PGE Budowlani Łódź will begin the 2026/27 TAURON Liga Kobiet season against promoted NETLAND MKS Kalisz on Friday 2 October, with the reigning Polish champions handed the opening fixture of the women’s league campaign.
The match in Kalisz is scheduled to start at 17.30, with Polsat Sport carrying the broadcast. Artur Popko, president of Polska Liga Siatkówki, said that after arrangements with Polsat, listed start times would denote the first whistle rather than the start of television coverage.
Polsat’s revised approach means viewers following the season opener will be given the time at which play is due to begin. The federation said the change had followed requests from supporters, while confirming that the Kalisz fixture would be shown on Polsat Sport.
The league has returned to the tradition of opening the season with a promoted club facing the Polish champions. For Kalisz, the fixture presents an immediate examination against the title holders; for Budowlani, it is the first competitive step in defending their domestic crown.
The announcement said all women’s league matches will be available on Polsat’s sports channels. That provides a consistent broadcast route throughout a season which will run from the regular campaign into spring play-offs.
The first round will also feature UNI Opole against LOTTO Chemik Police on Friday, while ŁKS Commercecon Łódź are scheduled to host DevelopRes Rzeszów on Sunday. Those games form part of the opening programme but do not alter the particular challenge facing the promoted Kalisz side against the reigning champions.
An unchanged route from regular season to medals
The competition format remains the same as in the previous season. The regular season comprises 22 rounds, after which the top eight progress to the play-offs.
The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be decided by the first team to win two matches, making them best-of-three series. The contests for gold and bronze will require three wins, meaning both medal series will be best of five.
The champions are scheduled to be known no later than 28 April 2027. At the other end of the table, the federation said that the penultimate team will end its participation in the competition, while the bottom club will be relegated to TAURON 1. Liga Kobiet.
That structure makes the regular season important beyond qualification for the title phase. Finishing among the leading eight is the route to a medal challenge, while the lowest places carry consequences for clubs’ future position in the league.
Łódź and Rzeszów fixtures add opening-weekend interest
The opening weekend also includes UNI Opole against LOTTO Chemik Police on Friday. On Sunday, ŁKS Commercecon Łódź will host DevelopRes Rzeszów, who finished as runners-up in the previous Polish championship.
The Łódź-Rzeszów meeting follows a notable exchange of Poland national-team setters between DevelopRes and Budowlani. Alicja Grabka left Budowlani for DevelopRes, while Katarzyna Wenerska moved from Rzeszów to Łódź.
Those moves give the opening schedule additional context, although the first match itself remains a straightforward champions-versus-promoted-side contest. Budowlani start in Kalisz with their status as Polish title holders established, while Kalisz begin their campaign as a promoted side against the reigning Polish champions.
Artur Popko, president of Polska Liga Siatkówki, said the campaign contained several teams capable of competing for medals and pointed to the number of young players with scope for development. His assessment suggests that the title race may extend beyond the opening spotlight on the champions, though the league table and play-offs will determine which sides convert that potential into results.