(Reuters) – The 2023-24 Premier League season will kick off on Aug. 12 and will have a mid-season player break in January, the English top flight league said on Tuesday.
This season will be paused after the coming weekend’s games for the mid-season World Cup in Qatar, and it will resume on Dec. 26 with Boxing Day fixtures.
The final match round of the season is scheduled for May 28, giving players nearly 11 weeks before the next season kicks off.
“The season schedule returns to normal following the COVID-19 pandemic and the FIFA World Cup 2022, which provided disruption during the previous three seasons,” the league said.
“In keeping with commitments made to clubs this season to address the congested schedule across Christmas and New Year, no two rounds in this period will take place within 48 hours of each other.”
The 2023-24 campaign will finish on May 19, 2024, while the mid-season player break is scheduled for Jan. 13-20.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
