From World Cup minnows to S’pore’s first Winter Olympics alpine skier: Sporting markers to watch in 2026

Watch this space: Gavin Lee in the spotlight

After a global hunt for the next Lions tamer, the Football Association of Singapore handed the reins of the national team to 35-year-old Singaporean Gavin Lee in November 2025.

It was viewed by most as just reward for leading the team to a historic Asian Cup qualification as interim coach.

Lee’s first major assignment is the 2026 Asean Championship, from July 24 to Aug 26.

The single round-robin group stage will take on a home-and-away format from July 24 to Aug 8, before the two-legged semi-finals and final start on Aug 15 and conclude on Aug 26. The draw for the tournament, known as the Asean Hyundai Cup, will take place on Jan 15 in Jakarta.

Patience and goodwill is often in short supply in sport and so all eyes will be on Lee’s team as they navigate the regional showpiece, where national pride runs high. While the Lions are four-time champions of the tournament, they have not lifted the trophy since 2012.

Expectations are not for Lee and his team to reclaim the title immediately.

But a second consecutive semi-final appearance would provide both the FAS and the new coach valuable momentum heading into the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Off script: When the lines blur between sport and absurdity

To commemorate the United States of America’s 250th anniversary, also known as America250, President Donald Trump has announced plans for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to host a first-of-its-kind event on the White House grounds.

He announced on Dec 8 that there will be a specialised arena built on the grounds to accommodate 5,000 to 6,000 spectators for the mixed martial arts event nicknamed “UFC White House”.

The event is slated for June 14, coinciding with his 80th birthday.

This is the first time a sporting event will take place at the presidential residence. However, Mr Trump’s affiliation with the sport dates back to the early 2000s.

The then-business mogul first took a chance on the UFC in 2001, allowing the company to host UFC 31 at his casino, the Trump Taj Mahal, in Atlantic City. This came at a time when the sport was struggling to gain credibility and legitimacy due to its violent nature, with then-Senator John McCain of Arizona famously labelling it “human cockfighting”.

Since then, Mr Trump has maintained a close personal friendship with UFC president Dana White, regularly attending UFC events. White also publicly advocated for him in his 2024 presidential campaign.

Breaking new ground: A first on the global stage

The snowcapped slopes at the Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio, Italy, may feel a long way from home, but in February, they will play host to a slice of Singapore sporting history.

Carving his way down the mountain will be alpine skier Faiz Basha. He is set to become the country’s second Winter Olympian and its first in a snow sport, following Cheyenne Goh’s appearance in short track speed skating at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

The 23-year-old has met the qualifying mark for the slalom and giant slalom events, and will line up alongside the world’s best after years spent chasing an unconventional dream.

That pursuit nearly ended five years ago when a serious crash caused a tear in his intestines, forcing him to rethink his future in the sport.

But Faiz persevered and strong performances at the Winter University Games, Asian Winter Games and International Ski Federation’s Alpine World Ski Championships in 2025 have renewed his belief and momentum.

As the calendar turns, he is not just chasing results, but expanding the boundaries of what Singapore sport can be, one gate at a time.

Maintaining the mark: Success under scrutiny

Shanti Pereira made history at the Asian Games in 2023 when she became Asia’s fastest woman in the 200m.

It was also Singapore’s first athletics gold medal at the Asiad since 1974.

In 2026, she returns to the Asian Games, which will be held in the Japanese city of Nagoya and the wider Aichi region from Sept 19 to Oct 4.

Now, the challenge will be to show that she is still Asia’s sprint queen.

After the highs of 2023, the next year turned out to be a challenge, especially on the back of a stress injury to her fibula in March 2024.

It disrupted preparations for the Paris Olympics, where she did not advance from the 100m and 200m heats.

In May 2025, Pereira was unable to retain her 100m and 200m titles at the Asian Championships, settling for two silver medals.

Fresh from retaining both her 100m and 200m SEA Games crowns in December to complete a historic double-double for Singapore, she will be aiming to signal her return to form in Japan.

Switching lanes: Redefining the sporting path

Most of us take up hobbies for fun. Athletes? They take up a new sport but cannot resist testing themselves against the best.

Singapore’s 41-strong contingent for the Jan 20-26 Asean Para Games is a case in point.

Joan Huang has swopped goalball for judo, Paralympic bronze medallist Theresa Goh has traded the pool for the shooting range, while Jovin Tan has moved from sailing to boccia.

Different sports, different challenges, but the same unrelenting drive for the trio who are among 13 Singaporean athletes making their debuts at the Games.

The programme in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, features 11 sports, with familiar faces fighting to stay on top.

Singapore’s former para-archery world champion Nur Syahidah Alim will be in action, while Toh Wei Soong, who won three golds at the previous edition in 2023, will be aiming to add to his medal haul.

Hard to follow: Setting a high bar

Hard to follow? Try “almost impossible”.

An Se-young did not just have a phenomenal 2025, but she also put the rest of the field firmly in the shade.

The South Korean world No. 1 wrapped up the year by capturing the World Tour Finals title on Dec 21, making her the first player to win 11 BWF World Tour events in a single calendar year.

In total, she lost just four of her 77 matches.

The US$240,000 (S$310,000) winner’s cheque also made her the first player to surpass the US$1 million mark in prize money in a single season.

Along the way, she set a new match-win record and posted a 94.8 per cent winning rate, edging out legends Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei.

No one came close to her. Even world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi lost all eight of their encounters in 2025.

With a season like that, it will be fascinating to see if anyone – even An herself – can come close to what she has accomplished.

Disruptive factor: Expect World Cup drama

Securing a spot at the World Cup used to be one of the hardest tickets to snag in football. But, with an expansion to a 48-team tournament, qualification has felt like an Oprah Winfrey show giveaway: You get in, you get in, everybody gets in.

Still, that does not diminish the effort of several first-time World Cup qualifiers like Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan.

These teams will want to do more than just make up the numbers in the June 11-July 19 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The same goes for nations ending long World Cup absences. Haiti will make a historic return after 52 years, while Scotland and Austria have not been there since 1998.

But if any returning team are primed to stir drama, it is Norway who are also back for the first time since 1998. They face a tough Group I with France, Senegal, and a team from the intercontinental play-off (Bolivia, Iraq, or Suriname). With a goal machine like Erling Haaland in the ranks, can you really rule out a deep run?

Ending the curse: High risk, high reward

There are few seats as hot as the one at Red Bull next to main man Max Verstappen. It is one where you must be fast enough to impress, slow enough to know you are playing second fiddle to the four-time Formula One world champion and, at the same time, keep other drivers from taking your place.

Isack Hadjar’s priority in 2026 will be to show that he has the skills to handle the car as well as handle the pressure.

Due to a car designed around Verstappen’s unique, aggressive style, second drivers have often struggled to cope. Pierre Gasly and Sergio Perez can attest to that, although Hadjar, 21, has shown that he has the racing nous after a debut season in which he made a big impression with sister team Racing Bulls.

And patience is also not a Red Bull trait.

Just ask Liam Lawson, who was replaced by Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda after just two challenging races in 2025. Tsunoda himself has since made way for Hadjar.

Getting to 2027 as a Red Bull driver could already be a success for him. 

At a crossroad: Games facing uncertain future

Is it game over for the Commonwealth Games?

The 2026 edition of the quadrennial event in Glasgow will look markedly different from the spectacle last staged in the city in 2014 – and in many ways, it may serve as a test of whether the Commonwealth Games still matter.

Back then, athletes competed across 17 sports. This time, the Games will be scaled back significantly, after organisers scrambled to find a replacement host following the Australian state of Victoria’s withdrawal in 2023, citing spiralling costs.

The pared-down Games from July 23 to Aug 2 will feature just 10 sports, nearly halving the 19 contested at the 2022 Birmingham edition.

Several core sports have been cut, including badminton, table tennis, shooting, squash, hockey, cricket and rugby sevens.

The reductions have reignited questions about the long-term viability and relevance of the Games in an increasingly crowded sporting calendar.

For now, Glasgow’s intervention has bought the event time.

Whether it has secured its future, or merely delayed its reckoning, remains an open question.

Flashpoint: Testing sport’s values

A potentially dangerous precedent is set to arrive in Las Vegas in May, when the inaugural Enhanced Games look to turn sport’s most carefully guarded red lines into optional extras.

Featuring swimming, sprinting and weightlifting, the event openly allows athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs in pursuit of what organisers call “superhuman” performances.

Those behind the proposal have gone further, branding it the “Olympics of the future” and dangling prize money of up to US$1 million (S$1.29 million) for athletes who hit prescribed benchmarks. 

Unsurprisingly, the concept has split opinion and rattled the sporting establishment, with critics highlighting the potential impact on athletes’ health and undermining fair play.

Yet, the controversy has not deterred interest from high-profile names, with Olympic medallists, such as American sprinter Fred Kerley and British swimmer Ben Proud, set to take part.

Others, however, have drawn a firm line. Australian Olympic and world champion Kyle Chalmers rejected what his manager Phoebe Rothfield described as a “life-changing” offer from Enhanced Games organisers.

The organisers have also leaned into confrontation, previously suing World Aquatics, USA Swimming and the World Anti-Doping Agency, alleging an illegal campaign to “crush” the event, though the lawsuit has since been dropped.

What happens in Vegas usually stays in Vegas. But keeping the fallout from the Games off the Strip may be a task of Herculean proportions.