A new domestic season moves into full view this weekend, with all 10 Super League Basketball Women clubs beginning their Championship campaigns and the Women’s National Cup starting its road to January’s final.
The two competitions sit at different levels and should not be confused. SLB is the UK’s premier franchise league, while the WNBL operates in Basketball England’s England-based national-league system. There is no promotion and relegation between them.[1][5]
SLB Women: five opening fixtures
The SLB Championship begins on Saturday 3 October with two games. Cardiff Met Archers host B. Braun Sheffield Hatters at 1.30pm, before Nottingham Wildcats welcome Oaklands Wolves at 7pm.[1]
Sheffield enter the campaign as defending Championship winners. The Hatters lifted the Championship, Trophy and Cup before completing a four-title sweep by winning the 2026 Play-off Final, so their trip to Cardiff supplies the opening benchmark for the new league season.[2][7]
Three more Championship fixtures follow on Sunday 4 October:
- 1pm: Manchester Basketball v London Lions[1]
- 4pm: Caledonia Gladiators v Essex Rebels[1]
- 6pm: Leicester Riders v Newcastle Eagles[1]
Those five games involve every team in the 10-club league. The regular-season format is straightforward: each side plays the other nine teams twice, producing an 18-game Championship schedule.[1]
The Sunday slate offers a useful geographical sweep of the league. Manchester and London meet in the early game, Caledonia stage the only opening-weekend fixture in Scotland, and Newcastle begin away at Leicester.[1] The Eagles’ own official fixture announcement also confirms the Sunday trip to the Riders as their season opener.[6]
WNBL National Cup: Sunday’s first-round programme
The WNBL National Cup is a separate Basketball England competition. The governing body identifies Manchester Mystics as the holders and the only team with a first-round bye. Their defence is scheduled to begin in early November against the winner of City of Birmingham Rockets versus University of Nottingham Wildcats.[4]
Basketball England’s live fixtures page lists 12 confirmed first-round ties on Sunday 4 October:[3]
- 12pm: Solent Kestrels v Portsmouth Force[3]
- 12pm: Barking Abbey v East London Phoenix[3]
- 1pm: Plymouth Marjon Raiders v Bristol Flyers[3]
- 1.45pm: West Yorkshire Hawks v Myerscough Basketball Academy[3]
- 2.20pm: City of Birmingham Rockets v University of Nottingham Wildcats[3]
- 3pm: Hemel Storm v Anglia Ruskin University[3]
- 3.30pm: Bracknell Cobras v London All Stars[3]
- 4pm: London Cavaliers v Greenwich Phoenix[3]
- 4pm: Cardiff Met Archers v Worcester Wolves[3]
- 4.30pm: Milton Keynes Breakers v Reading Rockets[3]
- 5.15pm: Endeavour Ipswich Bobcats v Oaklands Wolves[3]
- 5.20pm: Richmond Knights v Brent Bulls[3]
The knockout format creates immediate jeopardy, while the range of entrants brings together clubs from different WNBL divisions. For the Rockets and Wildcats, there is also a known second-round prize: a meeting with holders Manchester Mystics.[4]
What to check before tip-off
Fixtures can move, particularly around venue availability, so supporters should recheck the relevant club channel and the official SLB or Basketball England fixture page before travelling. Basketball England’s HoopsHQ app also carries fixtures and scores for the NBL and WNBL.[4]
For the wider season, the WNBL National Cup semi-finals are scheduled for 19–20 December, with the final weekend set for 23–24 January 2027. That makes Sunday the first step in a compact knockout journey, while the SLB clubs begin an 18-game league race that runs into April.[1][5]
Sources
[1] Super League Basketball unveils 2026/27 Women’s League fixture list
[2] Super League Basketball Play-off Finals to Be Broadcast Live on BBC
[3] Basketball England: Women’s National Cup fixtures and results
[4] National Cup once again tips off the new NBL season
[5] NBL fixtures, structures and key dates for 2026/27
[6] 2026/27 Women’s Super League Basketball Fixtures – Newcastle Eagles
[7] Sheffield Hatters complete SLB silverware sweep with Play-Off Final victory