Indian football calendar for September 2026: India vs Panama, AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifier & ACL Two in spotlight

Blue Tigers will face Panama on 26th September in Bengaluru

With the Durand Cup 2026 marking the beginning of the new 2026-27 Indian Football campaign, there is still a lot of football to play in the campaign as some of the major league competitions come nearer to beginning.

However, with the Indian Super League having been pushed back to only beginning in October (2026) and the Indian Football League perhaps even beyond that, the league football scene is still a bit far away for Indian football fans.

Fear not, there are definitely other exciting matches for the football fraternity to enjoy – with many levels of the Indian national teams (for men’s and women’s) as well as a few notable Indian clubs being involved in eye-catching matches in September (2026).

Here, we are going to have a look at the schedule for Indian football, as has been officially announced, in September 2026.

Indian Football Team

Having last played an international match way back on 9 June (2026), the Indian men’s football team will finally be back in action in an international friendly match on 26 September (2026). This time, they will face off against a different level of opponents in the form of Panama, who are coming fresh off having played at the 2026 FIFA World Cup!

Panama are among the top-50 nations in the current FIFA Rankings, and they showcased decent grit in their World Cup matches, taking the fight to the likes of Ghana, Croatia and England in their group stages. This will be the first time that they face off against the Blue Tigers, and it should be a major challenge for India as well.

Also Read: India set to host historic international friendlies against Brazil, Uruguay and Panama

This clash against Panama will take place at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru and will be the precursor to India’s huge international friendly against Brazil in October.

• 26th September 2026: India vs Panama

India U-20 men’s football team

For the India U-20 side, the month of September will be a crucial one as they’ll be able to play their final two matches of the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers. The Blue Colts will be travelling to Tashkent (Uzbekistan) for the three qualification matches, having been placed in a pretty tricky group as well.

The Blue Colts will be facing off against hosts Uzbekistan on 3 September (2026) and their final group clash will be against Bangladesh on 6 September (2026). The Blue Colts definitely need to win the majority of their qualifiers to be able to at least achieve a second-place finish, where they’ll need to be among the top-7 teams to move on to the AFC U-20 qualifiers.

The U20 side are heading into the qualifiers with form on their side, having won three of their last four games and only losing one match in 2026 so far – as they aim to maintain that good form in the qualification clashes.

• 3rd September 2026: India vs Uzbekistan (AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers)
• 6th September 2026: India vs Bangladesh (AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers)

AFC Champions League Two

When it comes to top-level club football that football fans can enjoy in the month of September (2026), they can check out the defending ISL champions East Bengal in action as they kick off their campaign at the 2026-27 AFC Champions League Two group stages.

Also Read: When will East Bengal play their next match?

The Torchbearers have been placed in a pretty tricky group that involves major teams like Al-Hussein (Jordan), Al-Shorta (Iraq) and Al-Seeb (Oman) in the group stages. They’ll be playing in six matches (three at home and three away) and will need to finish in the top two of the group stages to be able to book a place in the knockout rounds.

Antonio Habas are flying high on momentum after having won the 2026 Durand Cup after defeating Mohun Bagan in the final.

They will be kicking off their AFC Champions League Two campaign with a tricky clash against Al-Hussein on 16 September (2026). This match will be played in Amman (Jordan) and will be a massive test for East Bengal to show if they’re really good enough to hold their own at the continental level.

• 16th September 2026: East Bengal FC vs Al-Hussein (ACL Two)

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.