SPFL announces key dates for 2022/23 season ahead of Qatar World Cup

The SPFL have confirmed dates for the 2022/23 season, which will be altered to fit around the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

With the tournament being moved to winter to accommodate the extreme heat in the Middle East during summer, domestic leagues across Europe will be forced to change their traditional schedules in order for players to represent their countries in Qatar. 

The Premier League and EFL in England have already set out their plans, and now the SPFL have outlined theirs.

The cinch Premiership, cinch Championship, cinch League 1 and cinch League 2 will all begin on the weekend of July 30/31, with the cinch Premiership breaking after fixture round 16 on November 12/13 and resuming the weekend before Christmas. Fixture round 38 in the cinch Premiership is scheduled for May 27/28, two weeks later than this season.

Clubs in the other divisions have opted to continue playing through the World Cup period and will conclude their fixtures on the first weekend in May before the play-offs get under way.

The group stage of the Premier Sports Cup will kick off on the second weekend in July but, because of the changes to the calendar, the semi-finals and final will take place after the turn of the year.