Championship to flood Boxing Day and New Year's Day in Premier League absence
Telegraph Sport has been told the EFL will do the same on New Year's Day, which has also been left clear for now by the world's richest league.
All 72 EFL fixtures across both days will be televised live for the second successive season.
There are likely to be some Premier League fixtures on Boxing Day and New Year's Day once Sky Sports and TNT Sports make their broadcast selections for match rounds currently scheduled for Saturday, December 27 and Tuesday, December 30.
And while the scrapping of the Boxing Day round of games will rankle with some traditionalists, it may be welcomed by many match-going fans given most trains do not run on that day.
Tom Greatrex, the chair of the Football Supporters' Association, told Telegraph Sport: 'With the increasingly rare ability to use any sort of public transport on Boxing Day – there are very few trains – in many ways the 27th is probably better.
'Although it's obviously long been a traditional day where there have been fixtures, I'm not sure necessarily there'll be the same level of concern about that given how difficult it's been to get to Boxing Day fixtures frequently.'
Greatrex said the FSA members had been more upset about the likes of Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle United, and the reverse fixture between the teams, being scheduled in a midweek match round.
When is EFL fixture release day?
The Championship will release their fixtures on Thursday June 26 alongside League One and Two at noon.
League One and Two get under way over the weekend beginning August 1. The Championship will start a week later on August 8-10.
The EFL will also announce the draw for the first round of the Carabao Cup at 2.30pm after the announcement of the fixtures and the groups for the Vertu Trophy at 4.40pm.
EFL key dates 2025/26
Fixture release date: Thursday 26 June 2025 at 12.00pm
EFL Opening Weekends
League One and League Two: Friday 1 August – Sunday 3 August
Championship: Friday 8 August – Sunday 10 August
Final games of the regular season
May 2-3 2026.
Carabao Cup
Round One Draw – Thursday 26 June 2025
Round One – Weekend 11 August 2025
Final – Sunday 22 March 2026
Vertu Trophy
Group Stage Draw – Thursday 26 June 2025
Matchday One – Weekend September 1 2025
Final – Sunday 12 April 2026
Play-offs
Championship Play-Off Final – Saturday 23 May 2026
League One Play-Off Final – Sunday 24 May 2026
League Two Play-Off Final – Monday 25 May 2026
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