Soccer

Premier League to restart in September but issues over breaks

Start date comes only three weeks after Champions League and Europa League finals

Mason Greenwood of Manchester United celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and West Ham United at Old Trafford. Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Paul MacInnes
Fri Jul 24 2020 - 15:55

The Premier League has confirmed the start date for next season but has yet to resolve when some of its players will get a break.

The 2020-21 campaign will begin, as widely predicted, on September 12th and is scheduled to end on May 23rd. That start date, however, comes only three weeks after the Champions League and Europa League finals, both of which could feature English teams.

A three-week break is the minimum required in most contracts agreed between club and player and three weeks less than the period recommended this year by the international players’ union Fifpro. In a ruling addressing the situation of the return of football following the Covid-19 pandemic, the union also called for a subsequent “retraining period to avoid injuries”. This, too, may prove impossible.

The timing is further complicated by an international window the week before the season starts, with all European nations set to play two fixtures in the Nations League.

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Some of the clubs set to take part in European competition – Wolves, Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City – are said to have asked to delay their start to the season if they reach the quarter-finals. That idea, however, has yet to be approved by the league.

With next season’s timescale now compacted, the league said it was continuing to work with the FA and EFL to work out a schedule for playing the domestic cup competitions. Plans to play FA Cup matches midweek and with no replays have been mooted, but are believed to be strongly opposed by the FA.

The EFL confirmed that its league season will begin on the same date and finish on May 9th 2021. The subsequent play-off finals will take place on their traditional date of the spring bank holiday of May 29th-31st.