Premier League 'forced into controversial fixture changes' for next season as plans leaked

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Premier League clubs will not play over the Easter weekend next season after FIFA changed the dates of the March international break. As a result of the changes, the first international break of 2027 will encompass Good Friday and Easter Monday, meaning no Premier League or Sky Bet Championship matches are expected to be played that weekend.

The Daily Mail is reporting that the break covers Good Friday (March 26) and Easter Monday (March 29) and fixtures will restart with the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on April 3. The majority of international games are likely to take place on Saturday and Tuesday.

It is also being reported that domestic leagues were not consulted by FIFA, who set the calendar amid increasing fixture pressures. The latest tradition-defying move in the game comes after just one top-flight fixture was played on Boxing Day this season.

Manchester United's match against Newcastle United was the only game played on December 26, with most of the games being played the next day. But the Premier League have already confirmed that fans can expect a reversion to a more familiar Boxing Day schedule next season, as Boxing Day this year will fall on a Saturday, rather than last year when it fell on a Friday.

In terms of international breaks for next season, it has also already been confirmed that the Premier League and Championship will pause following September 19 and then not restart until October 10. The move to switch to an extended September break was approved by the FIFA Council in March 2023 and will also ensure there will be an extra week of domestic football in the calendar.

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The first Easter Saturday match took place in 1889 and games over the Easter period have been a staple for more than 100 years. The FA Cup quarter-finals will be played over Easter weekend this season, with a round of games in the Championship set to take place on Good Friday and another on Easter Monday.

There are currently five international breaks each year which take place in March, June, September, October and November. Each lasts two weeks and allows nations to play a maximum of 10 matches, aside from major tournaments such as the World Cup, European Championship, Copa America, Africa Cup of Nations, Gold Cup or Asian Cup.

However, Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill, speaking last year, believes changes to the international calendar are making it "more challenging" for smaller nations to succeed. He said: "If we're going to be playing [four-game windows] going forward in the World Cup, which I believe we will do, that's going to be challenging.

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"You need players to cover and a lot of these bigger nations can replace a Premier League player with a Premier League player. We don't have that depth in our squad at this minute in time.

"If you're thinking of covering those four games, you're probably going to pick a 30-man squad. I would probably not have anyone to leave out or very few people to leave out."

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