India host Panama in Bengaluru as U-20 qualifying in Tashkent and East Bengal’s ACL Two campaign also headline September 2026 calendar
India will meet Panama in an international friendly at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on 26 September 2026, while India’s U-20 side travel to Tashkent for AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifying matches on 3 and 6 September and East Bengal begin their AFC Champions League Two group campaign on 16 September.
The Durand Cup 2026 has opened the 2026-27 Indian football season, but the Indian Super League has been delayed until October 2026 and the Indian Football League may begin even later, leaving September heavy on internationals and continental fixtures rather than domestic league action. Several India national teams, both men’s and youth, plus a handful of Indian clubs, feature in the officially announced September schedule.
The senior India team had not played since 9 June 2026 before the Panama friendly, which will be their first-ever meeting with Panama. Panama arrive having taken part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup and are described in the schedule as being among the top-50 nations in the current FIFA Rankings; the preview notes they “showcased decent grit in their World Cup matches, taking the fight to the likes of Ghana, Croatia and England in their group stages.” The fixture in Bengaluru is listed in the organisers’ social post as: "India versus Panama. 🇮🇳🇵🇦 🏟️ Bengaluru.🗓️ September 26. #BlueTigers #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/AOaKZ1fsGP" and is described as a precursor to India’s friendly against Brazil in October.
The India U-20 team, nicknamed the Blue Colts, will play three qualification matches in Tashkent as part of the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifying competition, with group games against hosts Uzbekistan on 3 September 2026 and Bangladesh on 6 September 2026. The report characterises their group as “pretty tricky” and states 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 U-20 side enter the qualifiers with form noted in the schedule: they have won three of their last four games and lost only one match in 2026 so far.
At club level, defending Indian Super League champions East Bengal begin the 2026-27 AFC Champions League Two group stage in September, placed alongside Al-Hussein (Jordan), Al-Shorta (Iraq) and Al-Seeb (Oman). The Torchbearers will play six group matches — three at home and three away — and must finish in the top two of the group to qualify for the knockout rounds. Antonio Habas are reported as riding momentum after winning the 2026 Durand Cup by defeating Mohun Bagan in the final; East Bengal’s continental campaign opens against Al-Hussein on 16 September 2026 in Amman, Jordan.
The calendar’s headline fixtures listed in the source are India v Panama on 26 September, India U-20 v Uzbekistan on 3 September, India U-20 v Bangladesh on 6 September and East Bengal v Al-Hussein on 16 September. Further updates and coverage were signposted to Khel Now’s social channels and apps in the published schedule.