English football 2026/27: key dates
This is the MercatoWire calendar for the dates that shape the start of the 2026/27 English football season. Every entry links to the competition’s primary source. A date marked subject to change has not been treated as fixed by this desk.
August: the cup arrives before the league
| Status | Date | What is confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmed | 7 to 10 August | The Carabao Cup Round One television selections begin with Middlesbrough v Wrexham. The EFL lists four Sky Sports Football selections across the four days. |
| Confirmed | Sunday 16 August, 15:00 BST | Arsenal v Manchester City in the Community Shield, at Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Arsenal enter as Premier League champions and City as FA Cup winners. |
| Confirmed | Friday 21 August | The 2026/27 Premier League opening match round starts. The league has published all 380 fixtures; individual kick-off details can move. |
| Confirmed | 26 August and 2 September | The UWCL third qualifying round is scheduled across two legs. Its winners take the final nine league-phase places. |
September: Europe takes its shape
| Status | Date | What is confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| Subject to change | Friday 4 September | The Women’s Champions League league-phase draw is scheduled for Nyon. Arsenal and Manchester City are already direct entrants; the remaining nine places are settled two days earlier. |
| Confirmed | 22/23 September | UWCL league-phase matchday one is scheduled. |
| Confirmed | 26 September to 6 October | England’s first Nations League window: Spain at Wembley (26 September), Czechia in Prague (29 September), Croatia in Rijeka (3 October) and Czechia at Wembley (6 October). Squad, kick-off times and results: England squad and fixtures. |
| Confirmed | 30 September/1 October | UWCL league-phase matchday two is scheduled. |
Autumn and winter: the European dates already on the record
| Status | Date | What is confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmed | 28/29 October | UWCL league-phase matchday three. |
| Confirmed | 10/11 November | UWCL league-phase matchday four. |
| Confirmed | 12 and 15 November | England finish their Nations League group at home to Croatia (Thursday 12 November) and away to Spain (Sunday 15 November). |
| Confirmed | 18/19 November | UWCL league-phase matchday five. |
| Confirmed | Sunday 6 December | The Euro 2028 qualifying draw takes place in Belfast. England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland are drawn into separate groups, and qualifying runs from March to November 2027. Hosts, stadiums and format: Euro 2028. |
| Confirmed | 16 December | UWCL league-phase matchday six. |
The season’s last day
The Premier League’s final match round is scheduled for Sunday 30 May 2027, with all fixtures due to kick off simultaneously. The league says the 2026/27 calendar has 33 weekend rounds and five midweek rounds.
How MercatoWire handles moving dates
Fixture listings are useful only when their uncertainty is visible. Premier League kick-off times can be moved, so before a match the season desk keeps an official source link beside its schedule and labels unpublished times Kick-off TBC. Once matches are played, the desk replaces kick-off details with final scores checked against two outlets, as it now does for the opening weekend. A daily routine checks the Premier League’s fixture source and holds the desk for editorial review rather than refreshing it automatically. It does not manufacture a time, a broadcaster, or a result.