Real Madrid and Barcelona start La Liga a week later because of World Cup

La Liga has postponed the opening league matches of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona by one week because many of their players are still competing in the World Cup semifinals. Real Madrid’s season will begin on 22 August with an away game against Espanyol, and its home match against Real Sociedad, originally set for the weekend of 15–16 August, is now scheduled for 26 August. Barcelona will also debut a week later, playing away at Elche on 23 August and opening its home campaign against Athletic Bilbao on 27 August.

Atlético Madrid, which also has several World Cup semifinalists, will start its season on its usual date, 19 August, facing Málaga. The schedule changes affect the top Spanish clubs but leave the rest of the league largely unchanged.