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The 2026-27 season will see a major change to the international calendar for PNE and their Championship rivals.
Are you already fed up with the international break? Are you someone who believes it comes far too early into the season? Have you been left disappointed that it will take almost two excruciating weeks to see Harrison Armstrong or any of the Lilywhites’ other summer signings in action?
Well, if the answer is yes, then we’ve got some good news for you. From next season onwards, FIFA have decided to shake up the international fixtures calendar.
Indeed, it has been confirmed that football’s governing body will be reducing the number of international breaks from four to three.
The two-week, two-game November and March pauses to the domestic fixture programme for PNE & Co will remain in place as normal. However, the September and October stoppages - which are also two weeks long - will 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.
November’s break will be from November 9-17, with international games in March 2027 taking place between 22-30 of that month.
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 current international break came into force just four matches into PNE’s latest Championship campaign.
That’s far too long for some fans, who just want to see the Everton sensation in action following his season-long loan switch.
Meanwhile, spare a thought for the managers, who might not be able to work with their newest recruits until after they return from international duty.
In PNE’s case, Armstrong has been away with England under 19s following his arrival last week, with the midfielder not expected to link-up with Paul Heckingbottom's side until later in the week.
FIFA statement and PNE players on international duty
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Gianni Infantino | AFP via Getty Images
A statement from FIFA read: ‘FIFA’s objective in this process is to make a football calendar that is ‘fit-for-purpose’ for modern needs, contributing for the improvement of the quality of players, clubs and national teams and giving both incentive and opportunity for the detection and development of talent outside a small number of countries.’
There have been a number of Heckingbottom’s squad who have received call-ups for their respective countries during the latest international break.
Ali McCann (Northern Ireland), Stefan Thordarson (Iceland), Andrija Vukcevic (Montenegro), Thierry Small (England U21), Armstrong (England U19) and Shay Reid (Republic of Ireland U19) are all away.
This year will be the last time the Lilywhites will have to release players for international duty so early into the season, with the new changes in force until 2030.
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