The Premier League is on the brink of tearing up one of English football’s most beloved traditions with just a single fixture expected to be played on Boxing Day this year.
Fans used to feasting on a full round of festive football may be left fuming as Daily Mail Sport understands that only one top flight game is set for December 26. The move comes amid a scheduling headache caused by UEFA’s expanded competitions and the FA Cup’s shift to weekend-only slots.
The Premier League is locked into a deal promising broadcasters 33 weekends of matches and five midweek programmes. To meet that commitment, league bosses look ready to treat Boxing Day like an ordinary Friday night, with the rest of the round spread across Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Insiders say more discussions are planned but few expect a U-turn. It also remains unclear which teams will feature in the solitary festive showdown that millions usually mark as a highlight of the footballing calendar.
An announcement detailing the December and January TV fixtures was due on October 15 but has yet to surface, leaving supporters and broadcasters in the dark.
The rest of English football will carry on as usual. The Championship, League One and League Two are all set for a full round of Boxing Day clashes, as is the National League. Lower league terraces will be buzzing while the Premier League stage falls largely silent.
It marks a dramatic shift for a date steeped in footballing history. The first Boxing Day match was played in 1888, and until 1965 fans could even watch games on Christmas Day itself. The Boxing Day tradition has long been part of British sporting culture, a fixture of family gatherings and pub debates up and down the country.
There is optimism that the disruption will be temporary. Next year’s Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, and league sources are confident the full programme will return then. When the day last landed on a Friday in 2014, all twenty clubs were in action.
The changes stem from a six year agreement between the Premier League and the FA, struck after UEFA expanded its European competitions. The FA Cup’s move to weekends and the scrapping of replays have squeezed the domestic calendar even further.
For now, though, Boxing Day’s famed feast of football is off the menu. Supporters will have to make do with a single slice while the rest of the game carries on the tradition that once defined the festive season.