EFL considering major 2026/27 change amid FIFA stumbling block - it will impact Championship, League One & Two clubs | OneFootball

The 2026/27 EFL calendar could be set for yet another shake-up

The EFL are considering a major shake-up to the 2026/27 calendar despite complications that have arisen from recent FIFA developments.

According to a report from the Daily Mail, the competitive footballing season for clubs in the Championship, League One and League Two could begin with EFL Cup First Round matches on the first weekend of August, with some encounters potentially pencilled in for July 31st if matches were selected for a Friday night kick-off.

This comes just days after a recent development from worldwide governing body, FIFA, which initially impacts the scheduling of the 46-game league season and matches in the EFL Cup and EFL Trophy for those in next season's third and fourth tiers respectively.

At present, the Championship recently concluded its fifth match of the current campaign, with Middlesbrough taking 13 points from a possible 15 available, whilst clubs in League One and League Two have already played a minimum of seven outings, with the vast majority already playing eight times in the league as they were not impacted by call-ups during the recently concluded September international break.

However, these fresh developments are set to spark even more discourse at a time when scheduling and player welfare have become prominent talking points across English football's professional leagues.

EFL considering major 2026/27 fixture shake-up amid recent FIFA developments

The Daily Mail's aforementioned report states that a number of potential options for the scheduling of fixtures next season are being considered by those at the EFL, and that a final decision will only be made when all the clubs they oversee have been 'extensively consulted'.

The major consideration is the aforementioned possibility of beginning the campaign with fixtures in the EFL Cup First Round - of which there is always 64 ties taking place across split Northern and Southern sections.

It has been claimed that, with the season likely to commence on the first weekend of August, which includes Saturday 1st, if a game was moved to a Friday night, the campaign would officially commence on July 31st - a day later than back in 2022/23, when the season got off and running on July 30th due to the winter scheduling of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

However, the report states that such developments could be hindered by FIFA's decision to merge the September international break, which will now take place from September 21st to October 6th 2026, giving English sides who enter the EFL Cup at the Third Round stage due to European exploits less time to fulfil fixtures before their continental campaigns commence.

It has also been reported that several clubs are opposed to the idea as their chances of pencilling in big-money friendlies against elite sides in the country and the continent could be hampered.

The start of the season could also come just 12 days after the conclusion of next summer's FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with the final at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford scheduled for July 19th.

This wouldn't be the first time an EFL season has begun with EFL Cup fixtures

Even though the aforementioned decision - if it was to occur - would cause plenty of controversy and split opinion, it wouldn't be the first EFL campaign to begin with EFL Cup First Round fixtures.

The entirety of the competition's first round was played before the commencing of the Championship, League One and League Two campaigns back in the 2012/13 season, when Swansea City eventually defeated then fourth-tier side, Bradford City, 5-0 in the final at Wembley Stadium.

This season also technically began with the same circumstances, with Barnet and Newport County facing off in a 'Preliminary Round' tie on July 29th, as well as Oldham Athletic and Accrington Stanley a week later, in order to accommodate the nine Premier League sides who would eventually enter in the Third Round due to their upcoming UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League campaigns.