National Badminton League returns with fresh franchise signings

The six-franchise field comprises Saxons, Bristol Bullets, Loughborough Sport, University of Nottingham, Milton Keynes-based Team Skyfall and Manchester Hive, who have replaced Manchester Badminton.

The Saxons, who play at Ipswich's Corn Exchange, reached the 2026 final of the revamped league despite finishing fourth in the regular season, beating Loughborough Sport in the semi-final before overcoming Manchester Badminton in the grand final at Alexandra Palace.

They have strengthened for their title defence with international Callum Hemming, the doubles specialist who reached the 2026 European Championships final with Estelle van Leeuwen in the mixed event.

The Bullets have made Ireland men's singles international Nhat Nguyen one of their key targets. They called Nguyen a "huge signing".

He joins a squad also led by England's European champion Ben Lane, who decided not to remain for the Manchester revamp.

Lane will now battle for the title against regular doubles partner Sean Vendy, who has moved from champions Saxons to Manchester for the upcoming season.

Manchester's presence with its Hive franchise has changed after Manchester Badminton, last season's runners-up, did not enter the 2026/27 competition.

Franklyn remains closely linked to the NBL through its partnership with Badminton England, as well as running the new Manchester franchise.

There will be four weekly rounds of matches before next year's final.

NBL 2026/27 fixtures:

Nov 9: Team Skyfall v University of Nottingham Sport

Nov 10: Saxons Badminton v Manchester Hive

Nov 13: Bristol Bullets v Loughborough Sport

Dec 7: University of Nottingham Sport v Saxons Badminton

Dec 8: Loughborough Sport v Team Skyfall

Dec 9: Manchester Hive v Bristol Bullets

Jan 12: Loughborough Sport v University of Nottingham Sport

Jan 13: Manchester Hive v Team Skyfall

Jan 15: Bristol Bullets v Saxons Badminton

Feb 15: Saxons Badminton v Team Skyfall

Feb 16: Loughborough Sport v Manchester Hive

Feb 18: Bristol Bullets v University of Nottingham Sport

National Badminton League - a timeline

Badminton England launched the UK's first-ever professional national badminton league in 2014, with six franchise teams. There were best-of-five games to nine points, a player auction system, while Sky Sports showed live weekly television coverage.

The league ran until 2017 when Badminton England cited financial concerns after UK Sport cut funding for the national governign body.

The current NBL was relaunched with a four-team pilot season in 2023/24. A second pilot season followed before the competition expanded to six teams for 2025/26.