A new Bundesliga campaign gets underway with the same burning question hanging over German football: can any club dethrone Bayern Munich? The Bavarian giants dominated the 2025/26 season with ruthless efficiency, finishing 16 points clear of Borussia Dortmund and plundering a staggering 122 goals across 34 league matches.

Harry Kane was the chief architect of that destruction, netting 36 league goals to claim his third consecutive Golden Boot. The England captain will be every bit as dangerous this term — and Bayern have made themselves even harder to stop.

Bayern strengthen further with Saibari signing

Kane, Luis Diaz, and Michael Olise combined for 109 goals last season, and the champions have added more firepower with the arrival of Morocco striker Ismael Saibari. Few clubs in world football are building with the same relentless ambition.

Away from Munich, the summer transfer window brought significant movement. Borussia Dortmund bolstered their defence by signing highly-rated RB Salzburg centre-back Joane Gadou, while Bayer Leverkusen recruited 21-year-old winger Afonso Moreira from Lyon.

New faces in the dugout

Bayer Leverkusen also appointed former Toulouse manager Carles Martinez Novell as their new head coach. RB Leipzig, meanwhile, turned to ex-Bayern defender Martin Demichelis to lead their Champions League challenge.

Three clubs return to the top flight this season: Schalke are back in the Bundesliga after three years in the second division, joined by Paderborn and newcomers SV Elversberg — a club from the Saarland town of Spiesen-Elversberg, whose entire population of 13,000 could barely fill the club's 10,000-capacity stadium.

Where to watch in Africa

African fans can access the Bundesliga through two main broadcasters. MBC Shahid holds the rights across MENA countries, covering North Africa and the Middle East. For Sub-Saharan Africa, StarTimes is the official broadcast partner — including in South Africa, where fans can follow all the action via a StarTimes subscription.

Free streams and global broadcast options

Viewers in the United States can watch around 270 matches at no cost on Fandango as part of a new five-year broadcast deal, with at least 30 further games airing live on USA Network. In the United Kingdom, BBC iPlayer will stream Friday-night fixtures for free throughout the season, with Sky Sports and Amazon Prime Video sharing the remaining rights. Amazon will show Sunday afternoon games on a pay-per-view basis at £2.49 per match.

In Australia, every match is available live on beIN SPORTS and the beIN SPORTS Connect streaming platform, with plans starting from $15.99 per month. Brazilian fans can catch select games on CazéTV via YouTube.

Key dates for 2026/27

The 2026/27 Bundesliga season kicks off on Friday, August 28, 2026, and concludes on Saturday, May 29, 2027. The opening weekend fixtures are as follows (all times BST):

Friday, August 28: Bayern Munich vs VFB Stuttgart (7.30pm)

Saturday, August 29: RB Leipzig vs Borussia Monchengladbach (2.30pm), Mainz vs Paderborn (2.30pm), FC Cologne vs Hoffenheim (2.30pm), Union Berlin vs Eintracht Frankfurt (2.30pm), SV Elversberg vs Bayer Leverkusen (2.30pm), Borussia Dortmund vs Hamburg (5.30pm)

Sunday, August 30: Freiburg vs Werder Bremen (2.30pm), Augsburg vs Schalke (4.30pm)