What happened to the Premier League winter break? | OneFootball

Unlike many of Europe’s top leagues, the Premier League is without a winter break this season.

Instead, December and January are among the busiest times of the season, with clubs playing several times in the space of a couple of weeks.

Ligue 1, La Liga and the Bundesliga all have breaks in action over the Christmas and new year period.

So why is the Premier League different?

What the Premier League say

The Premier League’s last winter break, of sorts, came in the 2023-24 season, when every team had one weekend off in the schedule. Gameweek 21 was split across two weekends to give teams a rest from the action.

But the calendar was revised ahead of the 2024/25 season, which the Premier League said was “driven by the expansion of the UEFA and FIFA competitions”. UEFA matches did take place across six midweeks – but now instead take place across ten midweeks.

The changes to the calendar also included the removal of FA Cup replays and having exclusive FA Cup weekends. The removal of the mid-season break allowed a mid-August start date too, a week earlier than in previous seasons.

How much more will Premier League players play compared to other countries?

The Bundesliga is breaking between December 20/21 and January 9/10 this season, giving the likes of Harry Kane three weeks without a game.

La Liga, meanwhile, have given Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and co two weeks without a game.

And in France, like Germany, teams have three weeks of no league games.

This is in stark comparison to the Premier League, where players are involved in a packed fixture schedule. Arsenal, for example, play eight times between December 20 and January 14, including Carabao Cup and FA Cup games.

In the time Harry Kane is off, the likes of Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice could play in five games. Squad rotation is obviously a necessity during this time, and Rice and Saka both did not start against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-final on Tuesday, coming on as second-half substitutes.

But the comparison between what players in England face compared with their counterparts in Europe is certainly stark. Even in the time Bellingham is off, Rice and Saka could play three times.

What others have said

The world football players’ union FIFPRO has been among the most outspoken about the need for a mandatory winter break for elite players.

“While many players in football’s pyramid lack competitive games, those at the elite level are often overburdened: the health risks for players become disproportionate to elite sports’ inherent risks when they face sustained periods of two games per week, according to scientific research,” FIFPro said in its latest player workload report.

Several managers have also spoken about their desire for a mid-season break. “We’re going to kill them. The federation bosses have to reflect a little bit. It’s not normal to play (December) 31st and two days later,” Pep Guardiola said back in 2018.

“I know the show must go on, but… that is not normal. They (the authorities) have to control it. They don’t protect the players and they are who the people come to watch.”

Regardless of whether there is a break or not, Premier League managers have long stressed that playing games in quick succession is impacting players negatively.

“We’ve never had such a schedule at every level, not only in the Premier League, but every competition internationally as well,” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said earlier this season. “So we need to try to do that (help them), please.

“It’s not an argument, I think it’s common sense. I think it’s not at some point this becomes too much, you know, and the players are not machines. But we have to try to do that when we can.”