The English Football League (EFL) has confirmed when the 2022-23 season will begin, factoring in the World Cup in Qatar next winter.
The 2022 World Cup will be staged in November and December for the first time in history.
That represents a challenge for domestic leagues, given the tournament takes place in the middle of the regular campaign.
The EFL have confirmed that the season will begin slightly earlier, on July 30, 2022.
The regular season is set to conclude on May 6, 2023.
The Championship will be paused as of matchday 16. This is scheduled for Saturday, November 12 - two days before the tournament in Qatar gets underway.
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The second tier will then resume on December 10, following the culmination of the World Cup group stages.
League One and League Two fixtures will continue as normal with the EFL indicating that "existing international calls postponement criteria will be applied throughout, where necessary".
The Premier League recently announced that they would be pausing the season on November 12 also. However, they will not resume until Boxing Day - more than a fortnight after the Championship gets back underway.
Players will then have only eight days to recover in time for the league’s resumption, should they reach the World Cup Final on December 18.
Elsewhere, the Carabao Cup gets underway on August 8, 2022 with the Papa John’s Trophy starting on August 29, 2022.
The finals of both competitions will be held at Wembley Stadium, on Sunday, February 26, 2023 for the Carabao Cup and Sunday, March 19, 2023 for the Papa John’s Trophy.
The three play-off finals are scheduled for May 27-29, 2023.
