Gulf News focuses on fun with World Cup 2026 fan predictor, UAE-based stars and hawk forecasts

Dubai: As excitement builds around the FIFA World Cup 2026, Gulf News is taking a fresh approach to tournament coverage, combining expert insight, audience participation and a healthy dose of fun to engage readers across the UAE and beyond. 

At the heart of the initiative is a new World Cup Predictor tool built directly into the Gulf News website - the first of it's kind in the UAE - allowing readers to forecast match results, build tournament brackets and back their favourite teams throughout the competition. The interactive experience also plays a central role in Gulf News' new World Cup podcast series. 

Hosted by Gulf News' expert sports journalist, Rob Ilsley, alongside staff reporter and star football content creator Shamseer Mohammed, the podcast features exclusive interviews and analysis from some of the biggest names associated with the World Cup who now call the UAE home. 

Among the guests are former France international and Premier League star Bacary Sagna, offering unique perspectives on football's biggest tournament from those who have experienced it at the highest level. 

Alongside the expert analysis, Gulf News is also embracing the lighter side of football fandom through a new star of its World Cup coverage – Shawk the Hawk. 

Filmed outside the Gulf News newsroom in Dubai, Shawk has already begun predicting the outcomes of World Cup qualifying matches. Whether the feathered forecaster proves more accurate than football pundits remains to be seen, but readers can follow every prediction and result through Gulf News' dedicated World Cup coverage. See the live fixtures and results here.

The Gulf News World Cup Wall Chart has also been a huge success with subscribers enjoying a glossy pullout while website visitors can download it for free – and thousands of people across the world are doing so. 

The initiative forms part of Gulf News' wider strategy to continue growing and diversifying its audience through original digital content formats. 

Mark Thompson, Editor-in-Chief of Gulf News, said: "We pride ourselves on how much we have grown our audience over the past twelve months right here in the UAE, and we've seen increasing numbers of international readers enjoying our sports coverage as well. 

"We've recently had a lot of interest and support for our developing grassroots sports content, but we know the World Cup is a global event that many of our readers will be glued to. The World Cup is everywhere, so why compete with everyone else by doing exactly the same thing? We chose to do something different, mainly having fun. 

"By combining expert voices, interactive tools and a bit of personality, we're creating content that gives football fans a reason to keep coming back to Gulf News throughout the tournament." 

The World Cup predictor, podcast series and Shawk the Hawk predictions are available through Gulf News' dedicated World Cup hub, offering audiences multiple ways to engage with football's biggest event.