The international break is longer than usual this time around, a fact many on social media have bemoaned as club football takes a backseat for 3 whole weeks.
Previously, there were four international breaks across the Premier League season, which took place in September, October, November and March.
These breaks usually had two international matches in each, creating huge disruptions to the domestic season as teams stopped and started multiple times just months into a fresh campaign.
Now, FIFA has merged those two windows into one 16-day window: 21 September–6 October in what is he longest ever modern international break, with the gap without Premier League football is 19 days.
From now on, there will be only three international breaks a season that fall during the domestic campaign, creating less disruption for clubs whose next break will come in November from the 9th to the 17th and March from the 22nd to the 30th.
The fourth and fifth international breaks of the season come in June and July, once the club season has concluded.
Supporters were tired of having the club season broken up three times in as many months right at the start of the season, but now they will face less disturbance. However, they must bear a 3 week spell of international games, which many still believe to be pointless.