Portsmouth chief backs key fixture changes rubberstamped by FIFA
Andy Cullen has been sharing his thoughts on changes FIFA are introducing to the international fixtures calendar
Andy Cullen has welcomed FIFA’s decision to shake up the international fixtures calendar.
Last month, it was confirmed that football’s governing body would move away from the four breaks traditionally inserted into all domestic schedules in September, October, November and March from next season.
The two-week, two-game November and March pauses to the domestic fixture programme for Pompey & Co will remain in place as normal.
However, the September and October stoppages - which are also two weeks long - will now be condensed into one larger break of three weeks duration. That has already been confirmed for September 21 to October 6 in 2026, with national sides able to play four games in that period.
The decision represents a big change in FIFA’s scheduling and avoids any unwanted early disruption to teams’ seasons so soon after their summer breaks.
The September international break came into force just four matches into Pompey’s latest Championship campaign. It also overlapped with the ending of this summer’s transfer window (September 1), with Blues supporters having to wait until the south-coast derby against Southampton on Sunday, September 14, to see any of their deadline day recruits - including Conor Chaplin - in action.
For Pompey chief executive Cullen, though, he welcomed the development on the basis of player welfare.
Last month, both Adrian Segecic and Hayden Matthews travelled to both Australia and New Zealand with the Socceroos to feature in the ‘Soccer Ashes’. However, both players returned to Pompey without kicking a ball for Tony Popovic’s side.
‘Following today’s game, we pause for a fortnight with another international break,’ wrote Cullen in his programme notes ahead of today’s game against Middlesbrough.
‘There are traditionally four separate FIFA windows during each domestic campaign, scheduled for September, October, November and March. That is all set to change in 2026, when the first two windows will be merged together for the period of September 21 to October 6, while the other two remain unchanged.
‘The amalgamation of the September/October window will see nations play up to four international fixtures in that period, but there will be no Premier League and Championship football during two successive weekends.
‘While acknowledging some of the downsides, there are benefits to easing the stop-start nature of the early season schedule, especially for player welfare. So many footballers are required to travel long distances – often twice across the world in such a condensed timeframe – and then head straight back into domestic action for their clubs.’
Pompey will have five players away on international duty this month - Matthews (Socceroos), Terry Devlin (Northern Ireland), Luke Le Roux (South Africa), Makenzie Kirk (Northern Ireland U21) and Minhyeok Yang (South Korea U22).
After today’s game against Boro, the Blues’ next fixtue won’t be until October 18, when they travel to Leicester.