Premier League fixtures announcement: Build-up plus transfer updates

How are Premier League fixtures decided?

Daniel Austin

BBC Sport

According to the Premier League, putting together the fixture schedule takes up to six months.

The process is managed by multinational IT company Atos, which has its headquarters just outside of Paris.

A slew of information about the football calendar - international dates, European matchweeks, and the scheduling of the lower leagues - is inputted into the system so it can generate a list which functions.

Further information such as policing capacity and geographical proximity are also taken into account. For example, the system is told that Liverpool and Everton cannot play at home on the same weekend, because doing so would put too much on strain on police resources and transport infrastructure in one city.

The same goes for other closely situated rivals, like Manchester United and Manchester City, but the rules are more relaxed in London owing to the prevalence of top-flight clubs in the capital.

Clubs can also make requests in case there is a potential stadium clash. For example, Old Trafford will host the Super League Grand Final on Saturday, 11 October 2025, so Manchester United are likely to request their fixture is away that weekend.

Once all of the background information has been inputted, clubs are put in a pairing grid, which defines when they will play at home and when they will play away. From there, the system generates a randomised set of fixtures.

The fixture list is manually verified by Atos staff and representatives from the Premier League and Football League. If any issues are spotted, the process is repeated again and a new set of fixtures is generated until one is deemed to satisfy all requirements.

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