Premier League confirms August start date for 2021/22 season

The Premier League has announced that the 2021/22 campaign will start on August 14 after the date was agreed by all its shareholders.

The final round of matches will take place on 22 May 2022, with all games that day taking place simultaneously. Taking into account the United Kingdom's plan to exit lockdown, the opening fixtures should be played with fans in stadiums.

The league's statement reads: "The 2021/22 Premier League season will start on 14 August 2021.

"The final match round of the campaign will take place on 22 May 2022, when all fixtures will kick off simultaneously."

The start of this current season was delayed as the previous term overran after the coronavirus pandemic saw football grind to a halt back in March last year.

The European Championship, originally scheduled for last summer, was postponed and will now take place at the end of this season, but despite that the Premier League's plan is to return to the traditional mid-August start.

As a result of the disruption to the traditional calendar and the need to conclude this season in time for the aforementioned Euros which are scheduled to kick off on June 11, fixture congestion along with a lack of fans in attendance have been issues that have impacted England's top flight negatively.

This current season kicked off on September 12, approximately a month later than normal, and all teams involved were afforded a very short pre-season - another obstacle Premier League players and managers have had to overcome.

It's understood an earlier start date of August 7 had been discussed but the clubs voted against it as the Euros aren't due to finish until July 11, when the final is scheduled to take place at Wembley.

Manchester City currently lead this season's Premier League title race, while Sheffield United, West Brom and Fulham are among the favourites for relegation.