The Premier League will have its first-ever 16-day international break this season after FIFA merged the traditional September and October windows into a single extended period from September 21 to October 6.

The league will play through Matchweek 5 on September 20 before pausing, with Matchweek 6 resuming on October 10.

During the extended break, European countries will play UEFA Nations League fixtures, while African nations will contest Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, with each country playing two matches. CONCACAF teams will feature in a mixture of Nations League group-stage games and friendlies, while the United States and Mexico, already qualified for the quarter-finals, will play friendlies.

Asian nations will play friendlies in preparation for the Asian Cup in January 2027, following the conclusion of Asian Cup qualifying, while several South American countries are also scheduled to play friendlies.

As retrieved on Wednesday by our correspondent from the EPL website from a September report, previously, there were four nine-day international breaks during the Premier League campaign—in September, October, November and March—with each country playing two matches per window.

However, this season, the “September and October breaks have been merged into one 16-day period, during which countries will play four matches rather than the standard two.”

“With many players in Europe representing countries in Africa and South America, the idea behind the new calendar is to reduce the number of separate periods in which players fly across continents.

“It will also reduce disruption by cutting the number of breaks between the start of the season and the end of the year from three to two,” the Premier League said.

The changes were unanimously approved by the FIFA Council in 2023, with player welfare a factor in the decision.

The breaks can effectively feel longer for Premier League clubs because players return from national-team duty before playing again the following weekend.

“The breaks tend to feel more like two weeks – or three weeks in the case of the new longer window – as players return to clubs and do not play until the following weekend,” the league said.

The November international break will run from November 9 to 17, between Matchweeks 10 and 11, while the final break of the Premier League season will take place from March 22 to 30, between Matchweeks 30 and 31.

In November, European countries will continue in the Nations League with two matches, while AFCON qualification will progress with two more fixtures.

The United States and Mexico will join the other qualified sides in the CONCACAF Nations League quarter-finals, while South American and Asian nations will play friendlies.

The March break will see the start of EURO 2028 qualifying for some countries, alongside UEFA Nations League knockout matches, including the League A quarter-finals and League A, B and C playoffs.

AFCON qualification will continue, while the CONCACAF Nations League final will also be staged. Asian and South American countries will play friendlies during the window.

The Premier League said the international-break system was established in 2002 and first used for qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In what became formally known as the “FIFA International Match Calendar”, FIFA introduced fixed periods in the season when clubs were required to make players available for their national teams due to the increasing number of fixtures.

The league also noted that major tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup and continental competitions can take place within FIFA windows, even when they fall during the Premier League off-season.

“When the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) fell between December and January last season, clubs had to release players in a specific window for the tournament, though the Premier League did not take a break,” it said.

There had been discussions about reducing the number of international breaks further, but the current system will remain in place until at least 2030.

“Premier League matches are also not held on a Monday night ahead of an international break or on a Friday night after the break,” the release concluded. (PUNCH)