For the first time in the history of football, the FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be played in the winter because of high temperature, humidity and unbearable heat in Qatar. The World Cup in winter means that Premier League festive fixtures will not be held between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve. The next season will be the EPL’s 30th edition since 1992. For a change, England’s top tier will have a hiatus in November.
Back in 2010, it was decided that Qatar will host World Cup in June 2022 but due to concerns raised over extreme weather challenges FIFA had to reschedule for November and December.
Though, the Premier League is not the only league that is suffering due to the change in World Cup dates as other European leagues will have to modify their calendar as well.
According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, in an attempt to prevent major burn-out of players there will be no matches between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve.
The festive period which starts with Christmas is one of the most congested schedules in the Premier League with a flurry of games.
Club football will resume eight days after the World Cup. The 2022-23 season will start on August 5 and will go on till matchday 16 – to be played on November 12 and November 13- prior to the brief pause.
The FA have reportedly requested the Premier League to not have matches between the big six clubs on the final matchday before the World Cup.
Along with Premier League, EFL is also expected to be impacted by the World Cup fixtures.
The first match of the Premier League 2022-23 season will be Arsenal’s visit to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace on August 5 night. Defending champions Manchester City will kick off their Premier League campaign two days later against West Ham United. Last season’s top two teams – Manchester City and Liverpool- are set to face each other on October 15.
The final of the World Cup is slated to be played on December 18 and the Premier League is set to return on December 26.
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