Would a festive break really impact revenue or can it help us bring it home?  Raj Mannick, Head of Sport at Yahoo UK asks the question.

The Christmas fixtures have long been a key annual tradition for English football fans since the launch of The FA in 1864. Club ties have meant that the festive football matches have become a big part of the Christmas calendar and for many fans, a key activity to watch with family and friends during the holiday period.

The topic has caused much debate around what it means for the players. While England’s top teams played four games between 21st December and 3rd January, teams in Europe such as France, Germany, Italy and Spain spent time with their families and enjoyed a break.

The 10-day winter break coming into effect in the 2019-20 season during February will rest players, but is it too late in the season? A 2013 UEFA study highlighted that a player is four times more likely to be injured in the final three months of the Premier League season than during the same time in other European leagues.

Importantly, from a commercial perspective, would moving this break forward and allowing players time to rest during the two week festive period – potentially mitigating some of the risk of those late-season injuries – really impact sponsorship or would the Premier League’s key brands including newly signed Coca-Cola, as well as Barclays, Cadbury and Nike actually feel any impact?

The Premier League’s top-six festive fixture list

The two North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, drew the short straw over the festive period schedule. Tottenham played four games in nine days between 23rd December to the 1st January, whereas Arsenal had a slightly more manageable, but still tiring, four games in 10 days. While Arsenal battled table-topping Liverpool on the 29th December, Spurs were one of the two teams in the top six to have four matches over the period. Liverpool’s fixtures were much more favourable, with Jürgen Klopp’s side fairing averagely with regards to the number of matches and time off between them.

The two northern giants Manchester United and Manchester City had a consistent four rest days between each of their games, and at face value, the easiest set of fixtures throughout the festive period. Caretaker manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United took on Cardiff, Huddersfield and Bournemouth whilst reigning champions Manchester City faced a trio of teams struggling to escape the bottom half of the table.

Chelsea were dealt a good hand too with a consistent four days between each of their fixtures and take on Leicester, Watford and Crystal Palace.

What does this mean for revenue?

There is no doubt that for many there is much to gain. The festive time means bigger audiences watching the games as more people are on holiday. Clubs see stadiums sell out with fans travelling great distances across the country to watch their teams play.

Sponsors will undoubtedly reap the benefits during this busy period, but would they really see a huge impact overall? The amount of money being made by clubs through lucrative sponsorship deals is huge. Premier League clubs made £313.6 million in shirt sponsorship deals alone this year.

What about the teams and their fans?

At Yahoo Sport UK, we’re all about putting fans first and a break over the festive period would no doubt disappoint many of our readers.

I have always enjoyed watching the festive fixtures over this period as have many other football fans, but I believe it is time we aligned with our European neighbours and gave our players a break during the same period. The England national team has much to benefit from a rest. Waiting until February means a gruelling additional couple of months that affects our ability to compete at the international level.

The England team enjoyed an impressive 2018, with a fantastic run to reach the World Cup semi-finals in Russia and qualification for the Nations League finals in Portugal. There is no debate that as a nation, we basked in the glory of the success of the team. Brands and broadcasters saw the knock-on effect too. M&S were huge winners with Gareth Southgate fever taking full effect through their “Bring it home” and #LuckyWaistcoat campaign. The country came to a standstill when the team played – the nation glued to TV screens.

It makes sense to rest the players and allow them time to be with their loved ones during the festive period. This time will help the players prepare mentally and physically for the New Year – gearing them up for our critical match against Holland. Surely it makes sense to give the players an opportunity to be as fighting fit as possible in our international games which are key to driving that football-fever for the nation as a whole, rather than just die-hard football fans.

Not only will this benefit the team, but ultimately sponsors would reap the rewards, as would fans and broadcast rights holders.

Image: PA Images