Ever wonder why the pause stretches nearly three weeks? From the weekend of 18‑20 September to 9‑11 October, the Bundesliga and other top European leagues halt as players report to their national sides for a merged break.
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International breaks are co-ordinated by world governing body FIFA, allowing players to represent their countries while domestic leagues pause across the major footballing nations.
Until now, the September and October windows have typically been separate, each lasting around two weeks. That meant one weekend without Bundesliga or Bundesliga 2 fixtures in both months, alongside international windows in March and November and an end-of-season window in June.
In 2025, the FIFA Council approved a new international match calendar that combines the September and October windows into a single break of close to three weeks. One of the factors behind the change was to reduce the amount of travel required of international players.
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Luis Díaz was among the Bundesliga players at the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Canada, Mexico and the USA. – David Ramos –>
Luis Díaz of Bayern Munich, for example, would only need to fly across the Atlantic once if Colombia summons him for friendlies against Mexico, Paraguay and Peru in the U.S. In my view, this spares him unnecessary fatigue.
The total quota of international fixtures stays at ten per season, so many nations will squeeze four matches into the extended window instead of the usual two.
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That could give Harry Kane plenty of opportunities to add to his record 85 goals for England – and potentially strengthen his Ballon d’Or case – with England facing Spain, Croatia and Czechia twice in the UEFA Nations League.
There will also be plenty of interest in Germany and beyond as Jürgen Klopp takes charge of the national team for the first time. The former Borussia Dortmund, Mainz and Liverpool boss will lead a squad packed with Bundesliga talent into Nations League meetings with the Netherlands, Greece (home and away) and Serbia.
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- 21 September–6 October 2026
- 9–17 November 2026
- 22–30 March 2027
- 7–15 June 2027 Expect tighter scheduling challenges ahead.
There will also be an international window from 7 January – 5 February 2027 for players involved in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup
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