Premiership to continue with winter break

[ian1964 10,596]

THE Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) have confirmed that the Ladbrokes Premiership will continue to have a winter break in the 2017/18 season as key dates are announced.*

 

A three-week long mid-season rest period was introduced to the top-flight this season and has been scheduled again for the next campaign between January 1 and January 19, subject to live television selections.

 

The body also revealed important dates for the 2017/18 season, with the Betfred Cup group stages commencing on July 15 and the final taking place on Sunday 26 November.*

 

Scottish league action across the top four leagues will kick off on the weekend of Saturday August 5.*

 

The final fixtures of the Ladbrokes Championship, League One*and League Two seasons will be on the weekend of Saturday, 28 April, 2018 while the Ladbrokes Premiership’s final league matches will take place on Saturday, 12 May and Sunday 13 May, 2018.

 

Finally, the Premiership Play-Off Final first leg is scheduled for Thursday, 17 May, 2018 and the second leg for Sunday, 20 May, 2018 – unless one of the participating teams is also a Scottish Cup finalist, in which case the dates of the Ladbrokes Premiership Play-Off Final will be Tuesday, 15 May and Wednesday, 23 May, in line with this season’s contingency plan.

 

SPFL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster said: “We’re very pleased to be able to confirm some of the key dates for next season to allow clubs and supporters to plan ahead.

"The volume of fixturing slots required for international and European football dates continues to represent a great challenge for leagues across Europe however we have managed to maintain a large degree of consistency for next season in line with the current campaign.

 

“Following overwhelmingly positive feedback regarding this season’s winter break, most notably during a recent meeting with Ladbrokes Premiership club managers and coaches, we’ve worked to retain this for season 2017/18. We also asked clubs in the Ladbrokes Championship if they would like to see this introduced in their league, however the clear majority of feedback was against this.

 

“What also proved very popular this season were the improvements made to the Betfred Cup including group stages and an earlier final and those will continue in season 2017/18. The SPFL was supported in delivering these changes and others by member clubs including through our Competitions Working Group and it all demonstrates the ongoing consultation, collaboration and progressive thinking in the Scottish game.”

 

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/15062562.Premiership_to_continue_with_winter_break_as_SPFL_announce_key_dates_for_2017_18_season/