Real Madrid’s La Liga opener against Real Sociedad set to be postponed

Real Madrid’s La Liga opener against Real Sociedad set to be postponed According to AS , Real Madrid are expected to become the first club affected by La Liga’s scheduling adjustments for players involved in the latter stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With France set to face Morocco in the quarter-finals , the Spanish capital club are now guaranteed to have at least one player reach the semi-finals, triggering the league’s postponement policy. Opening match to be rescheduled La Liga is scheduled to begin on the weekend of August 14-16, but clubs with at least one player participating in the World Cup semi-finals will not be required to play in the opening round. That means Real Madrid’s opening fixture against Real Sociedad is expected to be postponed and rescheduled for later in August. Regardless of which nation progresses, Real Madrid will have representation in the last four of the tournament, with Brahim Diaz playing for Morocco and Kylian Mbappe, Aurelien Tchouameni and new signing Ibrahima Konate representing France. Brahim and Mbappe face off in the WC quarter-finals. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images) Tebas explained the plan La Liga president Javier Tebas recently outlined how the competition intends to manage the calendar. According to Tebas, every player involved in the World Cup will receive the rest period guaranteed under the collective agreement with the Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE), consisting of three weeks of holiday followed by three weeks of pre-season preparation. To accommodate those requirements, La Liga plans to split the opening round, with some fixtures taking place during the opening weekend and others being moved to a midweek date later in August. “We’ve done a study and it’s very easy for us to divide the first matchday into six games around August 14th and another three or four on a Wednesday midweek in August. So, the first matchday will be divided,” Tebas said. “That postponed first matchday could be played between the second and third matchdays of the championship.” Tebas has a plan. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images for Soccerex) More clubs could be affected Real Madrid are expected to be the first club impacted, but they are unlikely to be the only one. Other fixtures that could also be postponed include Barcelona vs Athletic Club, Atletico Madrid vs Malaga and Celta Vigo vs Osasuna, depending on which players remain involved in the World Cup as the tournament progresses. La Liga is expected to confirm the official fixture schedule once the semi-finalists are known. AFE preferred a different solution The Spanish Footballers’ Association had previously expressed concerns about the congested calendar. Rather than splitting the opening round across different dates, the union argued that delaying the start of the entire league by one week would have been a fairer solution, allowing every club to begin the season simultaneously. Nevertheless, the league has decided to proceed with this formula and as things stand, Real Madrid’s opening fixture will be postponed.