SPORT / SPORTS
Stadium. Mexico has already hosted two FIFA world cups, in 1970 and 1986, while the U.S. was the host nation in 1994, mean- ing that only Canada is a debutant. Matches will be played in as many as 11 U.S. cities, and Air Serbia offers direct flights from Belgrade to New York and Chicago, while as of May 2026 the Serbi- an national airline will also be flying reg- ularly to Toronto, which – alongside Van- couver – will be welcoming the world’s best footballers. When it comes to Mex- ico, its host cities are Monterrey, Guada-
lajara and Mexico City. Four of the tour- nament’s venues have retractable roofs: Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Vancouver. Prize money will total a record break- ing 440 million dollars, in addition to the $355 million that will be awarded to clubs simply for allowing their players to take part in football’s biggest event. Tick- et prices range from $50 to $50,000 for a spot in a VIP box. For the first time in the history of the tournament, matches will be played at altitudes ranging from 0 metres (Miami) to as high as 2,240 me- tres (Mexico City), while we will watch more matches than were played in world cups from 1930 to 1970... combined! The Olympics have a longer and rich- er tradition than the FIFA World Cup, but the football tournament has been winning the popularity contest over the past few decades. It might not conform to Pierre de Coubertin’s Olympic princi- ple, but participating isn’t all that mat- ters for football... Regardless, in 2026 we are awaited by the Winter Olympics,
which will take place in Milan and Cor- tina D’Ampezzo from 6 th to 22 nd Febru- ary. The mascots are two stoats, a female named Tina and a male called Milo, who sport traditional Italian hats and will be voiced by cartoon voice actors. It is ex- pected that more than 3,000 athletes from around 90 countries will partici- pate in the Games, supported by around 1.5 million live spectators, while around two billion people around the world will watch at home. Some interesting facts worth noting are that the oldest Olympic facilities in Cor- tina D’Ampezzo were constructed back in 1956, while the highest Olympic piste is the Stelvio slope, starting at an ele- vation of 2,700 metres above sea lev- el, and the fastest ski run is the Olimpia delle Tofane, on which Olympic skiers will reach speeds exceeding 140km/h (87mph). For the first time in Olym- pic history, the 2026 Games will have no artificial snow - only natural! The Win- ter Paralympic Games will be held in the same locations from 5 th to 16 th March. Rugby union isn’t among the top 10 most popular sports in Serbia, but it is nonetheless very popular around the world. The annual Six Nations Cham- pionship is Europe’s most prestigious tournament for men’s national teams in this sport. The 127 th edition will take place from 5 th February to 14 th March 2026 and, as usual, will include Eu- rope’s six strongest rugby nations: Eng- land, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Almost all matches are played in sold-out stadiums and the host cities in 2026 will be London, Paris, Edinburgh, Rome, Cardiff and Dublin. Ireland, the pretournament favourites, will be striv- ing to defend their title after winning the 2024 and 2025 championships. The Women’s Six Nations Championship will also take place in the same cities, in the period from 20 th March to 25 th April. The final of football’s UEFA Champions League represents one of the most ex- citing sporting events of the year. The fi- nal for the 2025/2026 season will be held at Budapest’s Puskás Aréna on 30 th May 2026, marking the first time Hun- gary has hosted a Champions League fi- nal. The winner will receive prize mon- ey of more than 100 million euros, while ticket prices for the final range from 60 to 700 euros.
Zvanične maskote Zimskih olimpijskih igara 2026. godine su dve slatke lasice po imenu Milo i Tina The official mascots of the 2026 Winter Olympics are two cute stoats named Milo and Tina
106 | Sport » Sports
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator