The past year may have seemed very rich in sporting events, but the new year – 2026 – will be even more saturated, hosting some of the world’s biggest sporting events, among which the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and the soccer World Cup finals stand out. There will be no shortage of important events in Latvian sports either.
IN BRIEF:
The central event in Latvian sports will most likely come on February 6, when the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games will start in a solemn opening ceremony in Milan. In the first few weeks of the year, the qualification is still going on, and the full composition of the delegation will be known only on January 19, but it can be safely predicted that Latvia will be represented by about 60 athletes already at the end of the year. The main focus will be on the hockey team, and the Olympic tournament promises to be the strongest in 12 years, because for the first time since 2014, the champions of the National Hockey League (NHL) will also compete.
A look at the sports events of 2026
As always, Latvia will have a large representation in the sports of ice skating, where the main hopes this time are for luge riders. There are also hopes for good results from cross-country skier Patricijas Eidukas, figure skater Denisas Vasilijeva and alpine skier Jeniferas Gërmanes, who has firmly established herself in the slalom elite.
On a global scale, the main sporting event of the year will undoubtedly be the World Cup finals in football. Canada, the USA and Mexico will host the big sports event this summer, which means that for the spectators in Latvia, the games will not be at the most auspicious times, that is, most of the matches will be late in the evening and at night.
The football teams of 48 countries will participate for the first time in the historically biggest final tournament.
Although the draw for the tournament groups has already taken place, not all the participants of the championship are known yet – the intercontinental qualification finals are still ahead, and the last European countries that will go to the World Cup will also be determined in the spring. In the opening match of the tournament on the evening of June 11, the Mexican national team will host the Republic of South Africa at home in Mexico City. This is exactly how the opening match was in the 2010 World Cup, when the South Africans played the role of hosts.
The upcoming football festival is overshadowed by the extremely high ticket prices – tickets are several times more expensive than at the 2024 European Championship final tournament in Germany, tickets were also several times cheaper at the previous World Cup in Qatar in 2022. Also discussed is the quality of the pitches, the potential impact of the weather and the constantly changing opinion of US President Donald Trump, announcing that several member states of the tournament have been blacklisted and their fans will not be allowed into the US. The final of the tournament is scheduled for the evening of July 19 in East Rutherford, on the outskirts of New York.
In 2026, the final tournaments of the European Championship in volleyball for both men and women are expected, and for the first time in almost 30 years, Latvian national teams of both sexes have qualified for them.
The ladies will start their first European Championships in Turkey at the end of the summer, returning to the finals for the first time since 1997. The Latvian women’s volleyball team will be in the role of trailblazers at the European Championship, and any victory will be considered a good success, as the women’s national team continues to grow and climb out of the abyss where it was about 10 years ago.
In September, the European Championship for men as well, the men’s volleyball team participating in it only for the third time since the country regained its independence. The men’s national team still needs to find a head coach, and there are also many questions about the squad, as the moment of generational change is fast approaching. It will be difficult for volleyball players to repeat what was possible in 2021 and reach the elimination tournament, but not impossible.
As always, the hockey spring will not be missed with the world championship in Switzerland, this time the Latvian national team will play in Zurich.
The tournament will start later than usual – the first games are planned only on May 15, but the grand final will be on the evening of May 31.
An interesting year awaits the representatives of motor sports – after half a season of the World Rally Championship, Mārtiņas Seskas/Renārs Frančas’ plans for the new season are awaited. Also, three Latvians will ride in the world motocross championship – Paul Jonas, as well as Kārlis Alberts Reišulis and Jānis Mārtiņš Reišulis, and both brothers will ride in the same team. At the beginning of June, the stage of the world championship will also be held in Ķegum.
Throughout the year, many other bigger and smaller sporting events for all kinds of tastes and interests will be waiting for you.
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