tactics, squad management, and luck distilled into 90 minutes. It is unforgiving, globally watched, and endlessly replayed.
April & May highlights
- April
- 4 April: FA Cup Quarter-Finals
- 7 April: Champions League Quarter-Finals
- 8 April: Champions League Quarter-Finals
- 9 April: Europa League & Conference League Quarter-Finals
- 14 April: Champions League Quarter-Finals
- 15 April: Champions League Quarter-Finals
- 16 April: Europa League & Conference League Quarter-Finals
- 21 April: Coppa Italia Semi-Finals, DFB-Pokal Semi-Final
- 22 April: Coupe de France Semi-Finals
- 25 April: Copa del Rey Final, FA Cup Semi-Finals
- 28 April: Champions League Semi-Final
- 29 April: Champions League Semi-Final
- 30 April: Europa League & Conference League Semi-Finals
- May
- 5 May: Champions League Semi-Final (Second Leg)
- 6 May: Champions League Semi-Final (Second Leg)
- 7 May: Europa League & Conference League Semi-Finals (Second Legs)
- 10 May: El Clásico
- 13 May: Coppa Italia Final
- 16 May: FA Cup Final
- 17 May: Derby della Capitale
- 20 May: Europa League Final
- 22 May: UEFA Women’s Champions League Final, EuroLeague Final Four
- 23 May: Coupe de France Final, DFB-Pokal Final
- 24 May: Roland Garros begins
- 27 May: Conference League Final
- 30 May: Champions League Final
June and July: A summer that belongs to one tournament
June opens with the NBA Finals on 5 June, a masterclass in adjustment and endurance. Every possession is scouted, every weakness hunted.
But soon, everything bends around the FIFA World Cup, beginning 11 June and running until 19 July. This is sport’s rare monopoly. Sleep schedules collapse. Neutral fans disappear. Group matches feel like events, knockouts feel like national moments, and the final becomes a global appointment that very few people actually watch alone.
Half a year from now: World Cup 2026 kicks off!
— 365Scores (@365Scores) December 11, 2025
This is how 2022’s tournament ended. Will we have a repeat or will CR7 fulfill his personal dream? Or even worse, both GOATs won’t be relevant this time 🥺 pic.twitter.com/WXHlkZBxS9
Threaded through it is Wimbledon, starting 29 June, offering contrast. Quiet crowds, brutal margins, and pressure that feels heavier because it is never loud.
June & July events
- 1 June: Stanley Cup Finals begin
- 5 June: NBA Finals begin
- 11 June: World Cup Opening Match
- 29 June: Wimbledon begins
- 19 July: World Cup Final
Autumn and the run-in
By October, the calendar tightens again. The World Series, beginning 23 October, brings baseball to its most cinematic setting. Cold nights, long at-bats, and decisions that echo for decades.
December closes the year with the Formula 1 season finale on 6 December, where championships, careers, and futures are decided under floodlights, before the sporting world exhales and resets.
Late-year events
- October
- 12 October: International Break
- 23 October: World Series begins
- 31 October: Halloween in US Sports
- November
- 15 November: ATP Finals
- 16 November: International Break
- 21 November: Copa Sudamericana Final
- 26 November: Thanksgiving Day in US Sports
- 27 November: Black Friday in US Sports
- 28 November: Copa Libertadores Final
- December
- 6 December: F1 Season Finale
- 12 December: MLS Cup Final
- 25 December: NBA Christmas Day Games
- 26 December: Boxing Day Premier League fixtures
FAQs
Which event defines the year most clearly?
The World Cup. Nothing else reshapes the calendar, or attention, quite like it.
What’s the best entry point for casual fans?
NBA All-Star Weekend. High quality, low commitment, pure spectacle.
Which event carries the most pressure per minute?
The Champions League Final. There is nowhere to hide.
What’s the most emotionally volatile tournament?
March Madness. Single elimination ensures maximum chaos.
What’s the best way to pace the year as a fan?
Pick your peaks. You cannot watch everything, but the calendar tells you when to clear space.
By Nicky Helfgott – NickyHelfgott1 on X (Twitter)
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