• Loading stock data...
Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Premier League Embraces NFL-Style Flex Scheduling for 2025–26

An unprecedented nine Premier League clubs qualified for European-level competition for the upcoming season, but there are complications from that success. 

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The concept of flex scheduling, for years a core element of the NFL, is set to take on heightened importance in the Premier League.

The top flight of English pro soccer unveiled its 2025–26 schedule Wednesday, and warned “there is an increased likelihood of Premier League fixtures moving at relatively short notice” during the season. The additional forthcoming shifts are due primarily to an unprecedented nine Premier League teams playing in European-level competition during the upcoming season.

Six clubs—Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle, and Tottenham Hotspur—qualified for the upcoming iteration of the UEFA Champions League, while Aston Villa and Crystal Palace will compete in the Europa League, and Nottingham Forest is in the Conference League. 

The FA Cup, a separate English competition that ultimately feeds into UEFA Europa League, could also prompt some schedule changes for the Premier League. 

“While the Premier League celebrates this success, it will come with an impact on the scheduling of league matches,” the league said in a statement.

Already, the Premier League announces specific game times, and any revised dates, for the season on a monthly basis, with at least five weeks of notice common. That rolling schedule for confirming game dates and times takes broadcast considerations into account, like in the NFL.

Greater Unrest

The increased level of forthcoming change also arrives amid fast-rising fan unrest about ongoing ticket price increases across the Premier League. Thirteen of 20 clubs in the league increased prices for the upcoming season, and though down from a comparable 19 clubs last year, the moves continue to spark fan protests under the hashtag of #StopExploitingLoyalty.

Liverpool, the defending Premier League champion, will begin the season Aug. 15 at home against AFC Bournemouth. 

The 2025–26 Premier League season, meanwhile, will be the first in a four-year media-rights term with Sky Sports and TNT Sports worth $9 billion, representing the largest sports-rights deal in U.K. history. The new domestic deals have a new provision in which all matches taking place outside of a Saturday 3 p.m. “closed period” will be broadcast live, a move that will involve at least 267 of the 380 league matches this season.

That Saturday afternoon slot is designed to protect attendance at lower-level soccer competition, not unlike the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 in the U.S. The NFL continues to find creative ways to work around that measure, aimed in part to preserve high school and college football. 

The upcoming Premier League season will conclude May 24, 2026, giving top players also on national teams a turnaround of less than three weeks before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Chelsea

Chelsea Club World Cup Run Banks at Least $100M for Mark Walter..

The Blues will likely take home between $100 million and $120 million.

Texas Sports Teams, Leagues Donate Over $5M to Flood Relief

NFL, MLB, and NBA teams in Texas donate to flood recovery efforts.
Gianni Infantino

FIFA Tightens Trump Ties With Trump Tower Office

Trump and Infantino’s bromance is still kicking.

Featured Today

American Celebs Want to Be Sports Owners. Soccer Is Where They Start

As U.S. team prices climb, investors set their sights abroad.
July 5, 2025

Baseball’s Celebrity Row: Behind MLB’s First-Pitch Ritual

Often planned, sometimes spontaneous, the ritual throw is baseball’s celebrity row.
July 4, 2025

3,000 Hot Dogs, $20K in Prizes: Behind the Nathan’s Eating Contest

Nathan’s serves up thousands of hot dogs and $20,000 in prize money.
July 3, 2025

Geoffrey Esper Can’t Catch a Break at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

“Hot dogs is not one of my favorite competitions of the year.”

Has the WNBA Outgrown the Matinee Madness of Camp Days?

Caitlin Clark will return from injury in a Wednesday noon game.
Breanna Stewart
July 8, 2025

WNBA Players Call League Proposal For Fixed Salary Cap Inadequate  

The league’s collective bargaining agreement expires in less than four months.
Jun 27, 2025; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks first overall pick Cooper Flagg speaks to the media during a press conference at the Dallas Mavericks Practice Facility.
July 8, 2025

Cooper Flagg–Bronny James Summer League Tickets Average $201

The average purchase price on resale platform TickPick is $201.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; President-elect Donald Trump speaks with Dana White (left) during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden.
July 7, 2025

UFC Confirms Talks to Bring Fight to White House Grounds

Discussions are underway to bring a UFC event to the White House grounds.
Jul 2, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) heads to the dugout prior to the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Dodger Stadium.
July 4, 2025

MLB Changes Are ‘Showing Great Results’: Former CFO

Big stars playing in major markets “make a real difference.”
Michael Johnson
July 3, 2025

Grand Slam Track Still Owes Athletes $13 Million: Source

The new track league hasn’t paid athletes in full yet.
July 2, 2025

NHL to Rejoin Olympic Ice in Milan—and NBC Set to Cash In

NHL players last competed in the Olympics in 2014.