Erosion of Boxing Day matches a betrayal of English football tradition
One by one the old traditions of watching football are being eroded. The FA Cup third round is now stretched out almost as long as Liz Truss was in Downing Street, while in the top flight 3pm Saturday kick-offs are a vanishing rarity and the FA Cup final is no longer the concluding action of the summer. And now a full programme of Boxing Day fixtures, a central part of the football-watching calendar for generations, has been consigned to the history books.
The Premier League fixtures for the 2025-26 season have just been announced. And they feature a notable gap: nothing is officially scheduled for December 26. All 10 games are down for Saturday 27. True, the league has suggested that December 26 is open for switches should the broadcasters wish to schedule on that day. But even if the TV bosses take up their full allocation, it would mean no more than five top-flight games played on Boxing Day.
The ostensible reason is player welfare. Managers had long complained that the obligation to play matches less than 48 hours apart over the Christmas period was an unnecessary burden. Comparisons were made with continental leagues, where players can take up to a fortnight's mid-winter break, the kind of rest and recuperation that apparently means they are better prepared for the season's second half. Never mind that the Club World Cup, never mind immediate post-season tours of the Far East, never mind the continuous bloating of European competition, in order to catch up with the Europeans it is apparently Boxing Day that has to go in order to give the lads a breather.
Boxing Day, the day when everyone is off work, when families gather together, when sport is at the heart of the collective entertainment. Boxing Day, when there is the time and inclination to head off to a live event. Boxing Day, the day that for many moons has been seemingly constructed to watch sport.
Sure, the curtailing of public transport on the day has made the journey to the stadium ever harder. Because of the fact the Amex is close to inaccessible without the train and bus services, Brighton have not been able to play a home fixture on December 26 for the past few seasons. But then, not that long ago, to make things more convenient for the match-going crowd, Boxing Day was derby day, your team played their local rivals. That tradition has long been consigned to history, not least because the local police force needs a bit of a holiday too.
But football fans are resourceful people: they find a way to get there, wherever it might be. And getting there is more than worthwhile. Despite the chants mythologising some previous seasonal encounter for the historic bad blood between two teams, matches on December 26 tend to have a festive, warm, congenial atmosphere unlike any other. It is a party. Well, at least until the first time your team concedes a goal.
Fans the last consideration for authorities
What suits the match-going fan, though, has become the last consideration of those in charge of fixtures. Train timetables are never consulted when hastily arranging evening kick-offs to suit the television schedulers. Broadcasters bring forward start times regardless of how far the away fans have to travel (Newcastle made to play at Bournemouth at 12.30pm on a Saturday? Sounds a cracker for the television audience).
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