Sports Weekend
The Romanian Super League has entered its final phase.
Florin Orban, 13.03.2026, 13:45
The Romanian sporting calendar enters a pivotal weekend as the Super League football championship transitions into its high-stakes play-off and play-out stages. Beyond the football pitch, Romania’s women’s national basketball team continues its pursuit of a place in the EuroBasket 2027 tournament. The Romanian basketballers are scheduled to host Group C leaders Poland in Sibiu this Saturday for their last-but-one qualifying fixture, before travelling to Bratislava to face Slovakia on Tuesday. At present, Poland tops the group with 8 points, followed by Slovakia and Romania with 6 each, and Cyprus with 4. With the top two from each group and the three best third-placed finishers progressing to the second round, Poland has already secured its advancement, leaving Romania in a tight battle for the remaining spots.
In rugby, the national team travels to Madrid this Sunday to face Spain in the bronze medal match of Rugby Europe Championship. This follows a high-scoring semi-final last weekend in which the “Oaks” were defeated 53-30 away to Georgia. Spain also enters the third-place play-off following a 26-7 loss to Portugal in Lisbon. The match in Madrid serves as a preview to the grand final between Georgia and Portugal later that day. Romania will be looking for a repeat of last year’s performance, where they successfully secured third place with a 21-7 victory over Portugal.
The domestic football season reaches its climax this weekend as the Super League divides into two tiers. The top six clubs from the regular season will compete in the championship play-off for the title and European qualification, while the remaining ten enter the play-out to fight for top-flight survival. The play-off action begins on Friday with Universitatea Craiova hosting FC Argeș. Saturday features a highly anticipated Bucharest derby as Rapid face Dinamo at home, followed by a Monday night Cluj derby between Universitatea and CFR at Cluj Arena. Universitatea Craiova enters the phase as leaders with 30 points, holding a narrow two-point advantage over second-placed Rapid.
Simultaneously, the play-out battle begins on Friday with UTA facing Hermannstadt. Saturday’s schedule sees Oțelul Galați host Csikszereda, while Sunday features a double-header as Farul Constanța meets Petrolul Ploiești in Ovidiu and FCSB takes on Metaloglobus in Bucharest. The round concludes on Monday with FC Botoșani playing Unirea Slobozia. FCSB currently leads the lower bracket with 23 points, closely followed by UTA on 22. Under the league’s complex format, the top two play-out finishers will eventually compete for a spot in Conference League qualifiers against the third-placed team from the championship group. At the bottom, the 9th and 10th placed teams face automatic relegation, while those in 7th and 8th must navigate two-legged play-offs against the 3rd and 4th placed sides from the second tier to retain their Super League status. (VP)
