A Premier League winter break will soon take place in the 2019/2020 season, the Football Association has announced.
As per ESPN, the break will help England in their preparations for the European Championships in the summer of 2020.
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The lack of winter break is something that has long been debated in England and has been cited as one of the reasons for the national team’s lack of success in international tournaments and will hopefully reap the benefits seen in Germany, Italy, France and Spain.
The traditional festive fixtures will be unchanged however, and Martin Glenn, the FA chief executive, hoped the England national team would benefit in the future.
“It has been talked about for years and there has not been the climate of collaboration there is now,” Martin Glenn, the FA chief executive, said. “It needed a strong FA to get it through, an FA that was financially in a better place and confident of its future revenue streams.
“I think you will see England players better rested for Euro 2020 and hopefully we will see that in their performance and continued improvement in the Champions League performance by English clubs.”
When will the Premier League winter break take place and how does it affect the FA Cup?
The annual two-week break in February is said to come in effect for the 2019/2020 season, which is good news for fans looking forward to the annual festive fixtures.
Premier League clubs will also have at least 10 days off between games, according to The Guardian.
The Premier League break would be staggered over two weekends with Sky Sports reporting that five games will be on the first weekend and five on the following weekend – meaning that broadcasters can still show football without interruptions.
The FA has agreed to stage the fifth round of the FA Cup in midweek, according to Sky Sports.
The fifth round replays will be scrapped – however – the third and fourth rounds will be unchanged, as per The Guardian.
Glenn said: “We feel really strongly about never changing the third and fourth rounds. A core essence of the Cup is the giant-killing. Interestingly, it’s what seems to be one of the reasons it is popular abroad. That won’t change.”