La Liga: What to know ahead of new 2026-27 football season

Spain’s top-flight league, La Liga, kicks off the 2026-27 European football season on Saturday, as several players return to club duty less than a month after the FIFA World Cup ended.

Barcelona, whose eight players were part of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad , enter this campaign with hopes of completing a “three-peat” of league titles after winning the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.

However, their archrivals Real Madrid have a seasoned manager – Jose Mourinho – at the helm this time out, and will look to rediscover their winning pedigree after going two seasons without a major trophy.

While all eyes will be on the title tussle between Barca and Real again, they are not in action in the first round of fixtures, which features seven matches and is headlined by Atletico Madrid.

The 2026-27 La Liga season begins on Saturday, August 15, with two matches on the opening day.

Further round one matches are also scheduled for Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday.

In mid-July, La Liga pushed back Barcelona’s and Real Madrid’s opening matches due to the number of players from both clubs involved in the FIFA World Cup semifinals and final.

Among the key Barcelona players involved in the World Cup final were Spain’s Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres, whose extra-time goal led them to their second World Cup title.