When are football fixtures confirmed?
A planning resource: when each league confirms the exact date and kickoff time for a far-future fixture, why they show as “TBC” until then, and how to tell a real kickoff from a placeholder.
By Carlos O.· Kept current with each league’s schedule
You are planning a trip a few months out, you look up a match, and either it has no kickoff time yet or it shows one that looks real but is not actually set. This page is the resource for that moment: it shows, league by league, when the exact date and kickoff time for a far-future fixture actually get confirmed, so you can plan around a window instead of guessing.
The short version: leagues publish the fixture list, who plays whom and in roughly which week, months ahead. The exact day and time stay open until broadcasters make their live TV selections, usually a few weeks before each round. So a far-future kickoff is not really settled yet, whatever a given site displays.
When your fixtures will be confirmed
Search or open a league to see when it sets exact dates and kickoff times. Where a league publishes its own schedule, the dates come from it; where it does not, the window reflects recent practice, a guide rather than a promise.
Premier LeaguePublished calendar≥ 4 wksnext: wk of Sep 21
The most open of the big leagues. Before the season it publishes the exact dates on which each batch of fixtures gets its confirmed TV times. Exact times usually land a few weeks to a couple of months out; the final rounds can come at shorter notice once the cup and European picture clears.
| Fixtures in | Confirmed by |
|---|---|
| November | the week of September 21 |
| December | the week of October 19 |
| January | the week of November 30 |
| February | the week of December 21 |
| March | the week of January 18 |
| April–May | the week of March 22 |
| May | the week of March 29 |
| May | the week of April 5 |
Championship · League One · League TwoPublished calendar≥ 4 wksnext: wk of Nov 6
Runs on a published selection calendar. Early rounds are confirmed far out; from midseason the picks settle to about four weeks before each round. The last rounds are held on purpose, because promotion, playoff and relegation stakes decide which games move. League One and League Two share the calendar, ending a week later.
| Fixtures in | Confirmed by |
|---|---|
| January–March | the week of November 6 |
| March | the week of February 5 |
| April | the week of April 3 |
| April–May | the week of April 24 |
Bundesliga · 2. BundesligaPublished block plan≥ 4 wksnext: in blocks
Times are set in blocks. The opening five matchdays are timed at the summer release; the rest is confirmed in stages from around early September, roughly four weeks before each block, leaving recovery time around the German Cup and European midweeks. The DFL commits to no fixed minimum, so read four weeks as typical, not guaranteed.
La LigaRecent practice≥ 2 wksnext: rolling
No formal policy, but a steady habit: the opening rounds are timed at release, then each round is set a couple of weeks before it is played, sometimes a little more, a couple of rounds at a time. Rule of thumb: more than three or four weeks out it is still unset; inside a fortnight it almost always has its time.
Serie ARecent practice≥ 1 wknext: rolling
The weekend shape is fixed at release; exact times come in uneven blocks. Nearer rounds firm up several weeks ahead, but the final rounds are set only about a week before, once the standings decide which games matter. Autumn games confirm well ahead; a run-in fixture can wait until the week of the match.
Ligue 1Recent practice≥ 2 wksnext: rolling
Confirmed in waves rather than round by round. The LFP publishes a block of matchdays at a time, so several rounds get their times at once and most land well ahead; it is the round nearest an announcement that can come as late as a couple of weeks out. Treat two weeks as the late end, not the norm.
EredivisiePublished programme≥ 3 wksnext: in blocks
Publishes a dated plan and holds to it, the most predictable of the lot. Through matchday 13 is timed from the summer; matchdays 13 to 21 are confirmed in early September; and matchdays 22 to 32 are set at the end of December. So a spring Eredivisie game has had a time since around New Year.
Primeira LigaRecent practice≥ 1 wknext: rolling
Liga Portugal commits to a floor: times are set no fewer than about ten days before the games, two rounds at a time. So a fixture inside about two weeks has its time, while anything further out is still open.
Scottish PremiershipRecent practice≥ 4 wksnext: rolling
Sky TV picks are confirmed in batches, roughly once a month, so most games land four to nine weeks ahead. The least formally documented league here, so treat it as a conservative read of recent seasons rather than a rule.
Champions · Europa · Conference LeagueSet at the draw≥ 2 wksnext: at each draw
European nights run on a different clock. League-phase times are set within days of the late-August draw, so they confirm early. Knockout times are set at each knockout draw, roughly two to four weeks before the ties, so a future knockout tie is unset until its draw. One trick: the dates and slots are fixed long before the draw fills them, and projections and odds can point to who is likely to feature, so you can plan around a probable tie and firm it up once the draw is made.
“Recent practice” is an estimate from past seasons, not a commitment the league has made. The official club or league page is always the last word.
How to tell a kickoff time is actually confirmed
There is a quick way to sniff out a placeholder. Look at a full round of a league's fixtures at once, not just your one game. If every match in the round shows the same kickoff, a wall of Saturday at 3pm, that is a placeholder: a confirmed round is spread across Friday to Monday in several different slots once the TV picks are in. Variety in the days and times is the tell that a round is set. A uniform block is the tell that it is not.
The trap is looking at a single team on a single date, where a placeholder 3pm looks exactly like a real kickoff. Zoom out to the whole round first, and when it matters, confirm it on the club's or the league's own page.
Why the exact time isn't set yet
A fixture list answers who and where. It does not answer exactly when, and the reason is television. Leagues sell the rights to show matches live, and the broadcasters, not the league, choose which games they want and in which slot: a Friday night, the Saturday lunchtime kickoff, the Sunday afternoon, a Monday. A game that would sit at Saturday 3pm can be moved to Sunday because a broadcaster selected it. Until those selections are made, the league cannot print a final time, so the fixture carries its date and time to be confirmed.
The picks come in waves, a batch of upcoming rounds at a time. Early in the season the notice is generous, sometimes a couple of months. As the season goes on it tightens, often to around four weeks, and the closing rounds can be set later still, because they depend on things that are not settled yet: who is still in the cup, who has European midweeks, which games suddenly decide the title or relegation. That is also why a time can move even after it is set.
When a cup run moves your fixture
The most tangible version of this, and the one that catches out trip planners, is a cup run. When a club reaches an FA Cup semi-final or a League Cup final, the league game it was due to play that weekend has to move, because a team cannot be in two places at once. If your trip is built around one of those league games, its date is quietly contingent on a result that has not happened yet.
A clean example. In March 2025, Aston Villa were due to host Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday the 15th. Liverpool were also in the League Cup, whose final was set for Wembley the very next day, Sunday the 16th. So the league game could only stand if Liverpool did not reach that final. The Premier League planned for both outcomes in advance: it confirmed a replacement date for Aston Villa against Liverpool that would apply should Liverpool reach the final. They did, and the game was pulled forward to a midweek slot several weeks earlier. Anyone who had booked the original Saturday was rebooking. Anyone who understood the dependency, that the date hinged on a cup semi-final result, saw it coming.
The FA Cup does the same thing every spring. When Manchester City, Chelsea and Leeds reached the FA Cup semi-finals in a recent season, the Premier League moved their league games that weekend, against Burnley, Brighton and Bournemouth, to the midweek before, to clear the Wembley weekend. A deep run in Europe squeezes a schedule the same way, pushing league games to midweeks to make room. If your trip is built around a club still alive in a domestic cup, or on a long European run, treat the date as more likely to move than a normal fixture, and more so from the quarter-final stage on.
Why we show TBC instead of a placeholder time
Plenty of sites paper over this, and it helps to know how. Most do not leave the time blank. They drop in a placeholder, often the same default kickoff for every unconfirmed game, a uniform Saturday at 3pm, and they rarely make it clear that it is only a placeholder. So the fixture looks settled when it is not, and you cannot tell it apart from a real, confirmed time. A real-looking time is easier to show than an honest blank, but it is also what gets people booking around a kickoff that was never set. Book flights and a hotel around a placeholder 3pm, then watch the match land on Sunday evening, and that is your money.
Road to Kickoff does the opposite. When a league has not set a time, we mark the fixture as unconfirmed instead of dressing a placeholder up as the real thing, and we tell you when to expect the actual time, drawn from that league's own release schedule. It is less tidy than a confident kickoff. It is also true, and it is the thing that actually lets you plan.
How to plan around unconfirmed fixtures
You do not need the exact time to start planning. You need the date window and a plan that survives the time moving.
- Build around the weekend, not the kickoff. Pick the round and the city first. The trip planner shows which matches fall in your window and, for each unconfirmed one, when to expect the real time.
- Book what refunds. Until the time is set, favor flexible or refundable travel and rooms, especially for a match near the end of the season, when times move latest.
- Use the league finder above. A Premier League game a month out will have a time soon. A Champions League knockout tie will not, until its draw.
- Check for cup runs. A club still alive in the FA Cup or League Cup, or on a deep European run, is the likeliest to have a league game moved, especially from the quarter-finals on.
- Confirm on the official page when it matters. The estimates here and in the planner are a guide; the club or league site is the last word.
When you are ready, drop your dates into the planner and it will show you the matches, which ones are still to be confirmed, and when each is due.
Planning a specific trip? See our trip-planning guides and the club matchday guides.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my football fixture showing as TBC?
The fixture is scheduled, but the league has not set its exact day and kickoff time yet. Those depend on which games broadcasters pick for live TV, and the picks are made only a few weeks before each round. Until then the match carries a date and time to be confirmed.
How can I tell if a kickoff time is actually confirmed?
Look at a whole round of fixtures at once, not just your game. If every match shows the same kickoff, a uniform Saturday at 3pm, it is a placeholder. A confirmed round is spread across Friday to Monday in several slots. Variety in the days and times means it is set; a uniform block means it is not. When it matters, check the club or league official page.
How far in advance are Premier League kickoff times confirmed?
The Premier League publishes, before the season, the dates on which each batch of fixtures will be confirmed. Times usually land a few weeks to a couple of months out, and the closing rounds can come at shorter notice once the cup and European picture settles.
When are Champions League kickoff times confirmed?
The league-phase times are set within a few days of the late-August draw. Knockout times are set at each knockout draw, roughly two to four weeks before the ties, so a future knockout fixture is unset until its draw.
Can my match move if a club reaches a cup final?
Yes, and it is the most common reason a dated league game moves. When a club reaches an FA Cup semi-final or a League Cup final, its league game that weekend is rescheduled, often to the midweek before. If your trip is built around a club still alive in a cup, keep your plans flexible until the cup picture clears.
When is it safe to book travel for a match?
Book refundable travel and rooms until the time is confirmed, build the trip around the date rather than a fixed kickoff, and check the league’s confirmation window to know how long you will be waiting.