EFL & UEFA fixture scheduling drama

The EFL has been left with no option than to rearrange a number of its fixtures following the announcement of fixture details for the league phase of the UEFA Champions League.

https://www.efl.com/news/2026/august/31/efl-statement--fixture-changes/

The EFL has been left with no option than to rearrange a number of its fixtures following the announcement of fixture details for the league phase of the UEFA Champions League.
 
On 28 August, we confirmed that the Carabao Cup Round Three tie between Everton and Wolves had been scheduled for Wednesday 9 September. This was confirmed with local stakeholders as per usual practice ahead of announcement. On Saturday, UEFA announced that it had scheduled Liverpool v Atletico Madrid for the same date, despite it being clear that Everton and Liverpool cannot play home fixtures on the same evening.
 
The EFL met with UEFA officials on Monday morning to explore available options, however in those discussions it was made clear that they were unwilling to consider rescheduling the Liverpool v Atletico Madrid fixture, and avoiding the consequences for other fixtures as a result.

Disappointingly, the League has therefore been forced to make changes to the following three fixtures:

Everton v Wolves: Wed 9th Sep → Wed 16th Sep

Liverpool v Tottenham: Wed 16th Sep → Tue 15th Sep

Wolves v Portsmouth: Wed 16th Sep → Tue 20th Oct

Over recent seasons the League has made a number of changes to accommodate the expansion of UEFA Club competitions – a decision which was made without adequate consultation with domestic leagues. These changes have included splitting Carabao Cup Round Three ties across two weeks, and implementing draw conditions for Round Three which prevent scheduling conflicts for Clubs playing in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

This makes UEFA’s unwillingness to cooperate all the more frustrating, not least for the supporters of the five Clubs that will now be inconvenienced as a result.