Premier League fixtures release date 2025-26: When and how schedule is produced

When are the 2025-26 Premier League fixtures released?The Premier League fixtures for the 2025-26 season will be released at 09:00 BST on Wednesday, 18 June 2025.The release will include the weekly schedule of all 380 matches.The season will begin with a single fixture played on Friday, 15 August 2025 and conclude on Sunday, 24 May 2026, when all matches will be played at 16:00 BST. There will be 33 weekend rounds of fixtures, plus five midweek rounds.The exact date and time at which individual matches are played during each weekend will be determined at regular intervals throughout the season, based on TV selections made by broadcasters.Before the 2024-25 season, the Premier League told fans they would be given plenty of notice before changing fixtures for TV.Dates based on TV selections are scheduled to be released five to six weeks in advance but – on occasion – have taken longer to be announced.”The Premier League has committed to giving supporters a minimum of six weeks’ notice on UK broadcast selections until December 2024, and five weeks’ from January 2025 until Matchweek 37,” the Premier League said before the 2024-25 season.Following criticism over the scheduling of the match between Wolves and Chelsea on 24 December 2023, there will be no Christmas Eve fixture for the second year in a row.The fixture schedule is released to media organisations under an embargo a few hours before the public reveal, in order to allow for the preparation of written news stories and broadcast packages.How are Premier League fixtures decided?According to the Premier League, putting together the fixture schedule takes up to six months.The process is managed by multinational IT company Atos, which has its headquarters just outside of Paris.A slew of information about the football calendar – international dates, European matchweeks, and the scheduling of the lower leagues – is inputted into the system so it can generate a list which functions.Further information such as policing capacity and geographical proximity are also taken into account. For example, the system is told that Liverpool and Everton cannot play at home on the same weekend, because doing so would put too much on strain on police resources and transport infrastructure in one city.The same goes for other closely situated rivals, like Manchester United and Manchester City, but the rules are more relaxed in London owing to the prevalence of top-flight clubs in the capital.Clubs can also make requests in case there is a potential stadium clash. For example, Old Trafford will host the Super League Grand Final on Saturday, 11 October 2025, so Manchester United are likely to request their fixture is away that weekend.Once all of the background information has been inputted, clubs are put in a pairing grid, which defines when they will play at home and when they will play away. From there, the system generates a randomised set of fixtures.The fixture list is manually verified by Atos staff and representatives from the Premier League and Football League. If any issues are spotted, the process is repeated again and a new set of fixtures is generated until one is deemed to satisfy all requirements.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Liverpool will enter the 2025-26 Premier League season as championsWhat rules are there for home and away Premier League fixture scheduling?There are three key home and away rules which the fixture generator must abide by.In any period of five matches, a club must play either three times at home and twice away, or vice versa.A club cannot start or end the season with two home or two away matches.A club cannot play at home twice or away twice for the fixtures which take place on or around Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.Other British leagues will announce their fixture lists on the following dates:Women’s Super League – TBAScottish Premiership – 09:00 BST on Friday, June 20 2025NIFL Premiership – TBAWelsh Premier Division – TBAEFL – 09:00 BST on Thursday, 26 June 2025National League – TBAWhat is Ask Me Anything?This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team. Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.The team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and pundits.We will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world’s biggest sporting events.Our coverage will span the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio.More questions answered…