League season to end early for World Cup
The Premier League has confirmed that the 2009/10 campaign will finish one week earlier than usual, providing players an extra seven days rest ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
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The campaign will begin August 15 and conclude on May 9, five weeks before the beginning of the FIFA tournament.
Teams in the top-flight will also have to endure a first Premier League double-header over the August Bank Holiday weekend, competing twice in the space of three days on the Saturday and Monday.
According to FIFA regulations, domestic leagues have to conclude no later than four weeks before the start of a World Cup.
However, the Premier League have decided to end the campaign one week earlier, allowing Fabio Capello's England squad an additional seven days to rest and prepare for the finals, assuming they qualify.
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Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.
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