Futsal, the league will kick off the season: fixtures drawn today

The date of the San Marino Futsal Super Cup has yet to be set, as it is linked to the completion of works at the Futsal Arena. One thing is certain, though: it will not be this competition that opens the 2026-27 futsal season in San Marino. That role will instead fall to the league, whose fixtures were drawn this evening at the Casa del Calcio in Montecchio. The opening matchday will come earlier than in recent seasons: it will kick off in mid-September, with the round likely to be spread over three different evenings. Defending champions Murata will barely have time to recharge their batteries after their European campaign before diving into their title defence. Their first opponents will be Folgore, while last season’s runners-up Virtus will open their campaign against Cosmos. The opening day also features a double derby: Tre Fiori vs Fiorentino and Libertas vs Cailungo. Judging by the summer transfer window, Domagnano and Juvenes-Dogana look set for particularly demanding debuts: the Wolves face Pennarossa, who have bolstered their ranks with the quality (and trophies) of the Busignani-Protti duo, among others; for the Biancorossoazzurri, the calendar serves up Fiorita, who have secured some of Virtus’ best assets – the side that last year tried to challenge Murata for two of the three trophies on offer. San Giovanni sit out the first round.

The league draw also provided an opportunity to highlight some of the most significant rule changes for the coming season. The first concerns the very format of the Campionato Sammarinese di futsal, which does away with the Preliminary Round and opens the doors of the post-season to only the top eight teams at the end of the regular season. The other major change concerns the Titano Futsal Cup: there was no draw for the national cup, as the first round will be determined by the league standings at the halfway stage. The winners of the two-legged ties – home and away – will qualify for the Final Eight, for which a place will already be reserved for the team that finishes first at the end of the first half of the league campaign, rather than, as in the past, for the title holders.