The 2022/23 season for Bristol City and Bristol Rovers will begin in July, the EFL has confirmed. The mid-season World Cup in Qatar has forced the campaign to be remapped, meaning the season will get underway on July 30.
Fixtures for the new campaign will be released on Thursday, June 23, with a hiatus planned for the Championship from November 13 to December 9 while the tournament takes place in the Middle East. League One and League Two, though, will continue as usual – with games to be postponed on an ad-hoc basis in line with current international fixture protocols.
The season will conclude on May 6, 2023, with the play-off finals to be played over the bank holiday weekend at the end of the month.
The earlier start to the season could potentially be challenging for Rovers – sixth in League Two – should their season last until the play-off final on May 28. With just 63 days between the end of this season and the start of the next, the Gas could face a tight window for rest, pre-season and recruitment without having clarity of what division they are playing in.
City, meanwhile, have five dead-rubber fixtures to fulfil with little to play for after an uninspiring season in the Championship, and the attention of all decision-makers at Ashton Gate is primarily focused on the season ahead. The Robins, though, do face the prospect of a congested schedule after the World Cup is completed.
The key dates for 2022/23
Season start - July 30, 2022
Final day - May 6, 2023
Carabao Cup
Round One – 10 August, 2022
Round Two – 24 August, 2022
Round Three – 9 November, 2022
Round Four – 21 December, 2022
Quarter-Final – 11 January, 2023
Semi-Final First Leg – 25 January, 2023
Semi-Final Second Leg – 1 February, 2023
Final – 26 February, 2023
Papa Johns Trophy
Group Game One – 31 August, 2022
Group Game Two – 21 September, 2022
Group Game Three – 19 October, 2022
Round Two – 30 November, 2022
Round Three – 14 December, 2022
Quarter-Final – 11 January, 2023
Semi-Final – 1 February, 2023
Final – 19 March, 2023