2026 is a big year for sports. Next month, the Winter Olympics will kick off in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, followed shortly by the Paralympics. This summer, the FIFA World Cup is headed to North America, where teams will travel between the US, Canada and Mexico throughout June and July. And in between, there are ample other events, tournaments and series that fashion should be watching.
It’s an opportunity for brands to dive deeper and align themselves with different sports and leagues after years of testing the space. Already this year, J.Crew has announced a partnership with US Ski and Snowboard, and Tommy Hilfiger has signed on to partner with Liverpool Football Club.
Of course, the major tentpole events — Olympics and World Cup — will be a main draw for brands. Madeline Hill, co-host of ‘The Sports Gossip Show’ podcast, expects many brands to drop their own versions of football kits, she says. “[These] will be highly coveted.” Tora Northman, digital director at fashion and sports magazine Players, also anticipates more luxury collaborations in the vein of Tommy Hilfiger’s Liverpool FC tie-up as the year heats up.
But brands shouldn’t put all of their eggs in these near-oversaturated baskets, as they’ll be sharing mindshare with a swath of competitors. Plus, both the Winter Olympics and the World Cup take place every four years, making these splashy marketing moments difficult to build on after the event.
Brands should align with sports and teams with whom they can build lasting relationships. “Brands need to know not to do the same thing as everyone else. Every single major brand will be trying to do something in soccer ahead of the World Cup, or trying to find out how to work their way into F1,” says Daniel-Yaw Miller, sports and fashion journalist and writer of the SportsVerse newsletter. “But there’s value in finding stories to tell outside of the mainstream, or finding athletes or teams, which maybe get less of the spotlight but have incredible moments to build campaigns or products around.”
Northman agrees and believes consumers are getting tired of the quick-hit collabs and one-off partnerships after brands went in heavy over the last couple of years. “It is very easy to slap a logo on something and call it a collaboration. But actually appointing an ambassador and continuing to build that relationship is very impactful and reaches a wider audience across fashion and sports.”
For those who have yet to get in on the sporting action, it’ll be hard — and expensive — to cut through the noise, Miller says, especially in mainstream arenas like professional basketball or football. He recommends looking to NIL (name, image, and likeness), which enables student athletes to profit from endorsements, and the college sports economy. “There are so many incredible stories to be built with young, unsigned athletes before they’ve even reached the pros,” he says.
Another avenue is to look to more niche sports. One worth investing in is volleyball, experts agree. Skims led the charge last year, partnering with new professional women’s volleyball league League One Volleyball (LOVB). Other than that, the sport remains relatively nascent in terms of fashion engagement. Expansion into these types of leagues is a no-brainer, Hill says. Miller agrees, dubbing indoor volleyball a “silent goldmine”.
Miller also expects brands to focus on sports like cricket and rugby. “Their rich heritage and unique aesthetics lend themselves to design, and also their status as a ‘higher society’ sport,” he says. Women’s rugby is enjoying a splash of attention following last year’s World Cup, but is still largely untapped by the fashion industry, says Molly Elizabeth Agnew, writer and consultant who works at the intersection of fashion and sport. She also encourages brands interested in F1 to consider less saturated motorsports series such as Formula E and MotoGP.
This year, Agnew hopes to see brands engage more deeply, drawing on cues from the sport in which they’re investing. “I want to see big-name brands recognize their value in bringing a sport to culture — not just culture to the sport,” she says. “It’s not all about eyeballs and impressions; converting a dedicated fanbase, no matter its size, is crucial to create more than just a fleeting moment.”
Below, a breakdown of the tentpole sporting events for brands to bookmark — and build on — for the year.
January 12-February 1: Australian Open — Melbourne, Australia
February 5-21 March: Men’s First Nations Rugby — Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Italy and England
February 6-22: Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina — Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo
February 7-8 March: Men’s T20 World Cup (cricket) — India and Sri Lanka
February 8: Super Bowl — Santa Clara, California, USA
February 15: NBA All-Star game, Los Angeles, USA
March 6-15: Paralympic Winter Games — Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo
March 6-December 6: Formula 1 World Championship — global (Madrid will host its first race since 1981 in September)
April 3-5: Women’s March Madness Final Four (basketball) — Phoenix, Arizona, USA
April 9-12: The Masters (golf) — Augusta, Georgia, USA
April 11-May 17: Women’s First Nations Rugby — Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Italy and England
April 16-18: LOVB Volleyball finals — TBC
April 20: Boston Marathon — Boston, Massachusetts, USA
April 23-26: Chevron Championship (golf) — Houston, Texas, USA
April 26: London Marathon — London, England, UK
May 14-17: PGA Championship — Pennsylvania, USA
May 23: UEFA Women s Champions League final — Oslo, Norway
May 23: Champions Cup final (rugby) — Bilbao, Spain
May 24-June 7: French Open — Paris, France
May 30: UEFA Men s Champions League final — Budapest, Hungary
June 4-7: US Women’s Open (golf), Los Angeles, California, USA
June 4-21: NBA Finals — USA
June 4-25: England men vs New Zealand men Test series (cricket) — England, UK
June 11-July 19: FIFA World Cup — US, Canada, and Mexico
June 12-5 July: Women’s T20 World Cup (cricket) — England and Wales
June 18-21: US Open (golf) — New York, USA
June 25-28: Women’s PGA Championship — Chaska, Minnesota, USA
June 29-July 12: Wimbledon — London, England, UK
July 4-26: Tour de France — France and Spain
July 10-July 13: England women v India women Test match — London, England, UK
July 14: MLB All-Star Game (baseball) — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
July 23-August 2: The Commonwealth Games — Glasgow, Scotland, UK
August 1-9: Tour de France Femmes — France and Spain
August 10-16: European Athletics Championships — Birmingham, England, UK
August 14-30: Men’s and Women’s FIH Hockey World Cup — Belgium and the Netherlands
August 30: Sydney Marathon — Sydney, Australia
August 31-September 13 — US Open, New York, USA
September 11-13: World Athletics Ultimate Championship — Budapest, Hungary
September 19-October 4: Asian Games — Nagoya, Japan
September 27: Berlin Marathon — Berlin, Germany
October 11: Chicago Marathon — Chicago, Illinois, USA
October 15-November 15: Rugby League World Cup — Australia and Papua New Guinea
October 23-31: MLB World Series, TBC
October 31-November 13: Summer Youth Olympic Games — Dakar, Senegal
November 1: New York City Marathon — New York, USA
November 7-14: WTA Finals (tennis) — Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
November 15-22: ATP Finals (tennis) — Turin, Italy
November 24-29: Davis Cup Finals (tennis) — Bologna, Italy
December 1-6: World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) — Beijing, China
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