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The 2022-2023 season has barely come to an end, and the summer transfer window is already in full swing, with transfers that could shape the destiny of clubs for the coming season. A key factor that could play a part in a club’s choice is the number of matches in national competitions that each club will have to play during the 2023-2024 season. The schedules are extremely demanding, with weekly fixtures that test the players’ physical and mental stamina. Each club must face a considerable number of matches in national competitions if they hope to reach the summit and win one of the titles at stake. This Is Beirut takes a look at the number of matches to be played in each of the Big 5 countries – the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and French Ligue 1.
France
In June 2021, the General Assembly of the Ligue de Football Professionnel voted to reduce the number of clubs in Ligue 1 from 20 to 18 in the 2023-2024 season. As an immediate consequence, the number of matches to be played will fall from 38 to 34 per team, i.e. 4 fewer matches.
After the preliminary rounds, during which teams from lower divisions compete to qualify for the Coupe de France, the Ligue 1 clubs enter the competition in the ninth round (thirty-second final). They have to go through the round of 16, the round of 8, the quarter-finals, and the semi-finals in order to reach the final, played at the Stade de France. The matches are played on a one-way knockout basis. Since the 2020-2021 season, penalties are taken directly in the event of a tie after ninety minutes (except for the final). As a result, a Ligue 1 club will have to play 6 matches to win the trophy.
In September 2019, the LFP Board of Directors voted to abolish the Coupe de la Ligue at the end of the 2019-2020 edition.
The Champions Trophy, scheduled at the start of the season, is played over a single match and pits the reigning French champion against the winner of the French Cup.
Total number of matches: 41
Germany
Since the 1991-1992 season, the Bundesliga has been reduced from 20 to 18 clubs. Structural changes were introduced to encourage a tighter competition. Since that season, each team has played a total of 34 matches during the regular season.
Bundesliga clubs enter the German Cup in the 1st round, where they join the teams that qualified in the preliminary rounds. They then play in the 2nd round, the round of 16, the quarter-finals and the semi-finals before reaching the final. This amounts to a maximum of 6 matches.
The German League Cup is a competition that has not been held since 2008. It took place before the start of the season and was only open to the six German clubs that had qualified for the Champions League and UEFA Cup.
Each year, the only match in the German Supercup or DFL-Supercup pits the winner of the German league against the winner of the German Cup.
Total number of matches: 41
Spain
La Liga is played by 20 clubs. Thus, each club plays 38 matches during the season.
La Liga clubs enter the Copa del Ray in the first round, where they join the teams that qualified in the preliminary rounds. They then play in the 2nd round, the round of 16, the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, where they face each other in two-legged matches, before finally qualifying for the final. A La Liga club has to play 7 matches to win the Spanish Football Cup.
The Spanish League Cup was a former competition organised by the Spanish Football League during the final months of the season. It was contested between 1983 and 1986 and pitted the top eight teams in the league against each other.
Since January 2020, the Spanish Supercup has been contested in a Final Four format, with four teams (semi-finals and final) playing 2 matches.
Total number of matches: 47
Italy
The Italian football championship, known as Serie A, brings together the twenty best Italian teams. They play each other twice, in a total of 38 matches.
The Coppa Italia is organized in several rounds, from the preliminary rounds to the final. Serie A clubs enter the competition in the 1st round. They then progress through the 2nd round, the round of 16, the round of 8, the quarter-finals and the semi-finals in two-legged ties to reach the final. Therefore, a Serie A club has to play eight matches to win the cup.
There has never been an Italian League Cup like those organised in the other Big 5 countries.
The Supercoppa Italiana is changing its format for the next edition. It will be the first edition to feature four teams (semi-finals and final), representing an expansion on the previous format, which consisted of a single match between two clubs.
Total number of matches: 48
England
The English Premier League is, by far, the biggest, strongest, and best football league in the world, with 20 clubs playing 38 matches each season.
In the FA Cup, Premier League teams begin their campaign in the third round, which is followed by a fourth and fifth round. Then, the teams reach the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final. In the first rounds, replays are used to determine a winner in the event of a draw. A replay is an extra match played in the opponent’s stadium. If this match also ends in a draw, extra time and a penalty shoot-out may be organised to determine the winner. From the quarter-finals onwards, extra time and penalties are used to determine a winner if a match ends in a draw at the end of normal time. If a Premier League team wins the FA Cup in the 2023-2024 season, it will have played a minimum of 6 matches and up to 8 matches in the case of replay.
The English League Cup (Carabao Cup) comprises seven rounds in total. It is open to the 92 members of the Premier League and the English Football League. Premier League teams enter in the second round. Since 1996-1997, teams involved in a European competition during the season have been granted an exemption for the third round. Matches in all rounds are one-offs, with the exception of the semi-finals (two legs). The club that wins the competition will have played 6 or 7 matches.
The Football Association Community Shield is a single match played at the start of each season between the winner of the English Championship and the winner of the English Cup.
Total number of matches: 51 to 54
It’s no surprise that the Premier League is the most intense of the Big 5 countries, with ten matches more than France or Germany. This is excluding European Cup matches, during which England also tops the UEFA index. Players be warned!
