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The 2024-2025 Premier League season will begin on August 17 and conclude on May 25 with assurances made over scheduling across the Christmas period.
The start and end dates for next season were confirmed on Friday, taking into account Euro 2024 in Germany, which runs until July 14.
The late May finish could mean Chelsea and Manchester City have just a maximum three-week turnaround between the conclusion of the Premier League and the newly-expanded FIFA Club World Cup.
FIFA claimed ‘these dates have been set to ensure that the scheduling of the tournament is harmoniously aligned with the International Match Calendar’.
The 2024-25 Premier League season will begin on August 17 and conclude on May 25
It means a tight turnaround for Manchester City between the end of the Premier League campaign and the start of the newly-expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States
Chelsea will also take part in the 32-team competition and the schedule will be even tighter for their international players
However it means City and Chelsea – who qualify for the competition as Champions League winners in 2023 and 2021 respectively – will get barely any pre-season.
That window will be squeezed even further if they make the Champions League final in 2025, which is scheduled for the Allianz Arena in Munich on May 31.
In addition, there is an international window scheduled for June 2-10, including qualification games for the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, Porto and Benfica, as well as four other European clubs, will compete in the expanded Club World Cup.
City manager Pep Guardiola has already spoken out about the lack of downtime for players with the Club World Cup cutting right across pre-season for the European leagues.
‘FIFA took a decision but all the clubs supported it. I’m part of the club. They decided,’ Guardiola said.
‘What can I do? I guess we’ll fly to the States with the families and play the World Cup there as best as possible. They decided to create a new competition. OK. Adjust, adapt and rely on the people.
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‘I’m not against the new competitions, I’m against the lack of recovery from year to year. It doesn’t matter to play every three days.
City will compete in the new edition after their Champions League triumph this year
Chelsea will be in the 2025 Club World Cup after winning the Champions League in 2021
‘But with the pre-season, going to Asia and the States for the finances, it is really tough for the players. Things should change.’
City player Bernardo Silva refused to criticise the new tournament but admitted that a continuation of hectic scheduling will ultimately undermine the product.
‘We’re not consulted,’ Silva said.
‘We try to do our job. The amount of games we have it’s a bit crazy because of the rest we get and risk of injury goes up a lot.
Pep Guardiola has hit out at the plans to expand the FIFA Club World Cup expressing fears over the time his players will be allowed to recover
Bernardo Silva refused to criticise the new tournament but warned that the fatigue caused by the hectic scheduling could undermine the product
‘We cannot complain because we earn a lot of money but for the people who love the game, if we have this many games for so long, the games will lose the energy and intensity.’
The Premier League said a commitment that clubs will have at least 60 hours between matches over the Christmas and New Year period will remain in place for 2024-25.
That was brought in following complaints by managers over congested scheduling.
