Sports
World Cup semifinals force La Liga to delay Barcelona and Real Madrid openers
July 14, 2026 at 03:27 PM
Coverage
2 reports · 1 in Arabic, 1 in English · over 5 hours
La Liga has rescheduled Barcelona’s and Real Madrid’s opening matches of the 2026-27 season because of the clubs’ players taking part in the World Cup semifinals.
- Barcelona’s original opener against Athletic Bilbao has been postponed to August 27, with a new season start at Elche on August 23.
- Real Madrid’s home match against Real Sociedad on the opening weekend has been moved to August 26.
- Madrid’s first game under manager Jose Mourinho in his second spell will be away at Espanyol on August 22.
- Atletico Madrid will begin their season on August 19 as scheduled, with Julian Alvarez and Nahuel Molina available.