English Football To Have Winter Break From 2019/20 Season
Football Association, Premier League and EFL have announced a new annual Mid-Season Player Break, starting from the 2019/20 season.
The two-week Mid-Season Player Break will take place in February and would be structured to ensure that Premier League matches would still be played every weekend over that period.
Each weekend during the Mid-Season Player Break will feature five Premier League games on the first weekend and five on the following weekend.
To incorporate the Mid-Season Player Break, The FA has agreed to move the Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round matches to midweek. In addition, from the start of the 2019/20 season, Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round replays will be removed from the calendar, being replaced with extra time and penalties.
All three divisions within the EFL will remain unchanged, with a full League programme for all 72 EFL clubs taking place on each of the weekends where there is a Mid-Season Player Break.
In January 2018, The FA confirmed that it would more than double the Emirates FA Cup prize fund from the 2018/19 season. This substantial increase on prize money will benefit all participating clubs at every stage of the world’s oldest domestic cup competition.
