International breaks to become one 16-day pause from 2026 | OneFootball

From next year, the National teams' calendar will change radically. Fewer interruptions and a long autumn window: here's how the football season will transform.

National teams, goodbye to the "fragmented" breaks: from 2026 comes the maxi break of 16 days

A revolution in the calendar: fewer breaks, more continuity in the leagues

From the 2026/2027 season, world football will say goodbye to the traditional "fragmented" breaks for the national teams. FIFA has indeed decided to reduce the seasonal breaks from four to three, combining those of September and October into a single window of 16 days. A change that aims to ensure greater fluidity to the leagues and longer working times for the national teams, which will be able to play up to four consecutive matches.

The goal is twofold: to reduce the fragmentation of tournaments and improve the planning of teams, which in recent years have had to face continuous stops and restarts after just a few rounds of the league.

"From 2026 only three breaks a year": what changes in detail

The current international calendar (2025) provides four windows for the national teams:

17–25 March – maximum two matches

1–9 September – maximum two matches

6–14 October – maximum two matches

10–18 November – maximum two matches

From 2026 the breaks will instead be three, with the great novelty of the "maxi autumn break". Here is the new division approved by FIFA:

International calendar from 2026

23–31 March – maximum two matches

21 September–6 October – maximum four matches

9–17 November – maximum two matches

This structure will also remain valid for subsequent seasons (until 2030), with slight date adjustments but with the same scheme: a spring window, an extended autumn one, and a winter one.

The reasons for the FIFA reform

The decision, announced at the FIFA Congress in October 2023, responds to a request shared by clubs, leagues and national federations. In recent years, in fact, too frequent interruptions have affected the quality of the leagues and the physical condition of the players, forced to long intercontinental trips in full season.

With the new formula:

club teams will be able to plan longer and continuous work blocks;

players will have fewer movements during the year;

national teams will be able to focus on real mini-retreats, ideal for qualification tournaments and friendly tests.

The consequences on European leagues

In Serie A, Premier League, Liga and Bundesliga, the new calendar will bring an autumn break of two consecutive weekends, which will allow teams to recover energy but also to reduce the congestion of matches between September and December.

So the classic "October break" disappears, which for years has broken the rhythm of the tournaments after just five or six rounds. The first part of the season will thus be more linear and competitive, with fewer interruptions and greater continuity in performance.

A look to the future

From 2030, the format should definitively consolidate with:

spring break (March) – two matches;

autumn break (end of September – beginning of October) – up to four matches;

winter break (November) – two matches.

A choice that redefines the international calendar, balancing the needs of clubs and national teams in view of the big events of the decade: 2030 and 2034 World Cups, Euro 2032 and the new FIFA intercontinental competitions.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.