The Boxing Day footballing feast that is usually served up for Premier League fans across the country is set to be cancelled for 2025.
No-one has been placed on the naughty list and been delivered coal, but due to Boxing Day falling on a Friday and scheduling conflicts it means that the traditional full-slate of fixtures will not occur this year.
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Why there likely to be only one Premier League game on Boxing Day
A Newcastle United fan wearing a Father Christmas outfit in the stands (Image credit: Getty Images)
Boxing Day has not fallen on a Friday since 2014. That season all 10 fixtures were played on the same day, with Chelsea beating West Ham, Liverpool winning away to Burnley and Manchester United beating Newcastle.
In 2024, eight games took place on Boxing day, in 2023 seven and in 2022 it was the return of the Premier League following the enforced break for the World Cup.
However, the tradition is set to break this season, with potentially just one fixture being played.
The Premier League is committed to providing broadcasters 33 weekends of fixtures, which leads them to a scheduling dilemma should they wish to provide usual festive entertainment showpiece.
The expanded Champions League, and the league’s commitment to providing a platform for the FA Cup means that one of the 33 weekends would have to be the 27/28 December.
With the Champions League expanding there are less free mid-weeks, and as part of the deal to drop FA Cup replays, the Premier League agreed that the FA Cup would have exclusivity for the fourth, fifth and quarter-final rounds, ensuring that no Premier League fixtures would be played on those weekends. The fifth round also moved back to a weekend after being played mid-week for several seasons.
The current TV slots mean that every fixture played outside of the 3pm blackout can be televised, but there is only one slot currently designated for a Friday (8pm).
A fan dressed in a blue Father Christmas outfit at Everton’s Goodison Park (Image credit: Getty Images)
FourFourTwo understands this is a change just for 2025 and it will be reversed in 2026. The obligations that come with the new Champions League format and the platforming of the FA Cup are set for several years so issues may persist.
The Premier League had committed to confirming its TV schedule for December and January by October 15, but the latest set of TV fixtures only ran to December 22.
The EFL still has a full set of Boxing Day fixtures , as well as on Monday, December 29. The Premier League will host a set of midweek fixtures starting on Tuesday, December 30.
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