The Premier League has been one of the few divisions of European football that would still have matches take place on the day after Christmas. Now, according to a report from the Times, the English top flight will ditch this round of games for the first time.

No Premier League games are currently slated to be played on Friday, December 26th, as all ten matchday 18 games are scheduled for 10:00 AM EST on Saturday, December 27th. This is the fewest top-flight games on the day since World War Two. There is said to be one game that will be played on the Friday, but it has not yet been set. As teams and broadcaster alike can typically expect to know fixture dates and time at least six weeks in advance, only games up until the 20th have been confirmed.

The Prem has been one of very few leagues to continue to play matches on Boxing Day, when teams in Germany or Spain for example would take it off. For at least this season, they will be joining these counterparts in no games for the holiday.

The Times states that Premier League officials have been forced into the position by broadcast contracts that require them to play on 33 weekends every season, with only five rounds of midweek fixtures. That leaves the English top-flight needing to utilize the weekend of the 26th and 27th.

Despite the changes coming to the top English division, the EFL and Nations League will not be making the change. Premier League teams are set to pick action back up on December 30th.