{"id":561894,"date":"2020-08-13T13:06:39","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T17:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=561894"},"modified":"2020-08-13T13:06:39","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T17:06:39","slug":"premier-league-scraps-winter-break-for-2020-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/08\/13\/premier-league-scraps-winter-break-for-2020-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Premier League Scraps Winter Break for 2020\/21"},"content":{"rendered":"

Owing to the coronavirus pandemic the upcoming campaign, which begins with the Community Shield<\/a> on August 19, will be five weeks shorter than a standard season because of the late end to 2019\/20.<\/p>\n

With predicted fixture congestion ahead Premier League<\/a> officials have made the decision<\/a> to do away with the break for next term.<\/p>\n

2020\/21 Winter Break Scrapped by Premier League<\/h2>\n

Mixed Success<\/h3>\n

Last season saw the first winter break introduced by the Premier League, each team had one weekend and one full midweek off in February.<\/p>\n

As it happened only a few short weeks following the break there was an enforced break of over two months when football was brought to a halt.<\/p>\n

Top-flight managers are generally in favour of the concept of a winter break, it is widely used around Europe’s other major leagues and will follow what is typically the busiest time of a season.<\/p>\n

However, due to scheduling difficulties, last season’s winter break coincided with FA Cup<\/a> third-round replays, leading to teams either returning early or fielding youth sides in the cup competition.<\/p>\n

Potential Headaches<\/h3>\n

The Premier League is due to release its fixture list next week, with both Manchester clubs expected to be given a delayed start to the season after reaching their respective European semi-finals.<\/p>\n

Officials still have a major headache surrounding Tottenham Hotspur<\/a>‘s schedule. Jose Mourinho’s side begin their Europa League<\/a> qualifying campaign on September 17. Whilst the Carabao Cup<\/a> is due to welcome Premier League sides into the competition on September 21.<\/p>\n

This week has already seen major changes to both the FA Cup<\/a> and Carabao Cup<\/a> formats to make life easier for Premier League sides and to hopefully avoid player burnout.<\/p>\n

Discussions for the Return of Spectators<\/h3>\n

Elsewhere, the Daily Mail<\/a> has reported discussions between the Premier League and the government are ongoing about the return of fans to football stadiums. With October being mooted as a possible timescale.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>