2026 K League 1 fixtures unveiled: key takeaways

It's fixture release day for K League 1, which means it's time to start planning away trips and really getting ready for the new season. But there are some differences compared to last year.

The 2026 Hana Bank K League 1 season will get underway on February 28th with two matches kicking off at 2 PM - a Gyeonin Derby between Incheon United and FC Seoul, and Ulsan HD versus Gangwon.

K League 1 returnees Incheon, therefore, begin the new season against old foes FC Seoul. Newly-promoted Bucheon FC 1995 begin life in the top flight with a trip to champions Jeonbuk.

With March 1st being a national holiday in Korea, and Monday 2nd March designated as a replacement bank holiday, matches will be split across three days in Round 1. Daejeon Hana Citizen host FC Anyang in the only match on Monday 2nd March.

The last-ever last round before the last-ever split will be Saturday 24th October.

Key Takeaways

It's a later start to the season than last year, despite it being a World Cup year with a forced mid-season break. The 2025 campaign begin on February 16th, but this year, action will begin two weeks later.

Speaking of the World Cup, there will be a break from mid-May to early July. The Round 15 fixtures on 16th and 17th May will be the last until 4th and 5th of July, a break of around seven weeks.

There are more midweek fixtures than last year, to make up for the prolonged World Cup break. In total, pre-split, there will be six midweek rounds with the first arriving as early as Round 4, followed by Round 9, Round 14, Round 19, Round 25, and Round 28. Round 12 is also technically mdiweek, although these are afternoon fixtures being played on Children's Day.

There will also be no Friday night fixtures. The only matches to be played on a Friday this season pre-split will be in the afternoon during Round 31, during Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving).

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