Italy may join the English Premier League in playing festive matches, with the Serie A winter break set to be scrapped, according to the league’s president.
Serie A Winter Break Set to Be Scrapped
It is no secret the sheer amount of domestic, continental and international football is creating an untenable calendar for elite footballers.
Rarely do those at the very pinnacle of the sport get a prolonged break from regular matches, with new competitions being introduced, and existing tournaments expanded to meet a growing global demand.
It appears Serie A chief Ezio Simonelli is no stranger to the bloated schedule, which according to him, is now spilling out into the usual domestic dates.
Simonelli has even gone as far as doing away with the Serie A winter break for the upcoming 2025-26 season, and also went on to say the likelihood of matches being played on Easter Sunday is strong once again.
Citing the growing number of “international commitments” in his decision to cut the winter break, Simonelli told Radio1 Rai:
“We will play the weekend before Christmas [December 21-22], and the one after ]December 27-28].
“The first weekend of 2026 will be January 3-4, so there will be no stops.”
He continued with a somewhat dour tone, lamenting the growing number of external games that are infringing on the Serie A.
“The calendar is super clogged. We have a number of international commitments, so today it’s no longer possible to take Christmas breaks. We will also probably play on Easter Sunday.”
Serie A 2025-26 Schedule
The 2025-26 Serie A season gets underway on the weekend beginning the 23 August; a week later than the start date for the current campaign, likely due to accommodating the new FIFA Club World Cup format.
Next season runs right the way through to Sunday 24 May, which is little over two weeks before — you guessed it — another major tournament, the 2026 World Cup .
Fixtures are yet to be announced ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, although the new Serie A winter break, or lack thereof, will take some getting used to for Italian clubs.
