Romania's 2026-27 Football Season Is Under Way as Craiova Defends Its Double and Four Clubs Chase Europe

Romanian football has entered a new chapter. The 2026-27 Liga I season is under way, with matches already played through the end of August, and the country's leading clubs are once again juggling domestic ambition with the demands of European qualifying.

Craiova set the standard last season

The backdrop to the new campaign is a dominant year from Universitatea Craiova. The Oltenia club won the 2025-26 Liga I title, the fifth championship in its history, confirming its place among the traditional powers of the Romanian game heading into a new season.

Craiova did not stop at the league. The club also lifted the 2025-26 Cupa Romaniei, defeating Universitatea Cluj in the final to complete a domestic double, a feat that raises expectations sharply as the side begins the defence of both trophies.

Four clubs carry Romania into Europe

That success reshaped Romania's European map for 2026-27. Universitatea Cluj secured a place in the Europa League, while both CFR Cluj and FCSB entered the Conference League route, giving the country several representatives across the continental competitions this season.

CFR Cluj earned its European place by finishing third in the 2025-26 Liga I table, a result that sent the Transylvanian side into the Conference League play-off round, one of the later and more demanding stages of the qualifying calendar.

For the clubs involved, the summer has been about waiting as much as playing. Universitatea Craiova, Universitatea Cluj, FCSB and CFR Cluj have been preparing to discover their opponents in the qualifying and preliminary rounds, where the draws shape how far each can realistically travel.

A new Liga I season takes shape

Domestically, the 2026-27 Liga I season has already begun, with results recorded through 28 August. The opening rounds serve as the foundation for a format that keeps both the title race and the European places open deep into the campaign.

The competition uses a split structure that rewards consistency. After the regular season, the top six teams meet twice more, playing an additional ten matches each, in a championship group that decides the title and the places in the Champions League and the Conference League.

That format tends to intensify the second half of the season, because clubs near the top know that every result in the championship group carries direct weight for both the trophy and a valuable European ticket that can transform a club's finances.

Fresh faces join the top flight

The new season also brings change at the edges of the division. Corvinul Hunedoara, Sepsi and Voluntari are among the teams making up the reshaped 2026-27 Liga I, each arriving with the immediate goal of establishing itself and avoiding an early relegation battle.

Promoted and returning sides always add unpredictability to a league. Their results against the established clubs can swing the fight at the bottom of the table and, on their day, upset the plans of the teams chasing a place in the top six.

The stakes for the year ahead

Taken together, the opening weeks of the 2026-27 season set up a familiar but high stakes story for Romanian football. Craiova will try to prove its double was no accident, the chasing clubs will look to close the gap, and the European ties will test the domestic game against tougher opposition.

For supporters, the coming months offer two parallel narratives: the fight for the Liga I title through the championship group, and the effort by four clubs to make their mark in Europe and lift the profile of Romanian football on the continental stage.