Bundesliga 2026-27: Start Date, Fixtures and Promoted Clubs

The Bundesliga 2026-27 season kicks off on **Friday, August 28, 2026**, with the traditional Friday-night opener. That is a week later than a normal German season, a knock-on effect of the expanded 2026 World Cup, which ran from June 11 to July 19 and pushed back every European pre-season. The second tier, 2. Bundesliga, started earlier, on **August 7, 2026**. Sources: bundesliga.com, DFL.

Defending champions **Bayern Munich host VfB Stuttgart** at the Allianz Arena on Friday, August 28, 2026. The Bundesliga's fixture computer always gives the reigning champions the season opener at home, and this year it produced one of the better matchups available: Stuttgart have been the most consistent challenger to Bayern's domestic grip in recent seasons. Sources: bundesliga.com, FC Bayern.

Three clubs came up from 2. Bundesliga: **Schalke 04**, **SV Elversberg** and **SC Paderborn**. Schalke return to the top flight after a three-year absence, comfortably the biggest story of the promotion race given their support base. Elversberg, from a village of roughly 12,000 people in Saarland, make their Bundesliga debut and become the 59th club to play in the competition since 1963. Sources: bundesliga.com, Wikipedia.

**VfL Wolfsburg**, **FC St. Pauli** and **1. FC Heidenheim** went down. Wolfsburg's demotion is the historic one: the club had never been relegated from the Bundesliga since arriving in 1997, so a nearly 30-year run in the top flight ended. St. Pauli and Heidenheim both drop back after short stays. Sources: bundesliga.com, Wikipedia.

**Bayern Munich**, who won their 34th German championship in 2025-26. Bayern's dominance of the Bundesliga is the defining feature of the modern competition, and they start 2026-27 as heavy favourites again, though nothing is decided before a ball is kicked. Sources: bundesliga.com.

Because of the **FIFA World Cup 2026**, which ran from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Players who went deep in the tournament needed a proper rest period, so the DFL pushed the whole German calendar back by roughly a week compared to a normal year. Every major European league made a similar adjustment. Sources: DFL, bundesliga.com.

The league goes into its winter break after **Matchday 14, played December 18-20, 2026**, and returns with **Matchday 15 on January 8-10, 2027**. The German winter break is one of the shortest it has been in years, again a consequence of the compressed post-World Cup calendar. Sources: bundesliga.com.

The final round, **Matchday 34, is played on Saturday, May 22, 2027**, with all nine fixtures kicking off simultaneously so that the title, European places and relegation are settled at the same moment. The relegation play-offs between the 16th-placed Bundesliga club and the third-placed side in 2. Bundesliga follow on **May 27 and May 31, 2027**. Sources: bundesliga.com, DFL.

For most Bundesliga clubs the first competitive fixture of the season is the **DFB-Pokal first round, played August 21-24, 2026**, a week before the league begins. The **Franz Beckenbauer Supercup**, between the Bundesliga champions and the DFB-Pokal winners, is scheduled for **Saturday, August 22, 2026**. Sources: bundesliga.com, DFL.

Eighteen. Each club plays 34 matches, home and away against every other side. The bottom two are relegated automatically, and the 16th-placed team enters a two-legged play-off against the third-placed club in 2. Bundesliga. Sources: DFL.

Yes. **Schalke 04 are back in the Bundesliga for 2026-27** after three seasons in the second tier. Their return restores one of German football's biggest crowds to the top flight and revives the Revierderby against Borussia Dortmund, historically the loudest fixture in the country. Sources: bundesliga.com, Wikipedia.

Broadcast rights are sold country by country. In Germany, Bundesliga matches are split between Sky and DAZN under the current domestic cycle. Outside Germany the rights holder changes by market, so check your local sports broadcaster or the official bundesliga.com listing for your country. Source: DFL.