Update, 27 July 2026. The club has announced the kick-off times for the first five rounds. FCM Ungheni opens the championship at home on Saturday, 1 August at 6 p.m., against Vulturii Cutezători. Rounds two (8 August, away to CSF Spartanii-Sportul), three (15 August, at home to CF Univer Comrat) and four (21 August, away to FC Zimbru 2 Chișinău) also kick off at 6 p.m. Round five, at home against FC Iskra Rîbnița, starts on Friday, 28 August at 5 p.m.
The FCM Ungheni players have known since Thursday what their autumn looks like. At Casa Fotbalului in Chișinău, on 2 July, the Liga 1 fixture draw was held — Liga 1 being the second tier of Moldovan football — and the town’s team learned its full path through the first phase of the 2026/2027 season. The first piece of news for supporters is a good one: the championship opens right in Ungheni on Saturday, 1 August, against Vulturii Cutezători.
This is the 36th edition of Moldova’s championship at this level. Twelve teams have confirmed their participation for the new season, split into two groups of six. FCM Ungheni was drawn into Group A, alongside CF Univer, Zimbru-2 (Zimbru’s reserve side), Vulturii Cutezători, CSF Spartanii Sportul and FC Iskra.
Eight games at home, seven away
In the first phase, the six teams in a group meet three times each, so every side has 15 rounds to play — from late July until 27 November. For FCM Ungheni, the calendar brings 8 home matches and 7 away, and the home start in the opening round is a scheduling advantage the Ungheni side will play out in front of its own supporters.
At the draw, only the round dates were fixed: “The venue, date and time of the matches will be announced later,” the Moldovan Football Federation said. The kick-off times for the first five rounds have since been announced by the club (see the update at the top of this article); for the rounds that follow, the time and the ground will be communicated ahead of each round.
FCM Ungheni’s fixtures in the first phase
- Round 1 (Saturday, 1 August, 6 p.m.) — FCM Ungheni – Vulturii Cutezători · home
- Round 2 (Saturday, 8 August, 6 p.m.) — CSF Spartanii Sportul – FCM Ungheni · away
- Round 3 (Saturday, 15 August, 6 p.m.) — FCM Ungheni – CF Univer · home
- Round 4 (Friday, 21 August, 6 p.m.) — Zimbru-2 – FCM Ungheni · away
- Round 5 (Friday, 28 August, 5 p.m.) — FCM Ungheni – FC Iskra · home
- Round 6 (4–5 September) — Vulturii Cutezători – FCM Ungheni · away
- Round 7 (11–12 September) — FCM Ungheni – CSF Spartanii Sportul · home
- Round 8 (18–19 September) — CF Univer – FCM Ungheni · away
- Round 9 (9–10 October) — FCM Ungheni – Zimbru-2 · home
- Round 10 (16–17 October) — FC Iskra – FCM Ungheni · away
- Round 11 (23–24 October) — FCM Ungheni – Vulturii Cutezători · home
- Round 12 (30–31 October) — CSF Spartanii Sportul – FCM Ungheni · away
- Round 13 (6–7 November) — FCM Ungheni – CF Univer · home
- Round 14 (20–21 November) — Zimbru-2 – FCM Ungheni · away
- Round 15 (27 November) — FCM Ungheni – FC Iskra · home
A fresh push for promotion
FCM Ungheni starts the season with a clear goal in mind. In the spring, the team coached by Dorin Bambuleac came close to a jump into the top flight: in the second phase of last season it finished first in its group, but lost the promotion play-off to FC Florești, 5-4, on 16 May. So it stays in Liga 1 for another season, aiming to return to the fight for promotion to Liga 7777, the country’s top division.
One detail that adds spice to the new season: FC Florești, the side that stopped Ungheni on the road to promotion, also plays in Liga 1 — but in Group B. A possible rematch would only become possible at a later stage of the competition.
The summer was one of tune-ups. The Ungheni side played three test friendlies — 0-0 with Dacia Buiucani, 3-4 with Zimbru and 0-1 at Bacău against a Romanian second-division team — opponents deliberately chosen a level above, so the squad could find its rhythm before the official start.
The cup, in October
Thursday’s draw also set the pairings for the third preliminary round of the Moldovan Cup, renamed the Orange Cup. FCM Ungheni enters the cup competition at this stage, with the matches scheduled for 1–2 October. Its opponent will emerge from a preliminary tie, according to the bracket announced by the federation.