The transfer window is open and the Scottish Premiership fixtures for the 2022/23 season will be released at 9am on Friday; how does the winter World Cup in Qatar affect the 2022/23 calendar? And what are the key dates in the EFL and in Scotland? Find out in our essential guide
Friday 17 June 2022 09:02, UK
Thoughts are inevitably starting to turn to the 2022/23 campaign. Here's everything you need to know as we build up to another action-packed season...
The fixture list for the 2022/23 Premier League have been released with the season beginning on Friday August 5 and ending on Sunday May 28.
Scottish Premiership fixtures will be released on Friday June 17.
EFL fixtures for the Championship, League One and League Two will be released on Thursday June 23.
The Premier League season will begin on the weekend of August 5/6/7. This is one week earlier than the 2021/22 campaign started, and means teams will have an 11-week break between the seasons.
However, the Premier League will halt in the middle of the season to accommodate a winter World Cup for the first time.
As a result, match-round 16 will be the final one played - over the weekend of November 12/13 - before players called up by their countries for the tournament travel to Qatar.
The Premier League will resume on Boxing Day following the conclusion of the World Cup, with the final taking place on December 18.
The Premier League will conclude on May 28, with all the matches kicking off at the same time, as is standard on the final day.
Aside from a winter World Cup bringing Europe's major leagues to a halt mid-season, the biggest change currently on the horizon is the return of five substitutes to the Premier League.
The rule was brought in when the league returned from the Covid-enforced hiatus in the 2019/20 season, but managers were once again limited to just three subs last season after clubs voted to revert to the status quo.
However, the Premier League sides voted in favour of bringing back five subs on a permanent basis in March, with the rule coming into effect from the start of the new season.
Premier League clubs were officially able to register new players from Friday June 10.
The transfer window will remain open for just under 12 weeks before closing on Thursday September 1.
You can keep up to date with the transfer window on Sky Sports with our dedicated Transfer Centre blog, and catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
With a new season comes the release of a plethora of new kits, all of which are detailed here.
The FA Cup third round will take place on the weekend of January 8/9 - the same time as in the 2021/22 season - but the final will take place three weeks later on Saturday June 3.
The EFL's 2022/23 season will start a week earlier than usual, with the first fixtures taking place on the weekend of July 30/31.
The Championship will pause on the weekend of November 12/13 for the World Cup group stage, before resuming on the weekend of December 10/11. League One and League Two will continue as normal throughout the tournament.
The final day of the EFL regular seasons will be on the weekend of May 6/7, with the play-off finals to take place between May 27-29.
The Carabao Cup will begin in the week commencing August 8, with the Papa John's Trophy beginning in the week commencing August 29.
The Carabao Cup final will be on Sunday February 26 and the Papa John's Trophy final will be on Sunday March 19, with both matches taking place at Wembley.
The Scottish Premiership will also begin on the weekend of July 30/31 and will pause on the weekend of November 12/13, before resuming on the weekend of December 17/18.
The season will end on the weekend of May 27/28 - two weeks later than this campaign.
The Champions League group stage begins on September 6/7 - one week earlier than in the 2021/22 season. Group matches will be played on back-to-back weeks, rather than in two and three-week intervals, to ensure they are completed before the World Cup.
The knockout rounds commence on February 14/15, while the Champions League final will take place on June 10 in Istanbul.
The Europa League and Europa Conference League group stages begin on September 8 and finish on November 3, while the knockout rounds start on February 16.
The Europa League final will be on May 31 in Budapest, while the Europa Conference League final will be on June 7 in Prague.
The World Cup is one of the main events on the calendar in the upcoming season. The tournament will take place in Qatar and begin on November 21 - just over a week after the Premier League takes a break. The World Cup final is scheduled for December 18.
The winter World Cup has necessitated a shake-up of the international match calendar. The September international break will be moved from the beginning to the end of the month, while there will be no international fixtures in October.
