There have been reports circulating that from the 2026/27 season onwards the Premier League and the EFL Championship will have a long pause in fixtures after Matchday 5 following a change in the FIFA transfer window.
Why is there a change in the FIFA transfer window?
FIFA has overhauled the men’s international match calendar for 2026–2030, and a result of that reshuffle means the usual separate international breaks in September and October will be merged into one longer window running roughly from 21 September to 6 October 2026.
That effectively creates a break of about 3 weeks early in the season during which no Premier League or Championship fixtures will be played. This break comes after the first 5 rounds of domestic league matches, which typically would be instead of clubs playing Matchday 6 before the international break, the season pauses after Matchday 5.
There will be a September October pause, there will be other international breaks later in the season, including a March break that will overlap with Easter weekend, meaning no Premier League or Championship matches take place over that period.
Once the break concludes, both the Premier League and Championship campaigns are expected to return with a packed schedule as teams push to regain momentum.