This weekend, the 2026-2027 La Liga, the championship of world champions, has started. However, the first week is truncated, as it takes place without Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, which are postponing their debut matches due to a rule that stipulates that footballers are entitled to 21 days of vacation. This means that those who have reached the end of the World Cup cannot be activated in the first week and, in order not to penalize teams with multiple champions, it has been decided that the debut matches will be postponed by about ten days.
Real Madrid-Real Sociedad and Barcelona-Athletic Bilbao postponed
When the 2026-2027 La Liga schedule was drawn, no one could have known that Spain would become world champions for the second time. The schedule, ironically, had produced a spectacular first week, with Real Madrid and Barcelona facing Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao. The matches were scheduled for August 15 and 16, but have been postponed to Wednesday August 26 and Thursday August 27. Atletico Madrid's debut against Malaga has also been postponed, but only by three days.
Why were Real Madrid and Barcelona's debut matches postponed?
The reason for the postponement is related to the World Cup and the rule that stipulates that footballers must have 21 days of vacation. So, the World Cup ended on July 19 and the footballers would not be available to their teams before August 10. Several days of preparation are necessary and so Real Madrid will debut on August 22 at Espanyol, in the second week, while Barcelona will do so on Sunday, August 23 at Elche. They will then recover in the following midweek the matches of the first week. This means, moreover, that Mourinho's team and Flick's team will have to play three La Liga matches in less than ten days.
Mushrooms at Vigo stadium
Ironically, the postponed matches later became five, because Betis was also included among the postponements due to work regulations, but Celta-Osasuna was not planned to be postponed. However, in Balaidos, a fungus was found in the stadium grass and, for safety reasons and to protect the health of the players, the match was postponed to August 27. Practically, a first week with only five matches on the scheduled day.
