What makes the Premier League's Festive Fixtures so special?

For many Premier League fans, the festive period is the best time of the season, when top-flight matches come thick and fast. But why is that the case?

Where did England’s unique love of Christmas football come from, how does it compare to Europe’s other top leagues and what are some of the most memorable festive football moments? Here, Ben Bloom investigates...

Festive Football’s origins

It all began in the late 19th century.

When Boxing Day was designated as a public holiday in England and Wales from 1871, it meant most workers received a rare two-day break over Christmas Day (25 December) and 26 December.

With the creation of the Football League in 1888, the festive period was seen as the ideal time to cram in as much football as possible to cater to the masses during the holiday period.

For the next 60 to 70 years, top-flight Christmas Day and Boxing Day football became something of a ritual, with most teams playing on consecutive days in the hope of drawing bumper attendances.

Unlike modern times when Christmas in England is largely seen as an opportunity to gather domestically, public holidays used to be seen as an opportunity to leave the house and congregate at large-scale events.

“For the working class, whose residences were often uncomfortable, overcrowded and unappealing, a rare day free from work was reason to take to the streets, not relax at home,” explained Martin Johnes in his book Christmas and the British.

Eager to capitalise, football clubs routinely scheduled matches over the Christmas period, and played up to three times during the long Easter weekend.

Until the 1950s, there was usually a full round of top-flight fixtures played on Christmas Day.

But, as time went on, living standards improved and Christmas Day family gatherings moved within the home. Public transport options also became more limited.

Christmas Day football began to dwindle until the last English league match on 25 December 1965, when Blackpool beat Blackburn Rovers 4-2. 

“Loads of people would go to Blackpool for a Christmas break, so the idea was to give them something to entertain them,” Blackpool winger Graham Oates recalled to the Telegraph. “And for the club to make some money, obviously.”

Yet while Christmas Day football fell by the wayside, the tradition of Boxing Day matches endured and football remained a prominent feature of the festive period.

Recent changes

With supporters of Premier League clubs eager to watch as much football as possible, and administrators keen to cater to their wishes, fixture congestion around the festive period reached what some managers and players suggested was unsustainable levels a few years ago when top-flight football would take place every day for more than a week post-Christmas.

With a greater understanding of the physical and mental exertions placed on top-flight clubs, a winter (or mid-season) break was brought in for the first time in February 2020.

Last season was the third time an English mid-season break – which clubs took at different times in January – was put in place, but that has been dropped this season in favour of a longer summer break.

While the festive period remains busy, no Premier League club will play two matches within 60 hours at any point between 21 December and 5 January.

There are also no Premier League fixtures on 28 and 31 December, or 2 and 3 January.

Christmas in Europe’s other top leagues

For some time, England was unique among Europe’s biggest leagues in not implementing a break during the festive period.

All top-flight teams in Germany, Spain and France stop playing from 22 December until either the first or second week in January.

Italy’s top division scrapped their winter break last season, so there is no pause in Serie A action.

But it still does not match the Premier League’s bumper increase in matches.

After a failed experiment to introduce Boxing Day football in the 2018/19 campaign, the Italian schedule instead continues as it does throughout the season, with regular weekend fixtures throughout December and January.

Memorable Boxing Day matches

As one of the first matches that fans look out for on Fixture Release Day, Boxing Day matches often live long in the memory.

The most remarkable set of top-flight results took place on 26 December 1963, when an astonishing 66 goals were scored across 10 matches.

Boxing Day results 1963

Incredibly, the reverse leg of all bar one of those fixtures took place just two days later, when West Ham, Man Utd and Ipswich all avenged their heavy defeats with victories.

In the Premier League era, Sir Alex Ferguson’s first and last Boxing Day matches at Man Utd are two of the most memorable.

His first, in the Premier League’s inaugural 1992/93 season, saw United trail 3-0 at Sheffield Wednesday before two goals from Brian McClair and another from Eric Cantona salvaged a dramatic draw.

Two decades later, Ferguson’s last Boxing Day match in 2012 saw Chicharito score a 90th-minute winner as United came from behind three times to beat Newcastle United 4-3 in a classic.

Stamford Bridge hosted a Boxing Day cracker in 2007 when Chelsea shared eight goals with Aston Villa in a 4-4 draw - a match that also produced two red cards for the hosts, one for the visitors, and two penalties.

Brown's Etihad antics

One of the most iconic Boxing Day images came when furious Hull City manager Phil Brown sat his players down on the Etihad Stadium pitch for a half-time dressing down after his side found themselves 4-0 down against Manchester City in 2008.

“I thought it was nice and cold, and I thought I would keep the boys alive because they looked as if they were dead,” said Brown.

“Our 4,000 travelling fans deserved some kind of explanation for the first-half performance and it was difficult for me to do that from the confines of a changing room. We owed them an apology for the first-half performance.”

Premier League Boxing Day all-time records*

*minimum five matches

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