There will reportedly be just one Premier League fixture held on December 26 this year, with the English top flight set to abandon the famous Boxing Day tradition.
According to The Daily Mail, calendar pressures caused by UEFA competition expansion – and the FA Cup switching exclusively to weekend dates – have been major contributing factors in the controversial move.
Premier League bosses are contractually obliged to bring 33 weekends of action to broadcasters, meaning this coming Boxing Day will be viewed the same as any other Friday in the season.
While there is yet to be official confirmation of the decision, the remaining matches over the Christmas period are expected to be staggered over the course of Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
The report claims further rounds of discussions will take place in due course, but a change of direction is deemed ‘unlikely’ at this stage, which could cause uproar amongst supporters up and down the country.
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It remains to be seen which fixture will be selected for those tuning into the sole offering of top-flight drama on Boxing Day.
The league had previously pencilled in October 15 for an announcement regarding which games would be televised over Christmas. However, that date came and went and fans are still none the wiser.
The popular festive tradition stretches way back to 1888, when the first recorded Boxing Day match took place.
Supporters may be pleased to learn that Boxing Day falls on a Saturday next year, opening the door for normal service to resume.
Fixture congestion over the winter period has long been a source of frustration for Premier League clubs and managers, with the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp calling for a change in the schedule in recent years.
The expansion of UEFA competitions led to FA Cup replays being ditched last year, a move that proved massively contentious given the loss of money through TV coverage and ticket sales for teams competing lower down in the pyramid.
Criticising the change at the time, EFL CEO Trevor Birch said: ‘This is another traditional revenue stream lost for EFL clubs at a time when the financial gap between the biggest clubs and those further down the pyramid is widening.’
Meanwhile, National League CEO Mark Ives argued: ‘We have at no stage voiced our support for the scrapping of FA Cup replays or otherwise.
‘It was a decision made by the Professional Game Board (PGB) which is made up of the FA, Premier League and EFL.’
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