February 6 – It’s been a source of debate for years and years. Should English football copy much of Continental Europe and introduce a Winter break? So far the idea has been resisted both for commercial and traditional reasons, but now the Premier League has revealed it is looking at ways of going down that road.
Reports suggested a January break has been under discussion which, if agreed, would not impact on the traditional festive football schedule in England over Christmas and the new Year.
A Premier League statement read: “The Premier League has been in discussions with the FA and EFL for several months regarding the challenges of the increasingly congested English football calendar, and ways in which we can work together to ease fixture congestion while also giving players a mid-season break.
“Provided space can be found in the calendar, we are open to this in principle and will continue constructive discussions with our football stakeholders to seek a workable solution.”
If a winter break does come into operation, it would be welcomed by top-flight managers. Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola, who is used to a mid-season respite from his time in Spain and Germany, said last month that the festive schedule was “killing” players.
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