The English Premier League will introduce a winter break in February, beginning in the 2019/20 season.
The break will be staggered across two weeks, with five games played on the first weekend and five the following weekend.
The English Football Association announced the move on Friday, also adding that the FA Cup fifth round will be moved to midweek to accommodate the break, with replays being scrapped at that stage.
The FA described it as “a significant moment for English football” that “will greatly benefit club and country”.
“It’s no secret that we have a very congested fixture calendar and over recent years we have been working with the whole game to find a solution,” FA chief executive Martin Glenn said.
Winter breaks are already factored into schedules of other top leagues including Germany, France, Italy and Spain, though they all take place between December and January, which is the busiest period for the Premier League.
Many managers have often routed for an introduction of winter breaks, saying their players got worn out from the busy PL schedule.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said in January that the festive schedule was “killing” his players, while earlier in the 2017-18 season his Manchester United counterpart Jose Mourinho said the lack of a break was hampering English clubs’ hopes in the Champions League.
