Premier League faces controversial change as ‘Easter fixture custom axed’
Premier League and Championship clubs’ schedule will be majorly disrupted over the Easter weekend next season after FIFA changed the March international break dates
The international break will replace the English football Easter weekend schedule(Image: Alex Bierens de Haan – UEFA, UEFA via Getty Images)
Premier League clubs won’t be in action over the Easter weekend next season due to FIFA’s decision to alter the dates of the March international break. Consequently, the first international break of 2027 will span Good Friday and Easter Monday, meaning no Premier League or Sky Bet Championship matches are scheduled that weekend.
The Daily Mail reports that the break will cover Good Friday (26 March) and Easter Monday (29 March), with fixtures set to resume with the FA Cup quarter-finals on 3 April. The bulk of international matches are expected to be held on Saturday and Tuesday.
Reports also suggest that FIFA did not consult domestic leagues when setting the calendar, amid escalating fixture congestion. This latest move, which scraps tradition, follows a season where only one top-flight match was played on Boxing Day.
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Manchester United’s clash with Newcastle United was the sole game played on 26 December, with the majority of matches taking place the following day. However, the Premier League has already confirmed that fans can look forward to a return to the traditional Boxing Day schedule next season, as Boxing Day this year falls on a Saturday, unlike last year when it was a Friday.
Regarding international breaks for next season, it has also been confirmed that the Premier League and Championship will halt following September 19 and then not resume until October 10. The decision to shift to a prolonged September break was endorsed by the FIFA Council in March 2023 and will also guarantee there will be an additional week of domestic football in the calendar.
The first Easter Saturday fixture occurred in 1889 and matches over the Easter period have been a tradition for more than 100 years. The FA Cup quarter-finals will be contested over Easter weekend this season, with a round of fixtures in the Championship scheduled to take place on Good Friday and another on Easter Monday.
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There are presently five international breaks each year which occur in March, June, September, October and November. Each spans two weeks and permits nations to contest a maximum of 10 matches, excluding major tournaments such as the World Cup, European Championship, Copa America, Africa Cup of Nations, Gold Cup or Asian Cup.
Nevertheless, Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill, speaking last year, believes alterations to the international calendar are making it “more challenging” for smaller nations to succeed.
He said: “If we’re going to be playing [four-game windows] going forward in the World Cup, which I believe we will do, that’s going to be challenging. You need players to cover and a lot of these bigger nations can replace a Premier League player with a Premier League player. We don’t have that depth in our squad at this minute in time.
“If you’re thinking of covering those four games, you’re probably going to pick a 30-man squad. I would probably not have anyone to leave out or very few people to leave out.”
