2026 PREDICTIONS AND WHO TO WATCH

What will the new year bring for the world of sport? Our reporters set the scene while we've also taken a look at those stars who are set to have a big 12 months

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GARRY DOYLE What sporting event am I looking forward to most in 2026? The All-Ireland football final, ideally between Kerry and one of the titans of Ulster football. We have to appreciate the fact we are living in the era of the greatest Gaelic footballer there has ever been, a player whose elegance is matched by his efficiency.

Is Clifford on another planet? Possibly. But Ulster has always believed planets can be reached. And preferably, the collision comes on All-Ireland final day..

Can Ireland really qualify for the World Cup?

The answer is yes. Of course they can. Portugal and Hungary were proof of that. But that was then. March is different. As William Shakespeare nearly said, 'beware the sides of March'. First Czechia, then Denmark. While the Czechs are not the force they were, they still have to be favoured to progress, as the power of home advantage in one-off playoff game is huge.

But say we do get through that. Then it will be Denmark. Yes, they lost to Scotland, but the Scots scored four wonder goals that night.

Which individual could make 2026 the best year of their career?

If 2026 belongs to anyone, it will belong to Rory Mcllroy, because the burden is gone, and with it the noise that followed him from tee to tee for more than a decade.

The Masters win in 2025 closed an argument. Eleven years without a major had turned every Sunday into an inquest, every close call into character analysis. Augusta ended that. By winning, Mcllroy got his career back.

What do I want to see more of in sport in 2026?

Let 2026 see the return of the underdog, barking at the natural order. The kind we saw in the 1990s.

Because that decade was a time when the script was there to be torn up. In football, Down ended a 23-year wait, Galway broke a 32-summer silence to lift Sam, while Donegal and Derry won the big prize for the first time.