January Sports Update

Hi sports fans we’re into 2026 and everyone here at the Discover Pattaya sports update desk wishes you a peaceful and prosperous new year. It looks like another blockbuster year of sport which is dominated by the FIFA World Cup, the likes of which we have never seen before. There are now 48 teams competing over nearly six weeks and the venues for the various matches stretch from Canada right down to Mexico City and several stops in between. It will be some journey to the final but the inclusion of the extra teams from every continent won’t make a difference to the outcome and the well established teams from Europe and South America still dominate the lists of the bookmakers most fancied teams. There are bound to be a variety of kick off times and lets hope the 12 hour time difference makes some of them easily accessible to local fans.

Another world title event for 2026 is the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup which actually starts on the 8th of February and is being played in India and Sri Lanka. The current champions India are amongst the teams who will start proceedings on the 8th and they are trying to become the first team ever to successfully defend the title. If they manage to do so I’m quite sure there will be scenes of wild celebrations in this cricket mad nation and they are favourites to do just that ahead of the Aussies. England are third best, presumably because even in five day test matches they don’t bat for much more than 20 overs anyway and people feel that this form of cricket will suit them!

The Premier League continues throughout the month and even allowing for the FA Cup break in the middle, the fixture list is pretty heavy. With the January set of fixtures following the relentless December/Christmas/New Year schedule it looks like we’ll have a pretty clear idea of the genuine contenders by the end of the month. At time of writing it looks very much like Arsenal and Manchester City will be fighting it out but you couldn’t rule out a return to form by Liverpool and Aston Villa are currently on a great run which has taken them into second spot. Check wherever you go to watch your football for fixtures and kick off times.

We.ve got another round of Champions League matches on the 20th and 28th and one thing is certain, the new league format introduced last year has been a great success judged on the number of goals being scored. The old system of teams playing home and away legs to get through led to plenty of managers setting up to not lose the away leg and get the opponents back on home soil without being behind. Now every team tries to win every game regardless of where they play and this has led to some very entertaining games with the draw not good for anybody. Long may it continue.

The first tennis major of the year, the Australian Open, starts on the 18th with the final being played on the 1st of February. The women’s event looks quite competitive but the men’s game is still being dominated by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who are being put forward as the likely winner to the virtual exclusion of all other players. It’s strange to think that the mens game has gone from one period of complete domination to another but at least up until recently it was three players who ruled, with the odd incursion by Andy Murray! No one seems to be able to get close to these two at the moment but it has already led to some astonishing matches between the two and hopefully we’ll see more of that over the coming season.

That’s about it for January with just a reminder for you Rugby fans that the Six Nations starts on the 5th of next month with France taking on Ireland to open the tournament and England hosting Wales two days later. Good luck everybody.