The most popular leagues in the world that bring high-end football return this season. The European 2022-23 season will start earlier than they usually do and finish later due to the World Cup taking place this year.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup between the Big Football Leagues
It's a controversial topic that takes place every four years when the World cup is held. It's been discussed more than a few times that the players that arrive at the World Cup will accumulate a large amount of fatigue, as players will play in so many matches with little time to recover.
The World Cup traditionally starts in June and ends in July. However, as the tournament will take place in Qatar, it will then be moved to November and December due to seasonal reasons. Therefore, the cup starts right in the middle of the European season.
Playing in May to June and July ensures that players will have enough time to do their part and finish their roles in their respective local leagues. Then, they can join their national teams for the Qatar World Cup.
Football Leagues Starting and Finishing Dates for the 2022/23 Season
With the upcoming World Cup drawing nearer as it starts on November 21st, football fans need to know when the leagues will stop, especially the most prestigious European leagues. This includes the leagues in England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France to let their players represent their National Teams. Will the players have an advantage for plating in Qatar 2022 in the middle of the season? Or will these grand sporting events back-to-back affect their performance?
Here, we've listed all the campaigns that will begin and finish across the five leagues, European club competitions and other information for international football.
1. English Premier League
The 2022/23 English Premier League will be the 31st running Premier League and the 124th season for the overall top-flight English football.
Twenty teams in total will compete this season; they are the top seventeen teams from the previous season and three teams who earned the promotion from the Championship.
This season kicks off on Friday, August 5th, to Sunday, August 7th.
The final round of matches before the World Cup will be presented in mid-November. The League then will continue on December 26th, over a week after the World Cup final.
The League will have a 43-day break for the World Cup. This means the season needs to end later than usual, taking place on Sunday, May 28th. The teams for the Premier League will enter the FA Cup during the third round and will play on the first weekend of 2023, January 7th. The final is on June 3rd.
The Clubs that aren't in the European competition will start in the second round of the Carabao Cup on August 24th. The other seven will enter the third round taking place on November 9th. The final will be held at the Wembley Stadium on February 26th.
2. Spanish La Liga
This always highly anticipated top-flight Spanish football will start on Sunday, August 14th and finishes on June 3-4, 2023. Every game will be live on ESPN+ for viewers in the US.
The 2022/23 La Liga. Also known as the La Liga Santander will be the 92nd season of Spain's premier football competition.
The first Clasico on matchday on October 16th will be played at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium. The return fixture at Barcelona's Camp Nou will take place on March 19th, 2023.
The final rounds of the League before the World Cup start will be on November 9th and will resume on Saturday, December 31st, after a 51-day pause.
Twenty teams will be participating in the League, which includes seventeen sides from the previous season, with three promoted from the Segunda Division from season 2021/22. This consists of the top two teams from the Segunda Division and the promotion play-offs winners.
Every team besides the four in the Supercopa will be playing in the first round of Copa del Rey. The Supercopa quartet will also join in the third round. The final will kick off on April 29th, 2023.
The Supercopa will feature the finalists from Copa del Drey's previous seasons, Real Betis and Valencia, along with the top two teams – Real Madrid and Barcelona. This takes place on 11th to 15th January 2023 at King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia.
3. Italian Serie A
The new campaign of the epic Italian Serie A starts on the weekend of August 13th up until June 4th, 2023. The 2022/23 Serie A will be the 121st season of top-flight Italian football and the 91st in a round-robin tournament. It's also the 13th season since the organization formed its own league committee – the Liga Serie A.
The game's final rounds before the World Cup will be played from the 12th to the 13th of November and continues on January 4th – a total break of 52 days.
The 12 lowest ranked teams from Serie A and from the Serie B will participate in the first stage of the Coppa Italia in August of 2023. On the other hand, the top eight ranked teams in Serie A will join the round of 16 this January.
The Serie A has plans to hold a tournament of Italian clubs in the US from November to December on the breaks from the World Cup. There are no further details regarding this event.
The champions, AC Milan, will face the Coppa Italia winners – Inter Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana. They're expected to play in Saudi Arabia this January; however, it's not yet been confirmed.
4. German Bundesliga
Next season's German Bundesliga will be the 60th season of Germany's premier football competition. The RB Leipzig – DFB Pokal winners will host champions Bayern Munich on July 30th in the DFL Supercup.
18 teams in total will be playing in next season's Bundesliga. The DBL Pokal's first round will feature all 18 Bundesliga clubs and will take place before the championship start, from July 29th to August 1st. RB Leipzig and Bayern will start off their DFB Pokal first-round matches on August 30th and 31st. The finals will be on June 3rd at Berlin's Olympiastadion.
The final round of matches before the World Cup will be from November 12th to 13th. The League will continue on January 20th, which is a whopping 68 days long – more than a two-month break for the German Championship.
5. French Ligue 1
The Ligue 1 for the 2022/23 season will be the 85th season of France's premier football competition.
The Trophee des Champions this season offers the champions Paris Saint-Germain to face the winners, Nantes, at the Bloomfield Stadium on July 31st, in Tel Aviv, Israel.
The French Ligue 1 will kick off on the weekend of August, the 6th and 7th, and proceed to June 4th.
The last set of matches before the World Cup will be played on November 12th – 13th and will return on December 28th after a pause of 45 days.
20 teams will be joining the 2022/23 season of Ligue 1.
Four teams will be transferred this season as Ligue 1 will have 18 teams instead of 20 for the 2023-24 campaign. And the Ligue 1 teams that enter the Coupe de France starting in the ninth round will play on January 7th. The final will take place on April 29th.
6. European Club Football
The draws for the last round of qualifying across the Europa League, Champions League and Europa Conference League will kick off on August 1st.
The UCL group stage will follow on August 25th, with the other two competitions held on August 26th. The group matches for every competition will start in early September, which is a week earlier than usual.
Due to the World Cup, all the tournaments for the group stage will finish around a month earlier.
The UEFA Super Cup will have Real Madrid taking on Eintracht Frankfurt at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki on August 10th.
Real Madrid will also take part in the FIFA Club World Club. However, there isn't any confirmation regarding this and when it will be, or if they will bring out the new expanded format of 24 teams which was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
