September delivers one of the busiest, most genuinely varied stretches on the entire sports calendar. American football kicks off a new season, tennis crowns its final Grand Slam champion of the year, European football launches both domestic and continental competition, and motorsport, combat sports, and Australian rules football all have their own marquee moments. Here’s a complete rundown of what’s actually worth watching September sports events.
NFL Season Kickoff (September 9)
The NFL’s new season opens with a genuine Super Bowl rematch: the defending champion Seattle Seahawks host the New England Patriots, the very team they beat in Super Bowl LX. It’s the first time in over a decade the league has opened its season on a Wednesday rather than the traditional Thursday. Later in Week 1, the Dallas Cowboys travel to face the New York Giants in the Sunday Night Football window — the eighth time in 15 seasons these division rivals have opened a season against each other.
US Open Tennis (Through September 13)
Tennis’s final Grand Slam of the year wraps up its two-week run in New York this month, closing out the sport’s biggest annual stretch. As the last major of the season, the US Open carries extra weight for players jockeying for year-end rankings and ATP/WTA Finals qualification, on top of the tournament’s own prestige.
Premier League 2026-27 Early Season (Ongoing)
England’s top domestic football competition kicked off its new season on August 21, and September marks the point where early-season form starts meaning something real — the opening weeks separate genuine title and European qualification contenders from teams still finding their rhythm under new signings or tactical setups.
NFL Melbourne Game (September 11)
The NFL’s international expansion reaches a new milestone this month: the San Francisco 49ers face the Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia — a genuinely novel entry in the league’s growing international games program, bringing NFL football to a market that’s never hosted a regular-season game before.
UEFA Champions League Matchday 1 (September 8-10)
Europe’s premier club competition opens its 2026/27 league phase this month, with all 36 qualified clubs beginning their campaign under the expanded single-table format introduced a few seasons ago. Early results matter more under this system than the old group stage did, since every match feeds directly into one overall league table determining who advances automatically and who faces a knockout play-off round.
F1 Italian Grand Prix (September 11-13)
Formula 1 makes its historic stop at Monza, one of the sport’s most storied circuits, in a race weekend that carries real championship implications as the season heads toward its final stretch. With Lando Norris defending his first F1 title this year, every remaining race weekend adds pressure to the championship battle.
How Modern Athletes Are Training Differently This Year
Beyond the events themselves, September is also a good moment to look at how the athletes competing across all these sports are actually preparing — a theme we explore in more depth in our dedicated look at 2026 athlete training trends.
Read More about Sports only on ToperNews
AFL Grand Final (September 26)
Australian rules football’s championship game caps off the AFL season at the Melbourne Cricket Ground — one of the biggest single-day sporting events on the Australian calendar, drawing a massive domestic television audience for the culmination of a full season’s campaign.
UFC Fight Night 287
Combat sports fans get a full UFC card this month, offering a genuinely different kind of sporting drama from the team-sport events dominating most of September’s calendar — individual matchups with their own storylines, rivalries, and stakes.
Other Notable September Action
Beyond the headline events, September also features WWE’s Money in the Bank event, the Leagues Cup in North American soccer, and continued action across road cycling’s La Vuelta a España, rounding out what SportBusy tracks as roughly 60 individual sporting events across 16 sports and 31 leagues this month alone.
How to Prioritize Your Watching This Month
- If you follow American sports specifically: the NFL season kickoff and the Melbourne international game are the two standout stories.
- If you’re a football (soccer) fan: Premier League early-season form and Champions League Matchday 1 both carry real weight for the season ahead.
- If you want individual-athlete drama: the US Open’s final rounds and the UFC Fight Night card offer a different rhythm than team sports.
- If motorsport is your focus: the Italian Grand Prix at Monza is one of the calendar’s most historically significant race weekends.
Conclusion
September 2026 offers a genuinely rare density of major sporting moments across nearly every discipline — season openers, a Grand Slam finale, a new European club campaign, and marquee individual events all landing within the same few weeks. Whether your interest runs toward team sports, individual competition, or motorsport, there’s a legitimate reason to tune in nearly every day this month.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the 2026 NFL season start?
The NFL season kicks off on Wednesday, September 9, with the defending champion Seattle Seahawks hosting the New England Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl LX.
What is the NFL Melbourne Game?
It’s a regular-season NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia on September 11, part of the league’s ongoing international games expansion.
When does the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 season start?
The Champions League league phase begins with Matchday 1, played across September 8-10, 2026, under the expanded 36-team single-table format.
When is the US Open tennis tournament in 2026?
The US Open, the year’s final Grand Slam, runs through September 13, 2026, in New York.
What other major sporting events happen in September 2026?
Beyond the headline events, September also features the F1 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the AFL Grand Final on September 26, UFC Fight Night 287, WWE Money in the Bank, and the Leagues Cup in North American soccer.