MY ACCOUNT
Any Premier League players who reach next year’s World Cup final will have just eight days to recover from the tournament before English domestic action resumes.
With Qatar 2022 set to take place in the middle of the European football calendar, the biggest competitions are being forced to take a hiatus in order to accommodate the tournament.
The World Cup is due to begin on November 21, 2022 and run until December 18, which is the scheduled date of the final.
As such, the Premier League’s 2022-23 season will begin a week earlier than usual on August 6 and matches will continue until November 13, giving some international teams as few as eight days with their squads prior to the tournament starting.
The Premier League will then resume on Boxing Day, eight days after the World Cup final in Lusail, meaning any England-based players involved will have a quick turnaround before being thrust back into domestic duties.
Ordinarily, the World Cup would begin in early June and allow for the competing teams to have roughly two weeks to prepare with their players, including the staging of international friendlies.
Similarly, players would usually be afforded holiday after featuring in the tournament, yet that will not be the case this time – however, the caveat is footballers will enjoy a lengthy break before pre-season due to the lack of any major international tournaments.
The 2022-23 Premier League campaign will conclude slightly later than usual as well, with the final round of matches to be played on May 28, 2023.
