When leagues are stopping for 2022 World Cup: How schedules for Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and more will change
The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is creating a number of firsts in the world of soccer.
It is the first time that the tournament has been held in the Middle East after the Qataris won the right to host it in December 2010.
But since then FIFA moved the staging of the competition from its traditional timing of June and July to November and December to allow it to be played when temperatures are considerably cooler in Qatar.
MORE: Are the World Cup 2022 stadiums air-conditioned?
This became a headache for many soccer chiefs across the globe as the World Cup will now be played at a time when their domestic leagues and competitions are in action, particularly in Europe where the summer is their offseason.
Here is a guide to which leagues are doing what and when with their schedules to accommodate the 2022 World Cup:
Premier League 2022-23 schedule
This truly is a step into the unknown for England’s top league, as unlike Spain, Germany, Italy and others they have never had a full winter break previously.
The 2022-23 season will begin on August 6, a week earlier than the current 2021-22 campaign started, and it will finish a week later than in 2022 on May 28, 2023.
The teams will play until the November 12/13 weekend when the competition will then stop to allow those involved in the World Cup to depart to join their respective squads.
The season will resume December 26, eight days after the World Cup final.
Premier League schedule
• August 6: Premier League season 2022-23 begins
• November 12-13: Last round of games before midseason break
• December 26: League action resumes
• May 28: Final round of fixtures for 2022-23 played
MORE: England route to FIFA World Cup Final: Will football be finally coming home in 2022?
La Liga 2022-23 schedule
Spanish sides are set to start the 2022-23 on the same weekend as they did for the current campaign, despite the hectic schedule awaiting them.
They are sketched in provisionally, following talks between league officials and the clubs, to begin on August 12, with the season stopping on November 13.
No games will be played over Christmas so games in Spain after the World Cup are not expected to resume any earlier then December 29.
The planned finishing date is June 4, which will be two weeks later than this season’s finale.
La Liga schedule
• August 12: La Liga season 2022-23 begins
• November 12-13: Last round of games before midseason break
• December 29: League action resumes
• June 4: Final round of fixtures for 2022-23 played
MORE: Full FIFA World Cup 2022 draw and schedule
Bundesliga 2022-23 schedule
A break of more than two months from domestic action is the plan for Germany’s Bundesliga.
The advantage of having 18 teams in their top flight, unlike England, Spain and Italy, among others who have 20, is they have four fewer games to fit in with 34 rounds of games to be played.
So the German action will start on August 5 and run through until November 13 before the enforced break comes in.
But they will embrace their own traditional domestic rest, too, as the players will have another month of rest from competitive action after the Qatar festivities are over.
They will not resume until January 20 with the season ending on May 27.
Bundesliga schedule
• August 5: Bundesliga season 2022-23 begins
• November 13: Last round of games before midseason break
• January 20: League action resumes
• May 27: Final round of fixtures for 2022-23 played
The #FIFAWorldCup groups are set 🤩
We can’t wait! 🏆#FinalDraw pic.twitter.com/uaDfdIvbaZ
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) April 1, 2022
Serie A 2022-23 schedule
Italy may not be going to the World Cup having missed out on qualification to North Macedonia. But Serie A will still stop owing to the high number of international players in the league who will be heading to Qatar.
The season begins on the August 13-14 weekend before playing until November 13, when the last action will take place.
No fixed dates have yet been published on when the season would resume, but the expectation from the Italian clubs is it will not be until early January 2023.
Serie A schedule
• August 13-14: Serie A season 2022-23 begins
• November 12-13: Last round of games before midseason break
• January 2023: League action resumes
MORE: France’s World Cup 2022 draw and match schedule
Ligue 1 2022-23 schedule
France are the World Cup holders and will be bidding to be the first team since Brazil in 1962 to successfully retain the title.
But there is little initial change in their domestic league with Ligue 1 starting on August 6, the same day as the 2021-22 campaign began.
They will break from November 12-13 before the planned resumption after the action on Qatar comes on December 28.
Ligue 1 schedule
• August 6-7: Ligue 1 season 2022-23 begins
• November 12-13: Last round of games before midseason break
• December 28: League action resumes
• June 4: Final round of games to conclude season
Next stop: Qatar!
THE @USMNT IS WORLD CUP BOUND! pic.twitter.com/33Vi8al1fh
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 31, 2022
Unlike in Europe where much thought has had to go in to adjusting the domestic league schedule, the World Cup’s new timing has no impact in the USA.
The 2022 MLS season will finish November 5 with the MLS Cup Final, 16 days before the World Cup begins. The regular season ends on October 9.
MLS schedule
• November 5: Season finishes with MLS Cup Final
• February 2023: New season begins
MORE: USA Group B schedule for facing England and Iran
A-League 2022-23 schedule
Australia’s participation at the World Cup is still yet to be determined as they look to get past both the UAE and Peru in the AFC and then Inter-confederation playoffs to book a place in Qatar in Group D with France, Denmark and Tunisia.
The A-League 2022-23 season is at present scheduled to begin on October 30, just 23 days before the competition in Qatar gets underway.
A schedule and fixture list is not due to be published until September so that may be when things become clearer on how the Australians plan to tackle fitting their domestic games around the World Cup.
A-League schedule
• September 2022: A-League fixtures due to be published
• October 30: Provisional opening day of the 2022-23 A-League season
⭐️Winner of Intercontinental play-off 1 – either Australia, UAE or Peru – will be the final team in Group D! They will sit in spot D2
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) April 1, 2022
UEFA Champions League 2022-23 schedule
UEFA have got around the problem of how to stop the group stages of their competition being interrupted by condensing their schedule.
Usually the group part of the action runs through until the middle of December. But for 2022-23 that will not be the case, with the six rounds of games being finished a month earlier on the midweek of 1-2 November.
There will be three rounds of games played in October to help make this happen.
The competition will then go on hiatus during the World Cup before returning on 14-15 February with the first of the knockout games.
UEFA Champions League schedule
• September 6-7: UEFA Champions League group stages begin
• November 1-2: Last round of group stages to be played
• February 14-15: First games in knockout rounds to take place
• June 10: UEFA Champions League final held at Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul
