7 · Dispatches
A season, in days
A season is 133 days — 19 weeks, no gap before the next one. Roughly two and three-quarter seasons a real year. Here is the shape of one, and then Season 1 with its real dates.
| Week | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | Training camp. Friendlies, the squad settles, the first sponsor. |
| 2 | The supercup on Thursday (not in Season 1 — nobody holds anything yet) and Round 1 on Saturday. Still a friendly window: managers keep arriving. |
| 3–7 | Rounds 2–11: Tuesday 20:00 and Saturday 11:00. The cup begins on Thursdays. |
| 8 | Break. Friendlies, the market, the treatment room. |
| 9–11 | Rounds 12–17. |
| 12 | Break. |
| 13–14 | Rounds 18–20 (week 14 has a single round, on the weekend). |
| 15 | Break — the last one. |
| 16–17 | Rounds 21–22 and the cup final. Titles, promotion and relegation are decided here. |
| 18 | The awards week and the gala; internationals. |
| 19 | The off-season: contracts expire and renew, the academy intake, promotion and relegation are processed, next season's fixtures are drawn. |
Every week has a rhythm. Sunday opens the season week: wages go out, the league grant comes in. Tuesday evening a round. Wednesday and Thursday the market — auctions close, free-agent talks run, cup ties on Thursday. Friday you set the eleven. Saturday morning a round, and the press after it.
The pyramid is brutal on purpose. Twelve clubs a league, double round-robin, no playoffs. The champion of a second-tier league goes up; the top two of a third-tier league go up; the bottom four of every league go down. A third of the table. Every match in the spring matters to somebody.
Season 1, with dates.
| Date | |
|---|---|
| Sun 27.9 | Day 1 — the season starts, camp week |
| Mon 28.9 | The doors open |
| Sat 10.10, 11:00 | Round 1 |
| 15.11 – 21.11 | Break 1 |
| 13.12 – 19.12 | Break 2 |
| 3.1 – 9.1 | Break 3 |
| 10.1 – 23.1 | The last two rounds and the cup final |
| 24.1 – 30.1 | Awards and the gala |
| 31.1 – 6.2 | The off-season |
| Sun 7.2.2027 | Season 2 · Day 1 |
One small thing to know: the game's day changes at midnight UTC — 2 a.m. in Israel in winter, 3 a.m. in summer. Wages, the week's turn, the calendar — all flip then.
Your club's own calendar — matches, the wage boundary, auctions you are in, contracts ending, injuries returning — lives on the dashboard from day one, with the time until each.
Tomorrow: the money — where it comes from, where it goes, and why the ground is the slowest, surest investment.