Hot on the heels of Swansea City’s Connor Roberts and Daniel James being called up to the Wales squad for the upcoming games against Denmark and Albania, the Swans won’t have any further international breaks until March 2019.
FIFA, the international governing body of football, has published an International Match Calendar, providing the fixed dates for International “A” matches between 2018 and 2024.
Matches during this period can be either Official or Friendly Matches, with players released from their clubs to national teams on the Monday morning at the latest.
The players must then released back to their clubs on the Wednesday morning the following week at the very latest.
Of course with the Swans having representation at both Senior and U21 level for Wales, as well as representation for Scotland and Kosovo (at the time of writing), the international breaks can have an impact on club matters, as is often bemoaned by Premier League managers – especially if on a poor run of form!
Conversely of course, the breaks can also provide an ample opportunity for players to rest and for clubs to re-group of course.
Here are the designated FIFA International breaks from November 2018 to the end of December 2024.
| Dates | Official or Friendly Matches | Number of match dates |
2018 |
||
| 19-27 March | 2 | 2 |
| 14 June – 15 July | 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia | – |
| 3-11 September | 2 | 2 |
| 8-16 October | 2 | 2 |
| 12-20 November | 2 | 2 |
2019 |
||
| 5 January – 1 February | African Cup of Nations in Cameroon 2019 AFC Asian Cup in United Arab Emirates |
– |
| 18-26 March | 2 | 2 |
| 3-11 June | 2 | 2 |
| 14 June – 7 July | 2019 Copa America in Brazil | – |
| July | Preliminary Draw 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar |
– |
| 2-10 September | 2 | 2 |
| 7-15 October | 2 | 2 |
| 11-19 November | 2 | 2 |
2020 |
||
| 23-31 March | 2 | 2 |
| 1-9 June | 2 (for non UEFA confederations) | 2 |
| June / July | European Championship – Euro 2020 |
– |
| 31 August – 8 September | 2 | 2 |
| 5-13 October | 2 | 2 |
| 9-17 November | 2 | 2 |
2021 |
||
| January / February | African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast | – |
| 22-30 March | 2 | 2 |
| 31 May – 8 June | 2 | 2 |
| June – July | FIFA Confederations Cup in Asia | – |
| 30 August – 7 September | 2 | 2 |
| 4-12 October | 2 | 2 |
| 8-16 November | 2 | 2 |
2022 |
||
| 21-29 March | 2 | 2 |
| April | Final Draw 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar | – |
| 30 May – 14 June | 4 | 4 |
| 19-27 September | 2 | 2 |
| November / December | Release of Players for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar on 14 November 2022 FIFA World Cup 21 November – 18 December |
– |
2023 |
||
| 20-28 March | 2 | 2 |
| 12-20 June | 2 | 2 |
| 4-12 September | 2 | 2 |
| 9-17 October | 2 | 2 |
| 13-21 November | 2 | 2 |
2024 |
||
| 18-26 March | 2 | 2 |
| 3-11 June | 2 (for non UEFA confederations) | 2 |
| June / July | European Championship – Euro 2024 | – |
| 2-10 September | 2 | 2 |
| 7 -15 October | 2 | 2 |
| 11-19 November | 2 | 2 |
You can view another calendar, which provides details of all FIFA tournaments (at different age groups for Men & Women), FIFA events and FIFA meetings on the official FIFA website.
