The Premier League has announced the start and end dates for the 2026/27 edition of the competition.
Next season’s top-flight campaign is due to get under way on Saturday 22 August 2026, while the final match round will have all 10 games across the division played simultaneously on Sunday 30 May 2027.
Those dates would see the competition start and finish later than any of its previous iterations that have ran between the traditional timeframe of August to May.
Only the 2019/20 term has ended after then, in July due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while that delay saw the following season begin in September, the latest a campaign has ever kicked off.
Those dates would see the competition start and finish later than any of its previous iterations that have ran between the traditional timeframe of August to May.
Only the 2019/20 term has ended after then, in July due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while that delay saw the following season begin in September, the latest a campaign has ever kicked off.
In a statement confirming the details on Friday, the Premier League said:
“With an increasingly congested global football calendar, player welfare remains a priority for the Premier League. As a result, the Premier League will start one week later next season. This will allow for 89 clear days from the end of the current season and 33 days from the FIFA World Cup 26 final.
“The season will conclude one week prior to the UEFA Champions League final which will be played on Saturday 5 June 2027.
“The 2026/27 season will consist of 33 weekends and five midweek match rounds. The Premier League schedule will be designed to avoid domestic competition clashes with UEFA club competition dates, wherever possible.
“Over the Christmas and New Year period, no two match rounds will take place within 60 hours. This is in keeping with commitments made to clubs to address the congested Christmas and New Year schedule within the expanded international calendar.”
It had already been announced that there will be a tweak to the international breaks from next season that will see the October window disappear and the September one extended.
The move will mean a three-week gap for national-team fixtures in September, during which countries are set to play four matches instead of the more traditional two-game programme.
It’s a change being made for several reasons, including player welfare, to reduce the amount of cross-continent travel for those called up and due to the 2026 World Cup final having the latest date for a summer World Cup – Sunday 19 July – in 60 years.