It's been a chaotic start to the new football year with multiple sackings but the action doesn't stop with a busy and brilliant January seeing the final league phase rounds of UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference, and the third round of the FA Cup.
The Premier League and the EFL move into the second half of the season while the Africa Cup of Nations moves into the knockout rounds with a winner set to be crowned.
Outside of football, there's plenty of cricket with arguably the highlight of the entire sport, the Ashes, continuing down under after a memorable first four Test matches.
Across the pond, the NFL regular season comes to a close and the playoffs get underway as the Super Bowl appears on the horizon.
There's plenty of rugby union action with the Champions Cup pool stage coming to a close.
As well as of this, the PDC World Championship final takes place with the biggest prize in darts on the line.
Stay on top of all upcoming games, tournaments and events with our freshly updated January sports calendar below.
Best sports to bet on in the U.K. For January 2026
Football events to bet on
- Premier League
| Matchday 19 | Tuesday, Dec 30 - Thursday, January 1 |
| Matchday 20 | Saturday, January 3 - Sunday, January 4 |
| Matchday 21 | Tuesday, January 6 - Thursday, January 8 |
| Matchday 22 | Saturday, January 17 - Monday, January 19 |
| Matchday 23 | Saturday, January 24 - Monday, January 26 |
| Matchday 24 | Saturday, January 31 - Monday, February 2 |
- FA Cup
| Third round | Friday, January 9 - Monday, January 12 | |
- EFL Championship
| Matchday 25 | Thursday, Jan 1 |
| Matchday 26 | Sunday, Jan 4 - Monday, Jan 5 |
| Matchday 27 | Friday, Jan 16 - Saturday, Jan 17 |
| Matchday 28 | Tuesday, Jan 20 - Wednesday, Jan 21 |
| Matchday 29 | Friday, Jan 23 - Monday, Jan 26 |
| Matchday 30 | Friday, Jan 30 - Saturday, Jan 31 |
- League One and League Two
| Matchday 23 | Thursday, Jan 1 |
| Matchday 24 | Sunday, Jan 4 |
| Matchday 25 | Saturday, Jan 10 |
| Matchday 26 | Saturday, Jan 17 |
| Matchday 27 | Saturday, Jan 24 |
| Matchday 28 | Tuesday, Jan 27 |
| Matchday 29 | Saturday, Jan 31 |
- UEFA Champions League
| UCL dates in January | ||
|---|---|---|
| Matchday 7 | Tuesday, January 20 - Wednesday, January 21 | |
| Matchday 8 | Wednesday, January 28 | |
- UEFA Europa League
| UEL dates in January | ||
|---|---|---|
| Matchday 7 | Thursday, January 22 | |
| Matchday 8 | Thursday, January 29 | |
- EFL Trophy
| Round of 16 | Monday, Jan 12 - Wednesday, Jan 14 |
- Africa Cup of Nations
| Round of 16 | Saturday, Jan 3 - Tuesday, Jan 6 |
| Quarter-finals | Friday, Jan 9 - Saturday, Jan 10 |
| Semi-finals | Wednesday, Jan 14 |
| Third place playoff | Saturday, Jan 17 |
| Final | Sunday, Jan 18 |
Cricket events to bet on
- The Ashes - England vs. Australia (21 November - 8 January)
Darts events to bet on
- PDC World Darts Championship (December 11-January 3, London)
American football events to bet on
- NFL (Week 18, Dec 31 - Jan 7, Wild card, Jan 8-13, Divisional Round 14-20, Conference Final Jan 21-27)
Rugby Union events to bet on
- Champions Cup matchday 3 (Friday, Jan 9 - Sunday, Jan 11)
- Champions Cup matchday 4 (Friday, Jan 16 - Sunday, Jan 18)
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