Major change to Premier League schedule announced as new feature is quietly ditched after just five seasons
THE PREMIER LEAGUE will have a major calendar change from next season with the winter break being scrapped.
It comes along with a huge revamp of the FA Cup.
GettyThe Premier League will see its winter break scrapped from next season[/caption]
An announcement from the FA has today revealed the mid-season break will be removed to accommodate a later start date for the league.
The decision has been made in light of “expert advice from medical and technical departments” which states a longer summer break is more beneficial than a short winter break.
A statement on The FA’s website said: “The mid-season break is removed from the calendar to allow a mid-August start date for the Premier League.
“This longer summer break allows all Premier League clubs to be better able to ensure that players get a consecutive three-week break in the summer.
“This takes into account expert advice from medical and technical departments, which values a longer period of complete rest in the summer rather than a short break in the winter.”
This season the winter break saw five matchweek 21 matches played on the weekend of January 13, with the other five being played on the weekend of January 20.
It was first introduced to the English top flight in the 2019/20 season after being agreed in 2018.
However, the schedule chaos caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and 2022 World Cup being in November saw the mid-season break not implemented again until this year.
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Arsenal were one of the main beneficiaries of the winter break this season, winning eight league games in a row after coming back from a trip to Dubai for it.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta called his team “recharged” and “re-energised” following the break.
Outgoing Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was a big fan of the mid-season break.
He told Sky Sports earlier this season: “You don’t want to have a four-week break or something like that in the middle of the season but after a very intense period, having these few days was very important.”
On the other hand, Everton Sean Dyche will be a happy Toffee as his wish to axe the winter break has come true.
In January Dyche said: “I don’t see the point of the break. It’s not beneficial and I’d take it away. It would be better to lose a couple of fixtures in December and put them in January to spread it out.
“With more games (close together) the big clubs are bound to gain because of their big squads. If you’re like us and get injuries, you’re stretched.
“I’d be surprised if that break doesn’t disappear from the scheduling. We will see.”
More to follow.
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