Nick Woltemade is making the most of the holiday in English football in his debut year. Floodlit game at a sold-out Old Trafford on the legendary “Boxing Day”? It couldn’t be better this Friday (9 p.m. CET on Sky). But apart from Newcastle United and Manchester United, no one in the Premier League will be able to enjoy the tradition that has lasted more than 100 years this year.
In England’s elite league, only one game takes place on Boxing Day – the last time there was even less, none at all, was in 1982. In this millennium, at least five matches have always been played on December 26th, and the entire match day often took place on “Boxing Day”.
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The league cites the expansion of European Cup competitions by UEFA as the reason for breaking the custom that has been in place since 1888. “The Premier League would like to acknowledge the circumstances that have resulted in a reduced number of matches on Boxing Day – damaging an important tradition in English football,” it said in a scathing statement.
The adjustment of the game plan is a result of the increased burden caused by the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, whose match days require more and more appointments until the start of the knockout phase. The league also referred to the requirements of the world association FIFA, which requires a minimum break of 72 hours between two games. “Special arrangements” had been made “to allow more time between games during the holidays,” it said.
But the Premier League cannot completely shift responsibility for the slimmed-down “Boxing Day”; the contract it concluded with the English Football Association (FA) is also to blame for this. Accordingly, the elite league must guarantee its media partners that 33 of the 38 match days will be played on weekends. Due to scheduling constraints, the 18th match day, which takes place around “Boxing Day”, has to take place largely on the weekend.
Accordingly, many clubs adapted their tried and tested processes over the Christmas holidays this year. Pep Guardiola even put his Manchester City players on the scales before Christmas.
If some of them over-indulged in the festive feast, the coach threatened to leave them out of the squad for the Premier League game on December 27th (1:30 p.m. CET on Sky) at Nottingham Forest. “They come back on the 25th and I will be there to check how many kilos they have gained, whether they have become fat,” Guardiola said.
With Woltemade, there is hardly any risk of weight gain over the holidays. After all, he had to prepare with Newcastle on Christmas Eve and December 25th before they play for three points on Boxing Day against Manchester United, who are plagued by enormous injury problems. The chances are not bad, also thanks to the new goalscorer from Germany, who is finding his feet better and better.
“You can see that he has a very good connection when he scores goals,” said team manager Eddie Howe on Wednesday: “You can see that the fans are really happy for him and he is enjoying the celebration with them.” With his two goals against Chelsea FC last weekend (2-2), Woltemade showed “his best performance” since moving from Stuttgart, praised Howe.
“He played particularly well in the first half. You could see his qualities again for the team – especially in his teamwork,” said the coach. Woltemade, who has scored nine goals in 23 competitive games for his new club, is fighting with Newcastle to reach the international spots. The Magpies have had a mixed season so far, the gap to seventh-placed Man United is three points.
The league has already announced that from 2026 onwards almost all players will be able to enjoy a game on “Boxing Day” again. The break with tradition should initially remain an exception. The calendar next year will benefit the league: December 26, 2026 falls on a Saturday.
