The Premier League will host only one match on Boxing Day 2025 due to extreme fixture congestion, breaking a tradition that has been a cornerstone of English football for over a century.
The Premier League is set to abandon its long-standing Boxing Day tradition this year, with only one fixture scheduled for December 26.
In a controversial move, the historic slate of holiday games has been reduced to a single evening clash between Manchester United and Newcastle United at 8pm.
League bosses are treating the day as a standard Friday broadcast obligation, moving the bulk of the festive action to the following Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
Rising pressures from UEFA competition expansions and a revamped FA Cup schedule are the primary drivers behind the change.
To accommodate a more congested winter calendar, the FA Cup has moved exclusively to weekend dates, forcing the top flight to stagger its holiday matches.
While fixture congestion has long been a complaint for managers like Pep Guardiola, the decision has drawn criticism from EFL leaders who fear the loss of traditional revenue streams.
Despite the break in tradition for 2025, supporters may see a return to normalcy next year when Boxing Day falls on a Saturday.
Football has been a staple of the holiday since 1888, though Christmas Day matches were phased out in the 1960s.
Regarding the current financial landscape of the game, EFL CEO Trevor Birch noted, “This is another traditional revenue stream lost for EFL clubs at a time when the financial gap… is widening.”