Congratulations, you’re now a soccer fan – here’s how you can stay hooked, 11 months out from another World Cup

The confetti has been swept away in New Jersey, Spain is the world champion and Argentina is probably still trying to calm down.

>The 2026 men’s World Cup and its big names have brought soccer to its biggest ever U.S. audience, but the next time they will be seen in action will be in club colors across the world.

>After a post-tournament vacation, Kylian Mbappé will return to Spain’s Real Madrid with the Golden Boot after scoring 10 goals as France finished fourth, Lionel Messi will be back in MLS at Inter Miami, with Erling Haaland and Harry Kane returning to England’s Manchester City and Bayern Munich of Germany respectively.

>Managerial rock star José Mourinho has returned for a second spell as Madrid head coach, 13 years after leaving, because European football’s latest idea is to revisit one of its most combustible relationships. How he, Mbappé and England’s star midfielder Jude Bellingham get along should be fun.

>Alexia Putellas, meanwhile, has left Barcelona for London City Lionesses in one of the most audacious transfers the women’s game has seen as billionaire businesswoman Michele Kang bids to shake up the Women’s Super League in England.

>So, for all of you newly converted soccer fans — what are you going to watch next? Well, the 2026-27 UEFA Champions League has already started… and another World Cup is less than a year away.

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Champions LeagueThe Champions League, Europe’s biggest soccer prize, began on July 7, 12 days — yes, you read that right — before the World Cup final. Its famous anthem, giant star-ball banners and superclubs will not arrive until September, but dozens of teams are battling to join them.

>The men’s Champions League league phase starts on September 8, with 36 clubs in one table. The top eight advance directly to the last 16, while those finishing ninth to 24th enter the knockout playoffs.

>French giants Paris Saint-Germain are chasing a third successive title and runners-up Arsenal will want another chance after their heartbreak in the 2026 final.

>The Women’s Champions League starts on July 22 with knockout mini-tournaments. Before Barcelona, Manchester City and Bayern Munich enter, several clubs will have had their seasons transformed by qualifying.

>The Women’s Champions League league phase begins on September 22. Barcelona defends the trophy without Putellas, with Lyon, Bayern, Arsenal and Manchester City searching for evidence that her departure has made them vulnerable.

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Key dates:

Men’s league phase begins — September 8

>Women’s league phase begins — September 22

>Men’s final — June 5, Metropolitano, Madrid

>Women’s final — TBC, National Stadium, Warsaw

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Premier LeagueThe English top flight starts on August 21, 33 days after the World Cup final, despite delaying its return by a week to give players more recovery time.

>Arsenal begins as champion after ending its 22-year title wait. Its first opponent is Coventry City, back in the top flight after 25 years away.

>Bukayo Saka returns after ending his World Cup with a hat-trick against France in the 10-goal bronze-medal fixture.

>Haaland, the Norway striker who dazzled on and off the pitch in the U.S., is back at Manchester City but manager Pep Guardiola isn’t — Enzo Maresca has replaced him. Taking over after Guardiola’s decade of success is like being handed the keys to a shiny rental car you already know you are going to scratch.

>Key dates:

>Opening game — August 21, Arsenal vs. Coventry City

>Final day — May 30 when all ten matches kick-off at same time

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MLS and NWSLMLS resumed on July 16, three days before the World Cup final, so Messi and South Korea’s Son Heung-min will soon be swapping their national shirts for those of Inter Miami and Los Angeles FC.

>Messi is no longer the league’s only aging global attraction. Robert Lewandowski has joined Chicago Fire from Barcelona and Antoine Griezmann is at Orlando City.

>The MLS regular season concludes with Decision Day on November 7, before the playoffs lead to MLS Cup on December 18.

>The NWSL is in full swing. Australia star striker Sam Kerr has returned to Gotham after six-and-a-half years at Chelsea. The regular season ends on November 1, followed by the opening playoff round from November 6-8 and semifinals from November 13-15. The championship game takes place at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., on November 21.

>MLS All-Star Game (vs Liga MX All-Stars) — July 29

>NWSL Decision Day — November 1

>NWSL playoffs begin — November 6-8

>MLS Decision Day — November 7

>NWSL Championship — November 21, Washington, D.C.

>MLS Cup — December 18

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La LigaLa Liga starts on August 15, although Real Madrid and Barcelona have been given additional recovery time after supplying so many players to the latter stages of the World Cup. Madrid begins on August 26, with Barcelona following a day later.

>The Mourinho sequel begins here. He returns to Madrid 13 years after his first spell ended, inheriting Mbappé, Bellingham and enough attacking options to turn every team-sheet decision into a referendum.

>Mbappé arrives with the Golden Boot after scoring 10 World Cup goals. Across the rivalry, Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal is now a European and world champion at 19. El Clásico already had enough drama; Mourinho’s return has rehired its most enthusiastic villain.

>Key dates:

>Season starts — August 15

>Real Madrid’s first game — August 26

>Barcelona’s first game — August 27

>Final day — May 30

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Ligue 1Ligue 1 begins on August 21, with Paris Saint-Germain opening its title defense at home to Rennes.

>PSG has reached the final form of a superclub: glamorous, extremely rich and now alarmingly coherent. It has won five successive French titles and retained the Champions League by beating Arsenal on penalties.

>Marseille, Monaco, Lille and Lens must work out how to disrupt a team that finally appears comfortable with its wealth, status and expectations. Marseille hosts PSG on September 20, when French soccer’s most combustible rivalry provides the first obvious test.

>Key dates:

>Season starts — August 21

>Marseille vs. PSG — September 20

>Final day — May 29

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Serie ASerie A starts on August 22, with champion Inter hosting promoted Monza, and ends on May 30.

>Argentina striker Lautaro Martínez will again lead an Inter side that has become reliably ruthless. Napoli has appointed Massimiliano Allegri after Antonio Conte’s departure, giving one of Italy’s most decorated coaches another opportunity to prove that pragmatism has not gone out of fashion.

>Juventus, Milan and Roma must turn intermittent promise into something resembling a title challenge. For new viewers, Serie A is the league that teaches you to watch beyond the ball. Quite often, the center back is the entertainment.

>Key dates:

>Season starts — August 22

>Final day — May 30

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BundesligaThe Bundesliga starts on August 28 and ends on May 22, making it the last of Europe’s five biggest leagues to begin and the first to finish — which is as efficient as expected.

>Kane returns to his continuing argument with the German record books. He scored 36 Bundesliga goals last season, won the scoring prize for a third successive year and then added six at the World Cup as England finished third.

>Bayern Munich remains champion and favorite, with Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig again tasked with making the title race last. The Bundesliga rarely lacks excitement; its problem is making that excitement change the identity of the winner — Bayern have won 13 of the last 15 titles.

>Season starts — August 28

>Final day — May 22

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Europa League and Conference LeagueThe Europa League has already started, with qualifying beginning on July 9. Its 36-team league phase begins on September 16 and 17, before the final in Frankfurt on May 26.

>It is technically Europe’s second competition, but winning it brings a major trophy and a place in the following season’s Champions League.

>The Conference League began qualifying on July 9, with its league phase starting on October 15 and Premier League team Brighton & Hove Albion looking to follow in West Ham United, Chelsea and Crystal Palace’s footsteps to lift the trophy. The final takes place at Beşiktaş Park in Istanbul on June 2.

>Europa League league phase — September 16-17

>Europa League final — May 26, Frankfurt

>Conference League league phase — October 15

>Conference League final — June 2, Istanbul

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Liga FLiga F, the top tier in Spanish women’s football, begins over the weekend of August 29-30, with Barcelona starting its pursuit of an eighth successive title without Putellas.

>She has left after 14 seasons, a club-record 233 goals and 38 trophies. Barcelona still has Aitana Bonmatí and an extraordinary concentration of talent, but this is a genuine before-and-after season.

>Real Madrid begins with a derby against Atlético. Its challenge is to prove that Barcelona’s transition has created a genuine opening. Improvement is no longer enough; eventually, a rivalry has to become competitive in the table.

>Key dates:

>Season starts — August 29-30

>Final weekend — May 22-23

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Women’s Super LeagueThe WSL in England starts over the weekend of September 4-6 and expands from 12 clubs to 14. Its domestic season concludes over the weekend of May 21-23.

>Its biggest storyline is at London City Lionesses, where Putellas has been joined by Mapi León, Mary Earps and Kadidiatou Diani. Putellas moving from Barcelona to a club that finished sixth in its first WSL season still reads like a transfer entered into the wrong column.

>Manchester City is champion, while Arsenal and Chelsea remain established powers. London City, meanwhile, has attempted to compress years of development into one spectacular summer. Subtle ambition this is not — Kang clearly means business.

>Key dates:

>Season starts — September 4-6

>Final domestic weekend — May 21-23

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Women’s World CupThe next 12 months end where they began: with a World Cup.

>Brazil will stage the first Women’s World Cup held in South America from June 24 to July 25, 2027. Spain will defend the title it won in 2023, Brazil will chase its first on home soil and 32 teams will play across eight cities, including Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã.

>By then, Putellas will have completed her first season in England, Mourinho his first back in Madrid and Yamal will have spent a year trying to add club trophies to his World Cup medal before turning 20.

>Emma Hayes’ USWNT is yet to confirm its place and can do that on November 27 by beating El Salvador in the Concacaf Championship. Win and it becomes one of four Concacaf teams to stamp their spot.

>England, the European champions, missed out on automatic qualification after finishing level with title holders Spain. A 4-0 defeat in Spain proved decisive, leaving England to navigate two playoff rounds to reach Brazil. First up are Greece, then Slovakia or Ukraine.

>Key dates:

>Tournament starts — June 24, 2027

>Final — July 25, 2027

>This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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