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 | 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 | 18/19 November | UWCL league-phase matchday five. |
| 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League kick-off times can be moved, so the season desk keeps an official source link beside its schedule and labels unpublished times Kick-off TBC. The daily update routine checks the primary source before refreshing the desk. It does not manufacture a time, a broadcaster, or a result.