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Why is the September and October international break so long?
The Bundesliga and Europe's other top leagues are pausing for close to three weeks from the weekend of 18-20 September to 9-11 October, as players join up with their national teams for the merged international break. There is a good reason for the new format.
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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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